Vilde Frang Bjærke (born 19 August 1986) is a
Norwegian classical 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.
Early life and education
Born 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, Frang began playing the violin by the
Suzuki method
The Suzuki method is a music curriculum and teaching philosophy dating from the mid-20th century, created by Japanese violinist and pedagogue Shinichi Suzuki (1898–1998). The method aims to create an environment for learning music which para ...
at the age of four.
In the years 1993–2002 she studied with
Stephan Barratt-Due, Alf Richard Kraggerud and
Henning Kraggerud at the
Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo.
Frang made her soloist debut at the age of ten with the
Norwegian Radio Orchestra.
In 1998 she was introduced to
Anne-Sophie Mutter, who became her mentor and later appointed her a scholarship holder in the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation.
She was aged twelve in 1999 when
Mariss Jansons engaged her as a soloist with the
Oslo Philharmonic
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 ...
.
From 2003 to 2009 Frang continued her studies in Germany, with
Kolja Blacher at Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg and
Ana Chumachenco at the
Kronberg Academy.
Frang received a 2007
Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship and also had lessons with
Mitsuko Uchida in London.
Career
In 2007, Frang's debut with the
London Philharmonic Orchestra in their Eastbourne series led to a re-engagement in the following season, under
Vladimir Jurowski at the
Royal Festival Hall.
In 2008, Vilde Frang signed exclusively to
EMI Classics
EMI Classics was a record label founded by Thorn EMI in 1990 to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogues for internationally distributed European classical music, classical music releases. After Thorn EMI demerged ...
(now
Warner Classics).
Her debut album was released in 2009 and received high praise from critics and audiences alike, and she was named EMI Classics' Young Artist of the Year 2010.
Her recordings for EMI / Warner Classics have received numerous awards including a Classical BRIT, Deutsche Schallplattenpreis twice, four ECHO Klassik Awards, two Edisson Klassiek Awards, Diapason d'Or and two
Gramophone Awards.
Winner of the 2012
Credit Suisse Young Artist Award, Frang performed the Sibelius violin concerto with the
Vienna Philharmonic under
Bernard Haitink at the Lucerne Festival.
In 2013 she made her
London Proms debut, playing the
Bruch Violin Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic under John Storgards at the
Royal Albert Hall. In 2016, Frang performed the
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, is his last concerto. Well received at its premiere, it has remained among the most prominent and highly-regarded violin concertos. It holds a central place in the violin repertoire and ha ...
with the
Berlin Philharmonic under
Simon Rattle as part of their Europe Concert in
Røros, Norway.
Frang has held a part-time professorship (''professor II'') at the
Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo since 2013. Until 2021 she has played an 1864
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume violin.
Since then she has performed on the 1734 'Rode' Guarneri 'del Gesù' violin, on loan from the Stretton Society.
Awards
* Leonie Sonnings Musikfonds (2003)
* Ritter-Stiftung Grand Prize (2007)
* Borletti-Buitoni Trust fellowship (2007)
*
The Prince Eugen Culture Prize
The Prince Eugen Culture Prize is named after the Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and ...
, 2007
The Danish Queen Ingrid‘s Honorary Prize (2009)
* The Norwegian soloist prize (2009)
*
Spellemannsprisen, Classical music. For ''Prokofiev & Sibelius: Violin Concertos''. 2009
*
Statoil's Classical Music Award (2010)
*Edison Klassiek Newcomer Award for ''Prokofiev & Sibelius: Violin Concertos .''2011
*
Echo Klassik Award, newcomer award violin for ''Grieg, Bartók & R.Strauss: Sonatas''. 2011
*
Classic Brit Newcomer Award for ''Prokofiev & Sibelius: Violin Concertos''. 2011
*
Crédit Suisse Young Artist Award (2012)
*Edison Klassiek Chamber Music Award for ''Grieg, Bartók & R. Straus: Sonatas.'' 2012
*
Echo Klassik Award (2013)
*
Echo Klassik Award (2015)
*
Echo Klassik Award (2016)
*
Gramophone Classical Music Award
The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and refe ...
(2016)
* Diapason d'or de l'année (2018) for ''Bartók Violin Concerto No. 1 & Enescu Octet''
*Grand Prix L'Acádemie Charles Cros (2018) for ''Bartók Violin Concerto No. 1 and Enescu Octet''
*BBC Music Magazine Award (Chamber Award) 2020 for ''Veress String Trio & Bartók Piano Quintet.''
*Gramophone Classical Music Award (Chamber Category) (2020) for ''Veress String Trio & Bartók Piano Quintet.''
*ICMA (International Classical Music Award) (Concertos Category) (2023) for ''Beethoven & Stravinsky Violin Concertos.''
Discography
* ''Prokofiev & Sibelius: Violin Concertos'' (2009). With WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln and Thomas Søndergård (conductor). EMI Classics
* ''Grieg, Bartók, R. Strauss: Violin Sonatas'' (2011). With Michail Lifits (piano). EMI Classics
* ''Nielsen & Tchaikovsky: Violin Concertos'' (2012). With Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Eivind Gullberg Jensen (conductor). EMI Classics
* ''Mozart: Violin Concertos 1&5 and Sinfonia Concertante'' (2015). With Arcangelo, Jonathan Cohen (conductor) and Maxim Rysanov (viola). Warner Classics
* ''Korngold & Britten: Violin Concertos'' (2016). With Frankfurt Radio Symphony and James Gaffigan (conductor). Warner Classics
* ''Homage'' (2017). With José Gallardo (piano). Warner Classics
* ''Bartók Violin Concerto No.1 & Enescu Octet'' (2018). With Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Mikko Franck (conductor), Erik Schumann, Gabriel Le Magadure, Rosanne Philippens, violins; Lawrence Power, Lily Francis, violas; Nicolas Altstaedt and Jan-Erik Gustafsson, cellos. Warner Classics
*''Veress: String Trio & Bartók: Piano Quintet'' (2019). With Barnabás Kelemen, violin; Katalin Kokas and Lawrence Power, violas; Nicolas Altstaedt, cello and Alexander Lonquich, piano. Alpha Classics
*''Paganini & Schubert: Works for violin and piano'' (2019). With Michail Lifits (piano). Warner Classics
*''Beethoven: Songs and Folksongs'' (2020). With Ian Bostridge (song), Antonio Pappano (piano) and Nicolas Altstaedt (cello). Warner Classics
*''Beethoven & Stravinsky: Violin Concertos (2022).'' With The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Pekka Kuusisto (conductor). Warner Classics
References
External links
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Vilde FrangAskonas Holt, Management
Vilde FrangEMI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frang, Vilde
Norwegian classical violinists
Spellemannprisen winners
21st-century classical violinists
Child classical musicians
Women classical violinists
Barratt Due Institute of Music alumni
Musicians from Oslo
1986 births
Living people
Norwegian expatriates in Germany
Academic staff of the Norwegian Academy of Music
Eurovision Young Musicians Finalists
21st-century Norwegian women musicians
20th-century Norwegian women musicians
20th-century classical violinists
20th-century Norwegian violinists