Helge Kjekshus is in the primary league of young Norwegian soloists. In 1990 he graduated from the Norwegian State Academy of Music. He continued studies with professor Jiri Hlinka at the Grieg Academy of Music in Bergen and with Boris Berman at Yale University. In a review from the 1993 Bergen International Festival, Octavio Roca of the Washington Post reported Helge Kjekshus to be “a pianist who must be counted as one of the festival’s most exciting discoveries”. Kjekshus received standing ovations for his performances with St Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, Bern Symphony Orchestra, Copenhagen Philharmonic, and with major orchestras throughout Scandinavia and the Baltic. Conductor partners have been reputed maestros like Paavo Berglund, Dimitri Kitayenko, Alexander Dimitriev, Alexander Kantorow, Janos Furst, Owain Arwel Hughes and Andras Ligeti. As a recognized recitalist Kjekshus has performed on international chamber music festivals and in recitals in Norway, Germany, Switzerland, UK, North America, Korea and Japan. As a devoted chamber musician he has succesfully performed with Ana Chumachenko, Paul Meyer, Truls Mork, Henning Kraggerud and Boris Pergamenchikow. In 1997 Kjekshus performed Norwegian music for Smithsonian Institution / National Public Radio and Washington DC. Other engagements include solo recitals in Norway, Korea and Japan and duo recitals with Henning Kraggerud in Ireland, Germany and Switzerland. From 1995 Helge Kjekshus has a sponsor agreement with STATOIL.
His CD recording for NAXOS with Henning Kraggerud (Grieg: Sonatas for violin and piano) has been exceptionally well received by critics.