Sat, May 16, 2026
Pulse Festival: Opus 109

With his Sonata in E major, Op. 109, Víkingur Ólafsson believes Ludwig van Beethoven reinvented himself. And at the same time, he paid tribute to a great role model: Johann Sebastian Bach, who served as Beethoven's "compass" as he ventured into the unknown. "There are striking connections between this sonata and Bach's Goldberg Variations," explains Víkingur. "Both have a lyrical saraband as their theme, and both return to this saraband at the end. But Beethoven also incorporates Bach quotations in the variations, writes a fugato, and uses Bachian playing techniques. The E major Sonata thus connects beautifully to the opening concert of the festival." Víkingur traces the path to this masterpiece in his recital with four compositions, all in E major or E minor, yet each more diverse in expression than the last. A Bach prelude and the great E minor Partita are included, as well as a rarely performed Schubert sonata, which comprises only two movements. Víkingur is convinced that it represents a response to Beethoven's own two-movement E minor Sonata, Op. 90, which is why it, too, cannot be omitted from the program.