Brynjar Hoff

Brynjar Hoff is one of the best known Scandinavian musicians of our time. He started his career at the age of fifteen as first oboe with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. Having held for some years the same position at the Norwegian National Opera, he joined the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, where he was for 20 years co principal oboist. During these years he became a much wanted soloist and chamber musician. Today he is a freelance musician concentrating on individual performance. His repertoire covers most styles and genres, from the Baroque to the Contemporary. Thanks to his commissions and his active interest in the music of the present he has inspired the composition of more than sixty works for his instrument, which is one of the reasons why the Norwegian Society of Composers made him “Musician of the Year” in 1981. His tolerance and open mindedness also make him a popular performer of jazz and light music. During his career Brynjar Hoff has appeared frequently on radio and television and on the concert stages of his home country and of Great Britain, USA, Russia, Germany and Spain. His recitals in London’s Wigmore Hall in 1982 and in the Carnegie Recital Hall, New York, in 1986 are still remembered as musical summits. Brynjar Hoff has made more than 25 successful gramophone recordings, and in 1973 he was awarded the industry’s prize for the best Norwegian classical recording. A musician with a brilliant technique and a colourful sound. His expression and phrasing prove a profound musical understanding. [Mariss Jansons]