Bjarte Engeset

About me

• Engeset conducts Edvard Grieg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kpqALC8IbI

Bjarte Engeset (Born in Ørsta, Norway) studied conducting with Jorma Panula at the Sibelius Academy (diploma exam in 1989). In 1991 he attended the Tanglewood Music Center in the USA, with teachers such as Seiji Ozawa and Gustav Meier. 

In the period 2014-2020, Engeset was the artistic director of the Royal Norwegian Navy's Wind Band. Engeset has previously been chief conductor and artistic director of the Ålesund Symphony Orchestra, Tromsø Symphony Orchestra, Norwegian Wind Ensemble and DalaSinfoniettan, and has been a permanent guest conductor with the Flemish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Brusells Philharmonic). He has also been artistic director of the Northern Lights Festival, Opera Nord and the festival Fjord Cadenza. 

Engeset has conducted all the professional orchestras in Norway, including the Norwegian Opera & Ballet. He has also guest conducted a substantial number of leading orchestras in the Nordics, Europe and the USA, including orchestras like the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. 

Engeset has recorded more than 40 CDs, a large part of which is with music by Norwegian composers such as Johan Svendsen, Christian Sinding, Ludvig Irgens-Jensen, Oscar Borg and Geirr Tveitt. For the company Naxos, he has recorded all of Edvard Grieg's works for orchestra (8 CDs) with the Royal Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Malmö Symphony Orchestra. Engeset has also recorded music by, among others, Carl Nielsen, Jean Sibelius, Sergej Prokofjev and Percy Grainger, in addition to contemporary composers such as Nils Lindberg, Piet Swerts, Herman Vogt and Magne Hegdal. 

Since 2014, Engeset has been Editor in Chief of the project Norwegian Music Heritage, which produces critical editions of Norwegian music. 

Bjarte Engeset is currently professor of conducting at the University of Stavanger and head of the faculty's conducting section. He has been associated with UiS since 2019. Engeset has for a number of years led master classes in conducting at home and abroad. In recent years, he has, for example, taught at the Conductor's Week in Stavanger (since 2013), at the Norwegian initiative "Dirigentløftet", at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and at the Royal Conservatoire in Brussels.

Ongoing Research:

Conducting Technique and Expressivity

Memorization Methods

Fartein Valen: Le cimetière marin (Critical edition)

Johan Svendsen: Style of Notation

Oscar Borg: Marches

Selected Publications

Johan Svendsen: Nytt liv til eit musikalsk livsverk. (Studia Musicologica Norvegica 2011 ISSN Print: 0332-5024)

Naturrealisme og naturmystikk i Geirr Tveitt si orkestrering av Hardingtonesuitene. (Troldhaugens skriftserie, hefte 2. Bergen 2003. s. 190-209. ISBN13 9788291738383)

Mellom konger og kommunister ? Historien om Johan Svendsens Kroningsmarsj, op. 13  (I storm og stille, Forsvarets Musikk 1818-2018, s. 254-273, Oslo 2018. ISBN 978-82-303-3927-5)

JSV-nummer. Det nye nummereringssystemet for Johan Svendsen sine verk (2014). Published at www.musikkarven.no

Opusnummer til Johan Svendsen sine verk (2014). Published at www.musikkarven.no

Edvard Grieg's Orchestral Style (Grieg Society 2011). Published at www.griegsociety.com

Geirr Tveitt: Suite 4 (Brudlauspsuiten) (Critical Edition by Bjarte Engeset) Forlag: Privat.

Eivind Groven: Hjalarljod ( Critical Edition by Peter Szilvay and  Bjarte Engeset)

Johan Halvorsen: Fiolinkonsert (Critical Edition by Bjarte Engeset and  Jørn Fossheim)

Johan Svendsen: Andante sostenuto av Franz Schubert (Critical Edition by Jørn Fossheim and  Bjarte Engeset)

Johan Svendsen: Arrangementer for strykeorkester (Critical Edition by Jørn Fossheim and  Bjarte Engeset)

Johan Svendsen: Karneval i Paris, op. 9 (Critical Edition by Jørn Fossheim and  Bjarte Engeset)

Johan Svendsen: Cellokonsert i D-dur, op. 7 (Critical Edition by Bjarte Engeset and  Jørn Fossheim)

Johan Svendsen: Festpolonese, op. 12 (Critical Edition by Jørn Fossheim and  Bjarte Engeset)

Johan Svendsen: Festmarsj (Due) (Critical Edition by Jørn Fossheim and  Bjarte Engeset)

Johan Svendsen: Fiolinkonsert i A-dur, op. 6 (Critical Edition by Bjarte Engeset and Jørn Fossheim)

Johan Svendsen: Norsk Kunstnerkarneval, op. 14 (Critical Edition by Jørn Fossheim and  Bjarte Engeset)

Johan Svendsen: Norsk Springdans (Critical Edition by Jørn Fossheim and  Bjarte Engeset)

Johan Svendsen: Originalverker for strykeorkester (Critical Edition by/ Jørn Fossheim and  Bjarte Engeset)

Johan Svendsen: Persisk dans (Critical Edition by Jørn Fossheim and  Bjarte Engeset)

Johan Svendsen: Polonese, op. 28 (Critical Edition by Jørn Fossheim and  Bjarte Engeset)

Johan Svendsen: Prélude (Critical Edition by Jørn Fossheim and  Bjarte Engeset)

Johan Svendsen: Sigurd Slembe, op 8 (Critical Edition by Jørn Fossheim and  Bjarte Engeset)

Johan Svendsen: Strykeoktett, op. 3 (Critical Edition by Bjarte Engeset and  Jørn Fossheim)

Johan Svendsen: Symfoni nr. 1 i D-dur, op. 4 (kritisk utgave v/ Bjarte Engeset and Jørn Fossheim)

Johan Svendsen:Sæterjentens Søndag av Ole Bull (Fiolin og strykeorkester) (Critical Edition by Jørn Fossheim and Bjarte Engeset)

Johan Svendsen: Sørgemarsj, op. 10 (Critical Edition by Jørn Fossheim and Bjarte Engeset)

Johan Svendsen: Sørgemarsj av J.P.E. Hartmann (Critical Edition by Jørn Fossheim and Bjarte Engeset)

Johan Svendsen: Träume av Richard Wagner (Critical Edition by Jørn Fossheim and Bjarte Engeset)

Johan Svendsen: Wergelandkantate, op. 25 (Critical Edition by Jørn Fossheim and Bjarte Engeset)

Fartein Valen: Nenia for orkester, op. 18 (Critical Edition by Bjarte Engeset)

Fartein Valen: La Isla de las Calmas for orkester, op. 21 (Critical Edition by Bjarte Engeset)

Working experience:

Conducting Positions

2014-2020          Den Kongelige Norske Marines Musikkorps. Artistic Director and Principal Conductor

2007-2112           DalaSinfoniettan, Sweden. Artistic Director and Principal Conductor

2003-2006          Det Norske Blåseensemble. Artistic Director and Principal Conductor

2001-2004          Vlaamse Radio Orkest (Brussels Philharmonic), Belgium. Associated Guest Conductor

1994-2006          Tromsø Symfoniorkester. Artistic Director and Principal Conductor

1985-1998           Ålesund Symfoniorkester. Artistic Director and Principal Conductor (Også 2013-2015). Fra 2016: Honorary Conductor

1982-1984           Bergen Musikkonservatoriums Orchestra and Choir. Principal Conductor

1981-1985           Bergen Operaorkester. Principal Conductor

Guest conducing 1981-2024

Baltimore Symph. Orchestra, USA

Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, Serbia

Bergen Filharmoniske orkester

BIT 20

Bohuslav Martinu S. Orch Zlin, Czech Republic

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, England

Collegium Musicum Bergen

Czech Philharmonic orchestra, Czech Republic

Den Norske Opera

Det Norske Blåseensemble

Det Norske Kammerorkester

Estonian State Symphony Orchestra, Estonia

Filarmonica de stat Brasov, Romania

Filharmonie Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Finland

Forsvarets Musikkorps Nord-Norge

Forsvarets Musikkorps Trøndelag

Forsvarets Musikkorps Vestlandet

Forsvarets Stabsmusikkorps

Gävleborg Symfoniorkester, Sweden

Göteborg Symfoniorkester, Sweden

Göteborg Wind Orchestra, Sweden

Helsingborg Symfoniorkester, Sweden

Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Finland

Ilios-Ensemblet

Island Symfoniorkester, Iceland

Joensuu City Orchestra, Finland

Jönköping Sinfonietta, Sweden

Kringkastingsorkesteret

Kristiansand Symfoniorkester

Kuopio City Orchestra, Finland

Lappeenranta City Orchestra, Finland

Liepaja Symphony Orchestra, Latvia

Malmö Symfoniorkester, Sweden

Marinemusikken (Kongelige Norske Marines Musikkorps)

Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Mexico

Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra, Mexico

Mikkeli City Orchestra, Finland

Moscow Radio Orchestra, Russia

National Philharmonic of Russia, Russia

NDR-Orchester, Hannover, Germany

Norrköping Symfoniorkester, Sweden

Norsk Barokkorkester

North Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Iceland

Odense Symfoniorkester, Denmark

Operaen i Kristiansund

Orchestra del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Italy 

Orchestra of the National Gallery, Washington, USA

Oslo Filharmoniske orkester

Oulu City Orchestra, Finland

Pärnu Symphony Orchestra, Estonia

Pori Sinfonietta, Finland

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, England

Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scotland

Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Slovakia

Sofia State Symphony Orchestra, Bulgaria

Stavanger Symfoniorkester

St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Russia

St. Petersburg Radio Orchestra, Russia

Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester, Sweden

Szombathely Symphony Orchestra, Hungary

Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester, Denmark

Tanglewood MI Orchestra, USA

Tapiola Sinfonietta, Finland

Tromsø Symfoniorkester

Trondheim Symfoniorkester

Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Finland

Umeå Symfoniorkester, Sweden

Vaasa City Orchestra, Finland

Vlaams Radio Orkest (Flemish Radio Orchestra), Belgium

Värmland Sinfonietta, Sweden

Warzsawa Philharmonic Orchestra, Poland

Xalapa Philharmioc Orchestra, Mexico

Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Croatia