First concert of this season’s solo piano series. Vikingur Olafsson, playing pieces in E major and E minor, by Bach, Beethoven and Schubert.

Last season, his performance of Bach’s Goldberg variations was the high point of the series for me. I was hoping for a similar experience, but most of this one was not really to my taste. Much of it was just… too much. Frantic, dramatic, all ten fingers hammering away at a breakneck pace like there’s no tomorrow.

Somehow it becomes extra intense and overwhelming in a live performance – I listened to him playing the same set of pieces at home, and it felt quite different. Maybe because there are other things that I can pay attention to at the same time.