Legions of keyboard fans know that Víkingur Ólafsson does reflective like few others. Calmness, softness of touch and introspection are among the Icelandic pianist’s widely admired trademarks. It helps make him a perfect performer for the AirPod age.
But how does Ólafsson respond to a full orchestra in a large-scale work such as Beethoven’s third piano concerto? The answer, in this opening concert of the Philharmonia’s season, is that he does it with enviable ease. It assured a distinguished start to the 80th birthday year of an orchestra whose founder, Walter Legge, had shamefully tried to kill it off when it had not even reached two decades old.
