How Did He Make It As A Professional Classical Pianist?
Vikingur Olafsson is a professional classical pianist. He’s 37 and at the top of his game. It took him a while to get there. It’s an interesting path.
If you’re a great pro athlete, stats usually make it clear that you’re a stand out. At 18 Bryce Harper hit 22 homeruns and was rookie of the year. If you’re a great piano player, how do you make a career for yourself among the other fine players out there?
VO was born in Iceland, 1984. His mother was a piano teacher. His father was an architect. Because mom loved the piano, his parents bought a Steinway B a year before VO was even born.
He comments on living in small apartments with his family and this monster piano. He couldn’t wait for his mother to be done teaching each day so he could work on the mighty Steinway.
Some superstar pianists, like Yuja Wang, are on the way to stardom by kindergarten. VO didn’t start seriously until he was an old man of 11 years old. By 15 he was playing huge piano repertoire- but only in Iceland. VO earned a spot at Julliard at age 18. His horizons expanded.
He lived in tiny flats with his wife and piano for years- never hitting it big. He would play local concerts on mostly bad pianos for low pay. He didn’t want to try to make it via the harrowing competition circuit.
Since worldwide success (understatement) wasn’t happening, VO decided to take the bull by the horns. He didn’t just sit home and pout.
VO set up a record label and released three albums. He founded a music festival in Iceland. He sent off CDs to orchestras and management companies. Yet still, not much was happening.
Vladimir Ashkenazy has been one of the world’s best pianists and conductors since the 60s. It turns our that Vlad fell for a girl from Iceland- they got married in 1961. Oh, what those girls won’t make us do! Vlad started spending some of his non touring time in Iceland. VO thought, let’s take a shot at this and presented his CDs to Vlad.
Vlad loved the discs and invited VO to play some concerts with him conducting. All of a sudden VO’s music world started falling into place. VO found a good management company. A contract with DG soon followed. Since, he’s become one of the most important artists on the DG label.
VO doesn’t just record and wave to the recording staff as he walks out the door. I was surprised to learn that he’s very involved in the entire recording process.
“A recording is so much more than just the way you play. It’s also the way the microphones play, where you put them, and exactly how you tune the mix. You’re still capturing sound post production. Even if I’m done recording and playing, I still think of the sound as living. It’s not captured until it’s pressed!”