Kirill Petrenko and Víkingur Ólafsson with Brahms and Strauss

Johannes Brahms
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in D minor, op. 15
Víkingur Ólafsson, piano

INTERMISSION

Richard Strauss
Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus spoke Zarathustra), op. 30

Acclaimed for his distinctive and imaginative interpretations, Víkingur Ólafsson joins the Berliner Philharmoniker and Kirill Petrenko at short notice, stepping in for the indisposed Daniil Trifonov as soloist in Johannes Brahms’s First Piano Concerto. Written when Brahms was still in his twenties, the concerto combines symphonic scale and power with moments of intimate dialogue between piano and orchestra.

The concert’s second half features Richard Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra. Opening with a hymn-like sunrise, the work traces the philosopher Zarathustra’s journey to humanity: dramatic, mystical and splendorous in sound.