Arvid ENGEGARD

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Arvid Engegård was born in Bodø, North Norway in 1963. When he was eleven, Arvid led his first string quartet in concerts throughout Norway, and gave his first solo performance with orchestra in Mozart’s Piano Concerto KV 488. At the age of fourteen, Engegård won the Norwegian television Ole Bull Competition leading to concert tours of America.

Arvid took his instrumental diploma at the Trondheim Conservatory aged sixteen. At the same time he was soloist with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and Oslo Philharmonic as a Norwegian Young Concert Artist. Arvid continued his violin studies at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he won the school’s competition to perform as soloist with the Rochester Philharmonic. Whilst in America, Engegård participated in masterclasses with, amongst others, Isaac Stern.

Engegård appeared as soloist with Oslo Philharmonic performing Vieuxtemps’ Fifth Violin Concerto before going to study with Sándor Végh in Salzburg. A year after his arrival, Arvid was invited by Végh to lead Camerata Academica, a position he kept for eight years. Among many performances as leader and soloist with Camerata Academica, Arvid performed Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 in Vienna’s Musikverein. He also recorded the complete Divertimentos by Mozart (including several violin solos most notably the Haffner Serenade), as well as the complete Piano Concertos by Mozart with András Schiff. During the same period Engegård recorded Bartók Contrasts for Decca.

In 1991 Engegård was invited to be the leader of the Orlando String Quartet. The quartet was resident in Holland and performed regularly throughout Europe. Recordings from this period include Schnittke’s Third String Quartet, written for the Orlando String Quartet, Isang Yuns' String Quartet, and quartets by Haydn, Mozart, Grieg and Shostakovitch.

Arvid Engegård has appeared regularly at some of Europe’s most prestigious chamber music festivals, including Lockenhaus, the Salzburg Festival, Musiktage Mondsee, Mozartwoche, and the International Musician’s Seminar in Prussia Cove.

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