Terje Tønnesen (born 27 February 1955 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 ...

, Norway) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

classical violinist. His first marriage, from 1979 to 1986, was to the pianist Reidun Askeland (born 1957). In 1986 he married the actress

Hilde Grythe Hilde Grythe (born 18 July 1955) is a Norwegian actress. Grythe was born in Oslo to actress and stage director Kirsten Sørlie and television personality Odd Grythe, and is married to violinist Terje Tønnesen. She was appointed at the Molde ...

(born 18 July 1955), daughter of

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...

program host

Odd Grythe Odd Horn Grythe (14 November 1918 – 7 February 1995) was a Norwegian radio and television personality. Personal life He was born in Lillehammer as a son of a travelling salesman. He had four older siblings. From 1955 to 1958 he was married to ...

(1918–94) and film director

Kirsten Sørlie Kirsten Sørlie (5 October 1926 – 23 September 2013) was a Norwegian actress and stage director. Early and personal life Sørlie was born in Askim to engineer Erling Thorbjørn Sørlie and Elisabeth Gjersøe . She was married to Odd Grythe fr ...

(1926–2013).

Career

Tønnesen made a sensational debut at age 17 in 1972, "A dazzling debut with hardly any parallel", as it was described in the Oslo newspaper. After five years of study in Switzerland, in 1977 he began his positions both as artistic director of "Det Norske Kammerorkester" and as first concertmaster of the Oslo Filharmoniske Orkester. He also moves beyond the classical repertoire, including collaborations with fellow musical omnivore

Terje Rypdal Terje Rypdal (born 23 August 1947) is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. He has been an important member in the Norwegian jazz community, and has also given show concerts with guitarists Ronni Le Tekrø and Mads Eriksen as "N3". Career Rypdal ...

, and is among the leading violinists with a central position in the Norwegian musical scene. Tønnesen has won several international awards and has received both the Grieg Award and Kritikerprisen in Norway. He has toured in Europe, USA, China, and the Soviet Union and during his career worked with such musicians as

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was wel ...

Maurice André Maurice André (21 May 1933 – 25 February 2012) was a French trumpeter, active in the classical music field. He was professor of trumpet at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris where he introduced the teaching of the pic ...

, and

James Galway Sir James Galway (born 8 December 1939) is an Irish virtuoso flute player from Belfast, nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Flute". He established an international career as a solo flute player. In 2005, he received the Brit Award for Outstan ...

. He has also made solo appearances with all the Norwegian orchestras and many orchestras outside Norway.

Honors

*1979: Griegprisen *1979/80: Musikk-kritikerprisen *1992: Oslo City Culture Award *2000:

Spellemannprisen Spellemannprisen, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organizati ...

Discography (in selection)

As soloist

*1980: ''

Johan Halvorsen Johan Halvorsen (15 March 1864 – 4 December 1935) was a Norwegian composer, conducting, conductor and violinist. Life Born in Drammen, he was an accomplished violinist from a very early age and became a prominent figure in Norwegian musical ...

: Air Norvegien – Tre Norske Danser – Veslemøys Sang – Danse Visionaire – Norske Eventyrbilleder'' (Norsk Kulturråds Klassikerserie), with Filharmonisk Selskaps Orkester, conductor:

Karsten Andersen Karsten Anker Andersen (16 February 192015 December 1997) was a Norwegian conductor. Life Karsten Andersen was born in Fredrikstad. He graduated from the Oslo Music Conservatory (1938–39) and Accademia Musicale Chigiana (1947). He made his deb ...

*1980: ''

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

: The Complete Music for String Orchestra'' (BIS), with Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, conductor:

*1986: ''

Geir Henning Braaten Geir Henning Braaten (born 29 October 1944 in Odalen) is a Norwegian pianist. In Oslo, he studied with Nicolai Dirdal from age five, and later with Robert Riefling, both at the Oslo Conservatory of Music. He also studies in France with Yvonne ...

: Geir Henning Braaten/Terje Tønnesen'' (Simax catalog, Simax Classics), with

(piano) *1987: ''

: Undisonus'' (

ECM Records ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's a ...

), with the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

, conductor:

Christian Eggen Christian Eggen (born 8 January 1957) is a Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Dem ...

*1990: ''Grieg • Brustad • Halvorsen'' (Victoria), with Reidun Askeland (piano) &

Lars Anders Tomter Lars Anders Tomter (born 30 November 1959) is a Norwegian viola player. He plays on a 1590 Gasparo da Salò Gasparo da Salò (20 May 154214 April 1609) is the name given to Gasparo Bertolotti, one of the earliest violin makers and an expert ...

(viola) *1993: ''Edvard Grieg: Complete Violin Sonatas'' (Victoria), with Einar Henning Smebye (piano)

Collaborative works

;Within The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra *2008: ''Village Variations'' (Jaro Medien), with

Moscow Art Trio Moscow Art Trio (established in 1990) is a Russian trio comprising Arkady Shilkloper (French horn & flugelhorn), Misha Alperin (piano & vocals) and Sergey Starostin (vocals, clarinet & folkreeds), performing in the Classical/Jazz/Traditional mu ...

;With other projects *1993: ''Antonín Dvořák / Alexander Glasunow* / Robert Schumann: Musikalische Freundschaften – Grenzenlos (WestLB), *2000: ''Dvořák: Cello Concert'' (

Virgin Classics Virgin Classics was a record label founded in 1988 as part of Richard Branson's Virgin Records. The unit, along with EMI Classics, was acquired by Universal Music in 2012 as part of the takeover of the EMI Group, however the terms of the European ...

), with

Truls Mørk Truls Olaf Otterbech Mørk (born 25 April 1961) is a Norwegian Cello, cellist. Biography Mørk was born in Bergen, Norway to a cellist father, John Fritjof Mørk, and a pianist mother, Turid Otterbech. His mother began teaching him the piano wh ...

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra The Oslo Philharmonic (Oslo-Filharmonien) is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 187 ...

, conductor:

Mariss Jansons Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons (14 January 1943 – 1 December 2019) was a Latvian conductor best known for his interpretations of Mahler, Strauss and Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich. During his lifetime he was ...

*2004: ''Cello Concert'' (Virgin Classics), with Truls Mørk (5xCD)

References

External links

* at the

Det Norske Kammerorkester Det Norske Kammerorkester or The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra (established in 1977) is a chamber orchestra based in Oslo. Biography The orchestra was founded by the violinist Bjarne Fiskum who got the idea for a summer course for young string ta ...

site
Terje Tønnesen Biography
at

Norsk Biografisk Leksikon is the largest Norwegian biographical encyclopedia. The first edition (NBL1) was issued between 1921 and 1983, including 19 volumes and 5,100 articles. It was published by Aschehoug with economic support from the state. bought the rights to ...

(in Norwegian) 1955 births Norwegian classical violinists Male classical violinists Spellemannprisen winners ECM Records artists Grappa Music artists Simax Classics artists Living people Musicians from Oslo 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century Norwegian male musicians {{Norway-musician-stub