Download Marianne Thorsen Biography May 2016

Worldwide Artists Limited
Tel: +44 (0)208 670 0766 Email: [email protected]
Website: www.worldwideartists.com
© 2016 Worldwide Artists Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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The winner of several international competitions, including most notably the 2003 Sion
Valais International Competition, Marianne Thorsen has established herself as one
of Norway’s leading violinists. She has performed with the Philharmonia
Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Royal Danish
Orchestra and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic. In her homeland, she plays regularly
with the Oslo Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Trondheim Symphony, Stavanger
Symphony and the Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestras; and most of the major orchestras
in Scandinavia.
Marianne enjoys a regular collaboration with Trondheimsolistene with which she has
toured and recorded Mozart’s Violin Concertos Nos 3, 4 and 5 for 2L to great critical
acclaim, winning the Norwegian Spellemannprisen - the Norwegian equivalent to the
Grammy. Recent highlights include the Svendsen Concerto with the Norwegian Radio
Orchestra (KORK), which was broadcast live on NRK, Norway’s national radio; Mozart:
Sinfonia Concertante with Trondheimsolistene / Lawrence Power (viola); Mozart
Concertos with the Haffner Orchestra and Bristol Ensemble in the UK, Beethoven's Triple
Concerto with the Trondheim Symphony / Urbanski (Tor Espen Aspaas and Tim Hugh);
and in May 2015, Marianne made her debut at Spectrum Concerts Berlin, at Berlin's
Philharmonie.
Marianne Thorsen’s recording with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra of Ståle
Kleiberg’s Violin Concerto, dedicated to her, received a Grammy nomination in 2010; and
Marianne gave the world premiere of Ketil Hvoslef’s Violin Concerto, also dedicated to
her, broadcast live on national Norwegian television (NRK) with the Oslo Philharmonic
Orchestra / Vassily Sinaisky.
2011 - 2014 saw the release of five CDs of music by Halvorsen and Svendsen on the
Chandos label, with Thorsen as soloist alongside the Bergen Philharmonic and Neeme
Järvi, including Svendsen’s Violin Concerto which was nominated for the Spellemann
Prize (The Strad wrote: “Thorsen’s sweet-toned purity, ringing intonation and beguiling
espressivo prove ideal for the composer’s essentially gentle inspiration - Svendsen could
hardly wish for a more sympathetic and persuasive exponent than Thorsen”).
Marianne’s recent festival appearances include Featured Artist at the Genius of Mozart
Festival, Galway (Ireland); with Trondheimsolistene: Halvorsen's Three Norwegian
Dances at Vinterfestspill i Bergstaden, Røros and Auerbach's Sogno di Stabat Mater (with
Thomas Riebl) at the opening concert of the Trondheim Chamber Music Festival; as well
as chamber music at the Stavanger International Chamber Music Festival, the Bergen
International Festival, the BBC Proms in London, as well as at the Edinburgh, Bath and
Cheltenham Festivals (live broadcasts for BBC Radio 3).
A keen chamber musician, Marianne Thorsen has performed with such eminent artists as
Leif Ove Andsnes, Marc-André Hamelin, Truls Mørk, Paul Lewis, Pascal Rogé, Christian
Ihle Hadland and Håvard Gimse, with whom she recorded for Simax Classics. She was a
founder member of the Leopold String Trio from 1991 to 2006, with which she performed
at venues including Carnegie Hall, New York, the Wiener Musikverein, Amsterdam's
Concertgebouw, and Wigmore Hall, London. The Trio recorded numerous CDs for
Hyperion to great critical acclaim, including the complete Beethoven string trios and
Schubert's Trout Quintet, and the complete Mozart and Brahms piano quartets (with Paul
Lewis and Marc-André Hamelin respectively).
Worldwide Artists Limited
Tel: +44 (0)208 670 0766 Email: [email protected]
Website: www.worldwideartists.com
© 2016 Worldwide Artists Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
_____________________________________________________________________
From 2000 – 2015 Marianne was Leader of the internationally renowned Nash Ensemble of
London, with which she frequently appeared in concert and television/radio broadcasts at
the major British and International music festivals; at London's South Bank Centre, the
BBC Proms; and as part of a regular series at Wigmore Hall, London.
In 2009 she was invited to become Artistic Director of the Vinterfestspill i
Bergstaden Music Festival in Røros, Norway. In March 2013, Marianne completed her
fifth and final year in the role of Artistic Director in the highly successful 15th
anniversary Vinterfestspill, with performances broadcast on national Norwegian radio
(NRK).
In 2006 Marianne Thorsen was appointed Professor of Violin at the Department of Music
at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim.
May 2016. Use of any previously dated biographies is not authorised. Please contact
Worldwide Artists if you wish to edit this biography in any way.