Havard Gimse

Håvard Gimse was born in 1966 at Kongsvinger and has established himself as one of Scandinavia’s leading international pianists. After gaining his diploma at the Berlin Hochschule der Künste in 1995, he continued his studies with Jiri Hlinka in Norway. Gimse’s New York Lincoln Center début in 1994 with the Riverside Symphony was acclaimed by critics and excellent reviews also greeted his appearances as a soloist with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra on tour in Great Britain, with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra on tour to Austria, and with the Janáček Philharmonic in Tokyo. Håvard Gimse has appeared as a soloist with leading orchestras in Scandinavia and throughout Europe, as well as in Latin America, collaborating with conductors of great distinction. His first concert in the United States in late 2003 won the highest critical praise, with The New York Sun praising him as ‘another Nordic deity’. He has appeared at international festivals in many musical centres in Europe and as far afield as Mexico, while continuing an active career in chamber music that has taken him to major recital venues in London, Amsterdam, Prague and Berlin. Since 1997 he has served as an assistant programme manager for the Oslo Chamber Music Festival. Håvard Gimse was awarded the prestigious Grieg Prize in 1996, while earlier awards include first prize in the 1987 Jugend Musiziert and the 1995 Steinway Prize. He has recorded for a number of major companies and for Naxos has recorded the complete piano music of Sibelius as well as Grieg’s Piano Concerto, and, with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, concertos by Geirr Tveitt.