Víkingur Ólafsson, Várdai István és a Liszt Ferenc Kamarazenekar

It is not exclusively Hungarians that Müpa Budapest honours with the prestigious title of Artist of the Season: foreign musicians, such as the Russian piano virtuoso Denis Matsuev, for instance, have also been distinguished in this way. The prerequisites are obvious: a high level of professional excellence and a fruitful relationship with Müpa Budapest. Both conditions are easily met by Víkingur Ólafsson, the 41-year-old pianist The New York Times described as “Iceland’s Glenn Gould”, whose profound and inspired playing has lit up the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall on several occasions. In May 2026, he will join the world-famous Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra (under the baton István Várdai, the ensemble’s artistic director and last year’s Artist of the Season) to perform Beethoven’s enchanting Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major in the second part of a concert that opens with Olli Mustonen’s Nonett and Haydn’s Symphony No. 93 in D major.