Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson receives one of the highest international honours in music: the RPS Gold Medal. The medal was presented live onstage on Thursday 25 September 2025, at London’s Royal Festival Hall, in the 2025-26 season opening concert of Philharmonia Orchestra’s 80th anniversary season, with whom Víkingur is this year’s Featured Artist. The presentation was made following Víkingur’s performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.3 with the orchestra and its Principal Conductor, Santtu-Matias Rouvali.
First presented in 1871, the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal is awarded for the most outstanding musicianship to the finest musicians of any nationality. It bears the image of Beethoven, to celebrate the close relationship between the composer and the Society which commissioned his Ninth Symphony. Recipients are chosen by the Board and Council of the RPS, their choice annually approved by RPS Members. Among prior recipients are Brahms, Elgar, Sibelius, Rachmaninov, Myra Hess, Stravinsky, Kathleen Ferrier, Britten, Shostakovich, Bernstein, and more recently Martha Argerich, Jessye Norman, John Williams, Mitsuko Uchida, Arvo Pärt, and Thomas Adès.
On presenting the medal to Víkingur, Angela Dixon, Chair of the RPS Board of Trustees, said:
“Víkingur, your music enchants us. Your exquisite artistry draws our ears to the precious essence of music. In your hands, the message of composers across history is communicated with clarity and resonance.
Amassing over a billion streams, your beautifully curated recordings have brought the world consolation and light in these uncertain times, and, as we have witnessed tonight, your live performances are more akin to vigils. We have cherished your revelatory take on classic concertos, and marvelled at your extraordinary Goldberg Variations marathon last year. We look forward to what comes next, including the music of John Adams and fellow RPS Gold Medallist György Kurtág.
Thank you for making the UK such a regular destination, and for travelling to communities all over the country. Please keep coming – you will always find a devoted, welcoming audience here in the UK.”
Víkingur Ólafsson comments: “I am deeply honoured – and a little overwhelmed – to be included in the company of the recipients of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Gold Medal. I am grateful and touched by this special recognition. I want to thank my loyal and passionate audiences throughout the UK, who always make me feel at home when making music for them. It is my privilege and joy to play music for you that I love and believe in.”