Born: Bergen, Norway
Education: Edsberg Institute of Music with Frans Helmerson, with Heinrich Schiff and Natalia Shakhovskaya
Awards: International Tchaikovsky Competition Moscow (1982); Cassado Cello Competition Florence (1983); UNESCO Award Bratislava (1983); Naumburg Competition New York (1986); Sibelius Prize (2010); Norwegian Critics Prize (2011)
Breakthrough: 1994: USA tour with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and Mariss Jansons
Subsequently: Orchestre de Paris, Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Münchner Philharmoniker, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, symphony orchestras of Philadelphia, Cleveland and Boston
Debut Rotterdam Philharmonic: 1993