Tour Dates: 5 Apr – 23 Apr, 2012

Mr Sveinung Bjelland has been in the forefront of classical pianists in Norway for several years. He is a gifted artist whose concerts are notable for a breadth of interpretation rare in quality.

Mr Sveinung Bjelland has been in the forefront of classical pianists in Norway for several years. He is a gifted artist whose concerts are notable for a breadth of interpretation rare in quality.

Bjelland has received most of his musical education from central Europe, mainly studying with Hans Leygraf at Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin. He finished his studies in Berlin with the highest degree and a distinction. Bjelland put himself strongly on the map in 1999, when he was named Young Musician of the Year by the Norwegian Concert Institute, this ranking comes among numerous prizes he has been awarded.

Following his education, Bjelland emerged into a unique, prolific and versatile artist. He has been a soloist with the leading Norwegian orchestras under the baton of distinguished guest conductors and visited various concert series and festivals in Europe, where he has made his mark as a soloist and in a chamber music setting. In October 2008, he made his debut in London with a chamber music recital at Wigmore Hall.

His duo partnership with the young violinist Alina Pogostkin, the 2005 winner of the Sibelius Competition in Helsinki, has made a particular impact. They have done a brilliant recording of Mendelssohns Concerto for Violin and Piano, adding to the Bjelland's series of successful recordings, covering a wide and varied repertoire. As a duo with Alina Pogostkin, Bjelland recently performed at the Helsinki Festival and the Beethovenfest in Bonn.

In addition to being a frequent festival performer, Sveinung Bjelland was from 2002-2008 festival director of the Gloger Festival in Kongsberg which has developed into one of the most interesting among Norwegian music festivals and it set in the exquisite and inspiring space of Kongsberg Church.

His latest recording, Scarlatti and Mendelssohn on Simax, has been received with enthusiasm both in Norway and internationally. It was nominated for the Norwegian Grammy Award, Spellemannprisen, in 2006.

Musicweb International writes, 'These performances have many subtleties and the imagination of the coupling is reflected in the taste and imagination of the playing.' Classics Today also praises the recording, referring to 'Sveinung Bjelland's cultivated, imaginative, and poetic artistry' concluding, 'No self-respecting piano connoisseur should let this truly distinctive release slip away'.