Mari Silje Samuelsen (born 21 December 1984) is a Norwegian

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist. She is the sister of

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

Håkon Samuelsen, with whom she often performs throughout Norway and Europe.

Early life and education

Samuelsen grew up in

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

, and began playing violin at age three at a local music school outside the city. By age four, she became a student of violinist

Arve Tellefsen Arve Tellefsen () (born 14 December 1936) is a Norwegian violinist who has worked with conductors such as Mariss Jansons, Arvid Jansons, Herbert Blomstedt, Gary Bertini, Evgeny Svetlanov, Bryden Thomson, Neeme Järvi, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Paavo B ...

, who has called Mari and Håkon Samuelsen "among the greatest string music talents in Norway". She studied with Tellefsen in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, and played with him for almost 10 years. Samuelsen later studied at the

Barratt Due Institute of Music The Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo, Norway, is a music education institute founded in 1927 by pianist Mary Barratt Due and violinist Henrik Adam Due. It is situated in Fagerborg in Oslo and is a private stiftelse, foundation which receive ...

in Oslo under the tutelage of violinist

Stephan Barratt-Due Stephan Henrik Barratt-Due Jr. (born 1 June 1956 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian violinist, the son of violinist Stephan Henrik Barrat-Due (1919–1985) and Else Barratt-Due (b. Holst, June 1925). Biography Barrat-Due started his violin studi ...

. For the last ten years, she has been a student of the world-renowned Russian professor and violinist

Zakhar Bron Zakhar Bron (russian: Заха́р Ну́химович Брон ; born 17 December 1947, in Oral, Kazakhstan) is a Russian violinist and violin pedagogue of Jewish, Polish and Romanian descent. His students have included Vadim Repin, Gwendolyn ...

. She earned two master's degrees at

Zurich University of the Arts Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK, german: Zürcher Hochschule der Künste) has approximately 2,500 students, which makes it the largest arts university in Switzerland. The university was established in 2007, following the merger between Zurich' ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

in 2012.

Musical career

She has collaborated with such artists as

Max Richter Max Richter (; ; born 22 March 1966) is a German-born British composer and pianist. He works within postminimalist and contemporary classical styles. Richter is classically trained, having graduated in composition from the University of Edinbur ...

Jeff Mills Jeff Mills (born June 18, 1963, in Detroit, Michigan) is an American DJ, record producer, and composer. Thanks to his technical abilities as a DJ, Mills became known as ''The Wizard'' in the early to mid 1980s. In the late 1980s Mills founded ...

, and

Dubfire Ali Shirazinia ( fa, علی شیرازی‌نیا), commonly known by his stage name Dubfire, is an Iranian American house and techno DJ and producer. Prior to his solo career, Dubfire made up half of the duo Deep Dish. Dubfire's style is notic ...

. Max Richter said of Samuelsen: "Apart from being a wonderful violinist, Mari has an instinctive understanding of my compositional world and an uncanny ability to communicate my intentions". In 2014, Mari and Håkon performed the world premiere of ''

Pas de Deux In ballet, a pas de deux (French language, French, literally "step of two") is a dance duet in which two dancers, typically a male and a female, perform ballet steps together. The pas de deux is characteristic of classical ballet and can be fo ...

'', a double concerto they commissioned

James Horner James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953 – June 22, 2015) was an American composer. He was known for the integration of choral and electronic elements, and for his frequent use of motifs associated with Celtic music. Horner's first film score was i ...

to compose. Samuelsen released her debut solo album, ''Mari'', on 7 June 2019, via the label

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

. It includes mostly modern and minimalist pieces, which she performs with

Konzerthausorchester Berlin The Konzerthausorchester Berlin is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra is resident at the Konzerthaus Berlin, designed by the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The building was destroyed during World War II, and was rebuil ...

and conductor

Jonathan Stockhammer Jonathan Stockhammer (born December 21, 1969, in Hollywood, California) is an American conductor based in Germany. Career Stockhammer studied Chinese and Political Science before devoting himself to his musical studies, receiving degrees in mu ...

. The album includes works from Max Richter,

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

, and

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

, among others. Her performance of Richter's composition "November" from '' Memoryhouse'' (2002) was released as a single before ''Mari'' was released.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samuelsen, Mari 1984 births 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century women musicians Barratt Due Institute of Music alumni Deutsche Grammophon artists Women classical violinists Norwegian women musicians Living people Musicians from Hamar Norwegian classical violinists Royal Danish Academy of Music alumni Zurich University of the Arts alumni