Marianne Thorsen Biography Dec 2016

Worldwide Artists Limited Tel: +44 (0)208 670 0766 Email: [email protected] Website: www.worldwideartists.com

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, and Beethoven's Triple Concerto with the Trondheim Symphony / Urbanski (Tor Espen Aspaas and Tim Hugh). Last season, Marianne made her debut at Spectrum Concerts Berlin, at Berlin's Philharmonie; and she directed the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra (including the Bach concerto) in August; and Trondheimsolistene in October, closing the Trondheim International Chamber Music Festival 2016.

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”).

Other 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 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

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.

December 2016. Use of any previously dated biographies is not authorised. Please contact Worldwide Artists if you wish to edit this biography in any way.