Piano Recital by Ingfrid Breie Nyhus, Norway at Shanghai Oriental Art Center·Performance Hal

Grieg: Norwegian Folk Songs and Dances
Olav Kielland: Villarkorn OP. 13

Grieg: Peasant Dances
*program subject to change


Captivating concert pianist, Ms Ingfrid Breie Nyhus, is a particularly sensitive musician. She grew up in Norway in a family that values strong folk music traditions and classical music side by side. Nyhus is a dedicated chamber musician, a piano soloist, and an advocate of contemporary music, classical music and folk music, alike.

Nyhus has received prestigious awards such as first prize at the Norwegian Piano Competition and the Norwegian Soloist Prize. She has been awarded for the best Geirr Tveitt interpretation and received the Norwegian State Artist Scholarship. Other scholarships Nyhus has been the recipient of include: RWE-Dea, Roenning, Fegersten and Klaestad.

Nyhus studied classical piano at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, Norway, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland, and Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover, Germany. She has studied under teachers such as Jens Harald Bratlie, Håvard Gimse, Markus Groh, Hui-Ying Tawaststjerna and Mi-Joo Lee. On graduation, her diploma jury praised her personal, vivid musicality, both poetic and virtuosic, with imaginative and unexpected interpretations.

Orchestras that Nyhus has given concerts with include: Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, and Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra. She has performed as part of festivals and series such as the Risør Chamber Music Festival, the Bergen International Festival, the Ultima Festival, Sandvika Master Series, Bebersee Soireen Berlin, and Schwetzinger Festspiele, among others.

The solo debut album Grieg Peasant Dances (Simax 2007) was applauded by the press, nominated to the Norwegian Grammy, and awarded Record of the Year by the Great Britain Grieg Society. Ingfrid Breie Nyhus recorded the album on Grieg’s own Steinway at his home Troldhaugen, employing her background in both classical and folk music, as Grieg’s pieces are inspired by the Hardanger fiddle tunes. The peasant dances are played by her sister on the Hardanger fiddle. Nyhus has also recorded contemporary music for MERE Records, and folk music for Heilo.

A core area in Ingfrid Breie Nyhus’ repertoire is Norwegian piano music inspired by folk music traditions. She has been granted an artistic, performance research position at the Norwegian Academy of Music and from 2011 to 2014 she will be studying this repertoire, its folk music connections and its interpretational possibilities even more deeply. In addition to interpreting the existing repertoire, she will be making new versions of the works, and commissioning and premiering new piano pieces in the same line of folk music inspiration.