Eldbjørg Hemsing, Wiener Symphoniker & Olari Elts
Biography Eldbjørg Hemsing, Wiener Symphoniker & Olari Elts
Eldbjørg Hemsing
A champion of Norway’s rich musical tradition, Eldbjørg Hemsing has been a household name in her native country since childhood and made her solo debut with the Bergen Philharmonic at the age of 11. Studying with Boris Kuschnir in Vienna, she has since carefully positioned herself on both the national and international stage, fine-tuning her performance-style and absorbing repertoire ranging from Beethoven to Dvořák, Grieg to Tan Dun. Together with Tan Dun she has collaborated on numerous projects in both Europe and Asia and is currently working with the composer on a new work which she will premiere in September 2018.
In March 2018 Eldbjørg Hemsing releases her debut CD on the Swedish label BIS, featuring violin concertos by Hjalmar Borgström and Dmitri Shostakovich, recorded with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and Olari Elts.
Introducing the album Eldbjørg wrote: ”A few years ago, I was introduced to the music of Hjalmar Borgström, a name I was not previously familiar with and I was surprised to learn that he had been famous as both a composer and critic in Norway at the beginning of the 20th century. Opening the score of his first violin concerto for the first time I was immediately intrigued. This concerto, written in 1914, is incredibly beautiful, full of Norwegian Nationalist sentiment so typical of its time but also worthy of international attention. It reminds me of where I come from – the rugged landscape of Valdres and Jotunheimen, where the surrounding mountains rise dramatically over the valleys – and the music makes me yearn for my roots. After Borgström’s death in 1925 the concerto was completely forgotten and so today I am on something of a mission to help do my part in bringing this composer’s music back to life.”
Her debut album will be followed in the autumn of 2018 by a recording of Dvořák’s Violin Concerto and Suk’s Fantasy and Love Song with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and Alan Buribayev. She is also the primary focus in an upcoming documentary directed by David Donnelly, focusing on women in the arts. This new venture follows the award winning success of the 2010 NRK film in which Eldbjørg and her sister Ranghild explored the life of Norway’s legendary violinist, Ole Bull.
Upcoming engagements in the 2017 / 18 season include regular concerts at the Stormen Concert Hall in Bodø where Eldbjørg is the 2018 Artist in Residence and performances with, amongst others, the Oslo Philharmonic, MDR Radio Symphony Orchestra Leipzig, Baltic Sea Philharmonic, Arctic Philharmonic and the NWD Philharmonie. She also joins Julien Quentin for a recital tour in Spring 2018 and appears as a guest at Paavo Järvi’s Pärnu Festival in Estonia.
Eldbjørg Hemsing plays a 1754 G. B. Guadagnini violin on kind loan from the Dextra Musica Foundation. Her long-term artistic development is generously supported by the Göhde Foundation.
