Norwegian pianist Einar Steen-Nøkleberg’s international career has lasted over five decades, and has included repeated solo recitals worldwide. Concerto performances include appearances with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic and the China Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as other major orchestras in Europe and Asia.
Steen-Nøkleberg has pursued an extensive teaching career since 1970. From 1975 to 1981 he was professor of piano at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Hannover, an appointment which made him Germany’s youngest professor, and returned from 1994 to 2012, and taught in Oslo from 1981 to 2014. He frequently holds masterclasses at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg and the École Normale de Musique de Paris ‘Alfred Cortot’, as well as courses around the world. Much in demand internationally as a teacher, from 2014 he has also regularly given masterclasses in Beijing, China and European countries including Norway, Poland, Russia, Estonia, Romania and Spain among many others. In addition, he has judged many international piano competitions. He is founder and president of the Norwegian section of the European Piano Teachers Association and the Oslo Grieg Society, the Edvard Grieg Memorial Competition for Composers and the Concours Grieg for pianists in Oslo.
Steen-Nøkleberg has released more than 50 recordings. His recording of the Grieg Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra was praised by BBC Radio 4 Saturday Review and his monumental recording of Grieg’s complete piano music has received international acclaim. In addition to his extensive recording projects, Steen-Nøkleberg has written Onstage with Grieg (Indiana University Press), and is editor and co-editor of Grieg’s Piano Music for the Gustav Henle Verlag. Highlights of Steen-Nøkleberg’s many prizes and distinctions include the Norwegian Critics Prize for Best Performance in 1975, the Lindeman Prize for Performer of the Year in 1984 as well as the Grieg Prize of Bergen (1985) and Oslo (1992). He is a Knight of the Order of St Olav as appointed by the King of Norway for his activities in Norwegian music.