Eldbjørg Hemsing

A champion of Norway's rich musical tradition, Eldbjørg Hemsing has been a household name in her native country since childhood and made her solo debut with the Bergen Philharmonic at the age of 11. After winning various international competitions and prizes at the age of 18 her desire was to continue intensive studies with Boris Kuschnir in Vienna, during which time she fine-tuned her performance-style and absorbed a wide-range of repertoire ranging from Bach, Beethoven, Bartok to Tan Dun. Together with Tan Dun she has collaborated on numerous projects in both Europe and Asia and has most recently premiered and recorded composer’s violin concerto “Fire Ritual – A Musical Ritual for Victims of Wars”, together with the Oslo Philharmonic.

In March 2018 Eldbjørg Hemsing released her debut CD on the Swedish label, BIS, featuring violin concertos by Hjalmar Borgström and Dmitri Shostakovich, recorded with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and Olari Elis. The rediscovery of Hjalmar Borgström has since then become her strong mission to bring the concert back to concert stages.

In introducing Eldbjørg wrote: ”A few years ago, I was introduced to the music of Hjalmar Borgström, a name I was not previously familiar with and I was surprised to learn that he had been famous as both a composer and critic in Norway at the beginning of the 20th century. Opening the score of his first violin concerto for the first time I was immediately intrigued. This concerto, written in 1914, is incredibly beautiful, full of Norwegian Nationalist sentiment so typical of its time but also worthy of international attention. It reminds me of where I come from - the rugged landscape of Valdres and Jotunheimen, where the surrounding mountains rise dramatically over the valleys - and the music makes me yearn for my roots. After Borgström’s death in 1925 the concerto was completely forgotten and so today I am on something of a mission to help do my part in bringing this composer’s music back to life.”

Her 2019 / 20 season highlights included her début with the Luzerne Symphony, TON Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, Argovia Philharmonic and Slovene Philharmonic, as well as the re-engagements with orchestras in Europe and Asia. Eldbjørg Hemsing will furthermore perform the Chinese, Swiss, Canadian and German premiere of the forgotten Borgström violin concerto. With recitals Eldbjørg Hemsing also makes her debut in the prestigious ElbPhilharmonie Hamburg as well as at the Dresdner Festspielle.

In addition to a busy performance schedule, Eldbjørg Hemsing is actively involved in societal projects. She is an ambassador for the German music education project CJD Panorama in Germany, a regular collaborator with W20 Network as well as several international art focused conference (Karajan Music Tech, Abu Dhabi Culture Summit, Nordic Arts & Audience conference, etc.) 

Eldbjørg Hemsing plays a 1754 G. B. Guadagnini violin on kind loan from the Dextra Musica Foundation.