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CV

Since it was founded in 1991, theOslo String Quartet has established itself as one of the leading chamber music ensembles in Scandinavia. It has achieved international acclaim throughits concert tours and recordings.
"Artistically it is the finest at any price point... totally dedicated, idiomatic performance... full of vitality and spirit
and refreshingly straightforward," wrote Gramophone in August, 1999, when the CD Carl Nielsen Vol. I was reviewed and named Editor's Choice.

The Oslo String Quartet has a wide-ranging repertoire. Naturally, the ensemble's point of departure is in the classics, including all of Beethoven's string quartets, but its repertoire also includes works by contemporary composers. The ensemble has devoted a great deal of attention to Norwegian composers, and has enjoyed close cooperation with a number of them. The Quartet has given premiere performances of seven compositions, three of which were dedicated to the ensemble. The Oslo String Quartet received the Performer of the Year award from the Norwegian Society of Composers in 1998, mainly on the basis of the group's extensive work with Norwegian music.

The Oslo String Quartet's thorough, skilful and attentive approach to its music gives the ensemble a distinctive identity. "It will hardly surprise anyone when we call the Oslo String Quartet unique with its inner integrity, its evocative and unmistakable sound, its serious approach, its expressiveness that actually captures the essence of the music where it is, and how it is," was the verdict of the jury that gave the ensemble the Critics' Music Award for 1999-2000.

With this solid starting point, the Quartet has also branched out into new directions in both its modes of expression and its repertoire. In a number of concert tours to schools under the auspices of the Norwegian Concert Institute, the musicians have gained experience in communicating with a young and demanding audience. In order to tackle this challenge they make use of audiovisual materials, narration and theatrical elements combined with classical music, and give their young listeners a stimulating introduction to a musical style that is quite foreign to them.

The cellist in the Quartet is an accomplished arranger, who has tailored a number of popular tunes to suit the ensemble. The Quartet enjoys presenting this lighter part of its repertoire in informal venues, or together with its classical repertoire. The members of the ensemble are deeply dedicated to making good music available to as many listeners as possible, and they have no objections to using untraditional means in order to accomplish this goal.

Among the festivals abroad in which the Oslo String Quartet has performed are the Delft Chamber Music Festival, Internationales Streich Quartet Festival Dortmund, Orlando Festival, Sächsisch Böhmisches Music Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Schwetzinger Festspiele, Stratford Summer Music and Umeå International Chamber Music Festival. In addition, the Quartet has had concert tours in Denmark, England, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany. Over the years the
Quartet has given a number of concerts in the well renowned Wigmore Hall in London. 

The ensemble has performed at most Norwegian music festivals, including the Bergen International Festival, the Oslo Chamber Music Festival, the Oslo Church Music Festival, the Risør Chamber Music Festival, the Stavanger International Chamber Music Festival, the Trondheim Chamber Music Festival, the Ultima Comtemporary Music Festival as well as festivals in Elverum, Hardanger, Kongsberg, Kristiansand, Nordheimsund, Røros, Valdres and Vestfold.

The Oslo String Quartet has recorded works by the following composers: Edvard Grieg/David Monrad Johansen (Naxos), Knut Nystedt (Simax), Klaus Egge/Fartein Valen/Johan Kvandal/Alfred Janson (Naxos), the complete works by Carl Nielsen (Naxos), Magnar Åm/Lasse Thoresen/Ragnar Søderlind (Aurora), Johan Svendsen (CPO), Jean Sibelius/Alban Berg/Hugo Wolf (CPO) and finally a recording of popular tunes in own arrangements (fabra).

To mark their 15 years anniversary, the Oslo String Quartet staged a two-week The Beethoven Code project during November 2006, where all of Beethoven's string quartets were performed over eight concerts, in the library building at the University of Oslo
Detailed info on the project:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oslo_String_Quartet