Ssens Trio
Biography Ssens Trio
Ssens Trio
(pronounced ‘Essence’) was established in 2014 by three musicians with a wealth of experience in the international music scene. The trio has appeared in concert with Geir Inge Lotsberg, Eivind Ringstad, Håvard Gimse and Leif Ove Andsnes, among others. Their first CD, Beethoven: String Trios Op. 3 & 8 (LAWO Classics), received Pizzicato Magazine’s “Supersonic Award” and a prestigious ICMA Awards nomination in 2018. Fanfare Magazine wrote: “With absolutely no hesitation I will say that it goes right to the top of my Beethoven String Trios list.” (Jerry Dubins). And the following from a review in Pizzicato Magazine under the heading ‘Beethoven With a Communicative Joy of Music Making’: “Their performance is brimming with the joy of playing together. An outstanding ‘trialogue’, with each performer fully sensing the other. Through this interactive music making, which in the Adagio and Minuet movements invokes a remarkably intimate mood, Beethoven’s works gain in depth and sensuousness. And when one combines the sensitive playing with a wonderfully eloquent virtuosity, the way is clear for pure listening pleasure.” (Alain Steffen). In 2019 Ssens Trio released a CD on the LAWO Classics label with music of W. A. Mozart. This recording received glowing reviews in Classica (France), Fanfare Magazine and Pizzicato Magazine, among others, and it was nominated for the Opus Klassik Award in Germany and the ICMA (International Classical Music Awards) in 2020. [download bio]
Sølve Sigerland
has devoted the greater part of his career to chamber music, while appearing as soloist with leading Scandinavian orchestras conducted by Andrew Litton, Daniel Harding and Walter Weller, among others. In 1993 Sigerland represented Norway at the Nordic Soloist Biennial in Stockholm, and later he won two prizes at the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition in Sion, Switzerland. As a member of the Grieg Trio, he has performed in Europe, the USA and Asia and received prizes for both performances and recordings. Sølve Sigerland received the Gammleng Award in 2021.
Henninge Landaas
is a violist in Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. She was a member of the internationally renowned Vertavo String Quartet, with which she performed in concert halls the world over. The ensemble’s critically acclaimed recordings include works by Carl Nielsen, Brahms, Bartok, Grieg and Debussy, among others. With the quartet she shared the Norwegian Music Critics’ Prize, Spellemannprisen (Norwegian Grammy), and the prestigious French award, Diapason d’Or. Henninge Landaas has released a number of CDs on the LAWO Classics label, among them, Johannes Brahms: Sonatas for Viola & Piano, Op. 120 and The Golden Hindemith. She plays a G.B. Guadagnini viola on loan from Dextra Musica.
Ellen Margrete Flesjø
was a founding member of the Grieg Trio in 1987. With this ensemble she has performed in Europe, the USA and Asia and has released critically acclaimed recordings on EMI, Virgin and Simax Classics labels. Prizes she has received include the Parkhouse Award, First Prize and two additional prizes at the Colmar International Chamber Music Competition (Colmar, France), the Norwegian Music Critics’ Prize, and Spellemannprisen (Norwegian Grammy). From 2004 to 2009, Ellen Margrete Flesjø was co-artistic director of the Stavanger International Chamber Music Festival, together with her colleagues in the Grieg Trio.