Ketil Bjørnstad
Encyclopedia
Ketil Bjørnstad is a Norwegian
pianist
and composer
. Initially trained as a classical pianist, Bjørnstad discovered jazz
at an early age and has embraced the emergence of "European jazz".
He is an artist on the ECM
record label, but has also published some 20 books (predominantly novels) and a number of poetry and essay collections.
He has collaborated with other ECM artists, including cellist David Darling
, drummer Jon Christensen
, and guitarist Terje Rypdal
.
and Robert Riefling
, and also in London and Paris. He showed great talent at a young age, and won the title of "Youth Piano Master" in 1966 and 1968. When he was 16, he made his debut as a concert pianist with Béla Bartók
's third piano concerto.
Bjørnstad subsequently turned towards jazz
and rock
, in close cooperation with the guitarist Terje Rypdal
, bassist Arild Andersen
, drummer Jon Christensen
and the American cellist David Darling. He has recorded more than 50 albums, for labels which include Universal
, Kirkelig Kulturverksted
and ECM
. He is particularly famous for the work "Living Patagonia" (1978), which features Cornelis Vreeswijk
and Lill Lindfors
. His most famous song is "Summer night by the fjord", sung by Ellen Westberg Andersen. Bjørnstad has released discs with a range of artists including Anneli Drecker
, Kristin Asbjørnsen, Kari Bremnes
, Lill Lindfors
, Randi Stene, :no:Lynni Treekrem, Frøydis Armand
, the Stavanger ensemble, Anders Wyller, Per Vollestad and Ole Paus
. He is internationally known for his Universal and ECM recordings, including The Sea, duo recordings with David Darling and Terje Rypdal
, Grace, with Anneli Drecker, Bendik Hofseth and Trilok Gurtu,Floating with bassist Palle Danielsson
and percussionist Marilyn Mazur
, which went to the top of the jazz charts in Germany, solo triple album Rainbow Sessions and The Light, with Randi Stene and Lars Anders Land, which led Gramophone magazine to compare Bjørnstad's songs to those of Leonard Cohen
. His most recent ECM album, Remembrance (2010), adds to his catalogue of his serene, meditative work.
Bjørnstad has worked in recent years with the Swedish cellist Svante Henryson
. In 2000 he wrote the millennium oratorio Himmel Rand (The edge of the sky), based on texts of the poet Stein Mehren
. He wrote commissions for the Molde International Jazz Festival in 2007 and for the Bjørnson Festival in 2008. He also wrote "Coast Lines" for the Canal Street Festival in Arendal in 2007 and "Hvalenes Song" for Vestfold International Festival in 2009. His music has often been used by film directors, including Ken Loach
and Jean-Luc Godard
. As a pianist he has toured all over the world, and visited jazz festivals including those in Montreal, Shanghai, Taipei, Rome, Nancy, Frankfurt, Leipzig, London, Molde and Kongsberg.
Ketil Bjørnstad first appeared as an author in 1972 with the poetry collection Alone. He has published about 30 books in all, including poems, novels and biography
. Among his earliest novels are Pavane and Bingo – a virtue of Essentials. His novel Oda!, which is based on the life of Oda Krohg
is regarded as a reference work on the bohemian scene in Kristiania (Oslo before 1924), and sits alongside his biography of Hans Jæger
. A translation of his biographical work The story of Edvard Munch
was published in English to coincide with a Munch retrospective exhibition. Among his other literary works are the critically acclaimed Villa Europe and the Victor-Alveberg trilogy, which consists of the novels Drift, Dream of the Sea and Road to Dhaka . Bjørnstad won the Riksmål prize in 1998 with Spiritual. The same year he wrote a satirical book about football, The journey to Gaul with Ole Paus. Mention must also be made of the millennium trilogy which comprises Fall, Ludvig Hassel's Tusenårsskiftet (Ludwig Hassel's Millennium) and Tesman.
Bjørnstad wrote the psychological thrillers The Custom Themes and Twilight. The events of the latter take place in the archipelago of Tvedestrand, where Bjørnstad lived in the 1970s and 80s. More recently, Bjørnstad wrote an award-winning trilogy about the young pianist Aksel Vinding. It consists of the novelsThe music,The River and Damen i Dalen (The Lady in the Valley).
Bjørnstad's literary breakthrough in Germany came in 2006 with Vindings Spiel (To the music) published by Suhrkamp / Insel. The influential critic Elke Heidenreich described the novel as "a perfect book" in her Lesen! program for ZDF, and it went straight into the bestseller list of Der Spiegel. The book was also Bjørnstad's literary breakthrough in France, and was awarded the Prix des lecteurs for 2008. To Music was published in English in 2009.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. Initially trained as a classical pianist, Bjørnstad discovered jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
at an early age and has embraced the emergence of "European jazz".
He is an artist on the ECM
ECM (record label)
ECM is a record label founded in Munich, Germany, in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a wide variety of recordings, and ECM's artists often refuse to acknowledge boundaries between genres...
record label, but has also published some 20 books (predominantly novels) and a number of poetry and essay collections.
He has collaborated with other ECM artists, including cellist David Darling
David Darling (musician)
David Darling is an American cellist and composer. He won the Grammy award for Best New Age Album in 2010. He has performed and recorded with artists such as Bobby McFerrin and Spyro Gyra in addition to putting out several solo and small ensemble albums as well as albums of his...
, drummer Jon Christensen
Jon Christensen
Jon Christensen is a Norwegian jazz percussionist.In the late 1960s he played alongside Jan Garbarek on several recordings by the composer George Russell....
, and guitarist Terje Rypdal
Terje Rypdal
Terje Rypdal is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. Most of his music has been released on albums of the German record label ECM. Rypdal has collaborated both as a guitarist and as a composer with other ECM artists such as Ketil Bjørnstad and David Darling...
.
Biography
Ketil Bjørnstad was trained as a classical pianist and studied with Amalie ChristieAmalie Christie
-Personal life:She was born in Vang, Hedmark as a daughter of professor Werner Hosewinckel Christie. She was a sister of officers Johan and Werner Christie, a grandniece of politician Hans Langsted Christie and Christian Christie, an aunt of Werner Christie and a second cousin of Jacob Christie...
and Robert Riefling
Robert Riefling
Robert Dankwart Leo Riefling was a Norwegian classical pianist and pedagogist. He was regarded among Scandinavia's leading pianists, and toured all over the western world...
, and also in London and Paris. He showed great talent at a young age, and won the title of "Youth Piano Master" in 1966 and 1968. When he was 16, he made his debut as a concert pianist with Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
's third piano concerto.
Bjørnstad subsequently turned towards jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, in close cooperation with the guitarist Terje Rypdal
Terje Rypdal
Terje Rypdal is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. Most of his music has been released on albums of the German record label ECM. Rypdal has collaborated both as a guitarist and as a composer with other ECM artists such as Ketil Bjørnstad and David Darling...
, bassist Arild Andersen
Arild Andersen
Arild Andersen is a Norwegian bass player.Born in Lillestrøm, Norway, he started out as a member of the Jan Garbarek Quartet , with Terje Rypdal and Jon Christensen...
, drummer Jon Christensen
Jon Christensen
Jon Christensen is a Norwegian jazz percussionist.In the late 1960s he played alongside Jan Garbarek on several recordings by the composer George Russell....
and the American cellist David Darling. He has recorded more than 50 albums, for labels which include Universal
Universal Records
Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...
, Kirkelig Kulturverksted
Kirkelig Kulturverksted
Kirkelig Kulturverksted is a Norwegian company and record label, founded in 1974 by Erik Hillestad. Among the musicians who have issued records on the label are Ketil Bjørnstad, Kari Bremnes, Erik Bye, Ole Paus, Sigvart Dagsland, Bjørn Eidsvåg, Knut Reiersrud, Deeyah and SKRUK....
and ECM
ECM (record label)
ECM is a record label founded in Munich, Germany, in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a wide variety of recordings, and ECM's artists often refuse to acknowledge boundaries between genres...
. He is particularly famous for the work "Living Patagonia" (1978), which features Cornelis Vreeswijk
Cornelis Vreeswijk
Cornelis Vreeswijk , was a singer-songwriter, poet and actor born in IJmuiden in the Netherlands.He emigrated to Sweden with his parents in 1949 at the age of twelve. He was educated as a social worker and hoped to become a journalist, but became increasingly involved in music, performing at...
and Lill Lindfors
Lill Lindfors
Lillemor "Lill" Lindfors is a Finland-Swedish/Swedish singer. Born in Helsinki, Finland she has been performing in Scandinavia with minor and major success since the 1960s. She debuted as a revue actress in Uddevalla in 1960 and the following year as a recording artist...
. His most famous song is "Summer night by the fjord", sung by Ellen Westberg Andersen. Bjørnstad has released discs with a range of artists including Anneli Drecker
Anneli Drecker
Anneli Marian Drecker is a German-Norwegian singer and actress from the city of Tromsø. She is the vocalist for the seminal dream pop band Bel Canto. In the fall of 2006 Bel Canto celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the first album with several concerts...
, Kristin Asbjørnsen, Kari Bremnes
Kari Bremnes
Kari Bremnes is a Norwegian singer and songwriter.She got an M.A. in language, literature , history and theater studies from the University of Oslo, and worked as a journalist for several years before deciding to dedicate herself to music full time.In 1987 she received the Spellemannprisen for the...
, Lill Lindfors
Lill Lindfors
Lillemor "Lill" Lindfors is a Finland-Swedish/Swedish singer. Born in Helsinki, Finland she has been performing in Scandinavia with minor and major success since the 1960s. She debuted as a revue actress in Uddevalla in 1960 and the following year as a recording artist...
, Randi Stene, :no:Lynni Treekrem, Frøydis Armand
Frøydis Armand
Frøydis Armand is a Norwegian actress. She is the daughter of actor Eilif Armand, and sister of Merete Armand and Gisken Armand, both actresses. She has been working at Nationaltheatret since 1972, acting in plays such as Henrik Ibsen's Little Eyolf, and Shakespeares Othello...
, the Stavanger ensemble, Anders Wyller, Per Vollestad and Ole Paus
Olé Paus
Ole Paus is a Norwegian singer-wongwriter, author, poet and actor. He is widely considered one of Norway's most popular musicians.-Background:...
. He is internationally known for his Universal and ECM recordings, including The Sea, duo recordings with David Darling and Terje Rypdal
Terje Rypdal
Terje Rypdal is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. Most of his music has been released on albums of the German record label ECM. Rypdal has collaborated both as a guitarist and as a composer with other ECM artists such as Ketil Bjørnstad and David Darling...
, Grace, with Anneli Drecker, Bendik Hofseth and Trilok Gurtu,Floating with bassist Palle Danielsson
Palle Danielsson
Palle Danielsson is a Swedish jazz double bassist born in Stockholm, Sweden, perhaps most notable for his work done with Keith Jarrett from 1974 to 1979, becoming a member of his European quartet for that period.-Career:...
and percussionist Marilyn Mazur
Marilyn Mazur
Marilyn Mazur is a percussionist, drummer, composer, vocalist, pianist, dancer and bandleader. She was born in New York and has lived in Denmark from age six. She is of Polish and African-American descent. Since 1975, she has worked as a percussionist with various groups, among them Six Winds with...
, which went to the top of the jazz charts in Germany, solo triple album Rainbow Sessions and The Light, with Randi Stene and Lars Anders Land, which led Gramophone magazine to compare Bjørnstad's songs to those of Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
. His most recent ECM album, Remembrance (2010), adds to his catalogue of his serene, meditative work.
Bjørnstad has worked in recent years with the Swedish cellist Svante Henryson
Svante Henryson
Svante Henryson is a composer, cellist, electric bassist and double bassist, active within jazz, classical music, and hard rock.-Childhood & Studies:Svante Henryson grew up in Umeå in northern Sweden...
. In 2000 he wrote the millennium oratorio Himmel Rand (The edge of the sky), based on texts of the poet Stein Mehren
Stein Mehren
Stein Mehren is a Norwegian poet, author, essayist and playwright. He made his literary debut as lyricist with Gjennom stillheten en natt...
. He wrote commissions for the Molde International Jazz Festival in 2007 and for the Bjørnson Festival in 2008. He also wrote "Coast Lines" for the Canal Street Festival in Arendal in 2007 and "Hvalenes Song" for Vestfold International Festival in 2009. His music has often been used by film directors, including Ken Loach
Ken Loach
Kenneth "Ken" Loach is a Palme D'Or winning English film and television director.He is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as homelessness , labour rights and child abuse at the...
and Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
. As a pianist he has toured all over the world, and visited jazz festivals including those in Montreal, Shanghai, Taipei, Rome, Nancy, Frankfurt, Leipzig, London, Molde and Kongsberg.
Ketil Bjørnstad first appeared as an author in 1972 with the poetry collection Alone. He has published about 30 books in all, including poems, novels and biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
. Among his earliest novels are Pavane and Bingo – a virtue of Essentials. His novel Oda!, which is based on the life of Oda Krohg
Oda Krohg
Oda Krohg, born Othilia Pauline Christine Lasson , was a Norwegian painter, and the wife of her teacher and colleague Christian Krohg....
is regarded as a reference work on the bohemian scene in Kristiania (Oslo before 1924), and sits alongside his biography of Hans Jæger
Hans Jæger
Hans Henrik Jæger was a Norwegian writer, philosopher and anarchist political activist who was part of the Oslo based bohemian group Kristianiabohêmen. He was prosecuted for his book Fra Kristiania-bohêmen and convicted to 60 days' imprisonment in a supreme court ruling in 1886...
. A translation of his biographical work The story of Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch was a Norwegian Symbolist painter, printmaker and an important forerunner of expressionist art. His best-known composition, The Scream, is part of a series The Frieze of Life, in which Munch explored the themes of love, fear, death, melancholia, and anxiety.- Childhood :Edvard Munch...
was published in English to coincide with a Munch retrospective exhibition. Among his other literary works are the critically acclaimed Villa Europe and the Victor-Alveberg trilogy, which consists of the novels Drift, Dream of the Sea and Road to Dhaka . Bjørnstad won the Riksmål prize in 1998 with Spiritual. The same year he wrote a satirical book about football, The journey to Gaul with Ole Paus. Mention must also be made of the millennium trilogy which comprises Fall, Ludvig Hassel's Tusenårsskiftet (Ludwig Hassel's Millennium) and Tesman.
Bjørnstad wrote the psychological thrillers The Custom Themes and Twilight. The events of the latter take place in the archipelago of Tvedestrand, where Bjørnstad lived in the 1970s and 80s. More recently, Bjørnstad wrote an award-winning trilogy about the young pianist Aksel Vinding. It consists of the novelsThe music,The River and Damen i Dalen (The Lady in the Valley).
Bjørnstad's literary breakthrough in Germany came in 2006 with Vindings Spiel (To the music) published by Suhrkamp / Insel. The influential critic Elke Heidenreich described the novel as "a perfect book" in her Lesen! program for ZDF, and it went straight into the bestseller list of Der Spiegel. The book was also Bjørnstad's literary breakthrough in France, and was awarded the Prix des lecteurs for 2008. To Music was published in English in 2009.
Discography
- Apning (PHILIPS) (1973)
- Berget det Bla (PHILIPS) (1974)
- Tredje Dag (PHILIPS) (1975)
- Lise Madsen, Moses og de Andre (with Ole Paus) (PHILIPS) (1975)
- Finnes du Noensteds I Kveld (PHILIPS) (1976)
- Selena (PHILIPS) (1977)
- Musikk for en Lang Natt (with Sigmund Groven) (PHILIPS) (1977)
- Leve Patagonia! (rockopera) (PHILIPS) (1978)
- Svart Piano (PHILIPS) (1979)
- Tidevann (PHILIPS) (1980)
- Och Manniskor ser Igen (for Lill Lindfors) (1980)
- La Elva Leve! (KOLIBRI) (1980)
- Tredvearskrigen (30-ars Krigen) (with Stavangerensemblet) (PHILIPS) (1981)
- Engler I Sneen (PHILIPS) (1982)
- Bjornstad / Paus / Hamsun (text: Knut Hamsunddikt, 1859–1952) (HETE BLIKK / SLAGER) (1983)
- Aniara (rockopera) (feat. Lill Lindfors) (1983)
- Mine Dager I Paris (HETE BLIKK / SLAGER) (1984)
- Preludes Vol. 1 (1984)
- Manniskors makt (for Lill Lindfors) (text: Edith Sodergran, 1892–1923) (1985)
- Natten (with Sissel Ingri Andersen) (HETE BLIKK) (1985)
- Preludes Vol. 2 (1985)
- Three Ballets (Pianology / Ophelias arrival / Minota) (1986)
- Karen Mowat-Suite (1988)
- The Shadow (featuring Randi Stene) (text: John Donne, 1562–1626) (KKV) (1990)
- Odyssey (KKV) (1990)
- Rift (rockopera) (SLAGER) (1991)
- Messe for en Saret Jord (Mass for a Wounded Earth) (KKV) (1992)
- Losrivelse (for Kari Bremnes) (text: Edvard Munch, 1863–1944) (KKV) (1993)
- Water StoriesWater Stories (Ketil Bjørnstad album)Water Stories is an album by Norwegian pianist Ketil Bjørnstad recorded in 1993 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 3 stars.-Track listing:# "Glacial Reconstruction" - 6:58# "Levels and Degrees" - 7:19...
(ECM) (1993) - Preludes (re-release) (HERMITAGE / SEPTEMBER) (1993)
- Pianology (re-release) (HERMITAGE / SEPTEMBER) (1994)
- Ophelias arrival / Minota (re-release) (HERMITAGE / SEPTEMBER) (1994)
- Svart Piano / Tredje Dag (re-release) (PHILIPS) (1994)
- For den som elsker (For Those Who Love) (with Froydis Armand) (text: Stein Mehren, 1935\u2013) (KKV) (1994)
- 30 Arskrigen (UNIVERSAL) (1994)
- Salomos Hoysang (for Lill Lindfors & Tommy Nilsson) (text: the Bible) (KKV) (1995)
- Sanger fra en Klode (for Per Vollestad) (GRAPPA) (1995)
- The SeaThe Sea (Ketil Bjørnstad album)-Track listing:# "I" - 6:58# "II" - 7:28# "III" - 4:40# "IV" - 8:49# "V" - 6:39# "VI" - 9:19# "VII" - 5:15# "VIII" - 2:39# "IX" - 5:47# "X" - 4:31# "XI" - 7:26# "XII" - 3:39*Recorded at Rainbow Studio in Oslo, Norway in September 1994-Personnel:...
(with David Darling, Terje Rypdal, Jon Christensen) (ECM) (1995) - Haugtussa (for Lynni Treekrem) (text: Arne Garborg, 1851\u20131924) (KKV) (1995)
- The Davidssalmer (with Anders Wyller, text: the Bible) (KKV) (1995)
- The RiverThe River (Ketil Bjørnstad album)The River is an album by Norwegian pianist Ketil Bjørnstad with American cellist David Darling recorded in 1996 and released on the ECM label in 1997.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 3 stars.-Track listing:# "I" - 6:58...
(with David Darling) (ECM) (1996) - Reisetid (SEPTEMBER) (1997)
- Ett liv (with Lill Lindfors, text: Edith Sodergran, 1892–1923) (KKV) (1998)
- The Sea IIThe Sea II-Track listing:# "Laila" - 5:26# "Outward Bound" - 4:52# "Brand" - 5:46# "The Mother" - 4:24# "Song for a Planet" - 4:04# "Consequences" - 6:28# "Agnes" - 4:26# "Mime" - 4:22# "December" - 3:18...
(with David Darling, Terje Rypdal, Jon Christensen) (GRAPPA / ECM) (1998) - The Rosenborg Tapes, Volume I—New Life (aka Nytt Liv) (TYLDEN & CO. / PHILIPS / SEPTEMBER) (1998)
- The Rosenborg Tapes, Volume II—20 variations on the Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp minor by J. S. Bach (TYLDEN & CO. / SEPTEMBER) (1999)
- Himmelrand \u2013 Tusenarsoratoriet (text: Stein Mehrens, 1935–) (BMG) (1999)
- EpigraphsEpigraphs (album)-Track listing:# "Epigraph No. 1" - 3:04# "Upland" - 4:04# "Wakening" - 4:10# "Epigraph No. 1, Var. 1" - 1:39# "Pavane" - 3:39# "Fantasia" - 1:59# "Epigraph No. 1, Var. 2" - 2:20# "The Guest" - 2:41# "After Celan" - 3:46...
(with David Darling) (ECM) (2000) - Grace (Recorded live at Vossa Jazz, 2000) (text: John Donne, 1562–1626) (EMARCY) (2001)
- Before the Light (NOVEMBER) (2001)
- Old (UNIVERSAL) (2001)
- Early Years (UNIVERSAL) (2002)
- The Nest (featuring Anneli Drecker) text: Harte Crane, 1899–1932) (EMARCY) (2003)
- Profeten (with Terje Rypdal and Ole Paus) (text: Kahlil Gibran, 1883–1931) (ABC-MEDIA) (2003)
- Seafarer's Song (UNIVERSAL JAZZ) (2004)
- Solskinnsdypet (featuring Kolbein Falkeid) (text: Kolbein Falkeid) (KKV) (2004)
- Floating (EMARCY) (2006)
- Rainbow Sessions (UNIVERSAL JAZZ) (2006)
- Devotions (UNIVERSAL JAZZ) (2007)
- Life in LeipzigLife in LeipzigLife in Leipzig is a live album by Norwegian pianist Ketil Bjørnstad and guitarist Terje Rypdal recorded in 2005 and released on the ECM label in 2008.-Reception:...
with Terje Rypdal (ECM, 2008) - The Light: Songs of Love and Fear (with Randi Stene and Lars Anders Tomter) (ECMECM (record label)ECM is a record label founded in Munich, Germany, in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a wide variety of recordings, and ECM's artists often refuse to acknowledge boundaries between genres...
) (2008) - Night Song (with Svante HenrysonSvante HenrysonSvante Henryson is a composer, cellist, electric bassist and double bassist, active within jazz, classical music, and hard rock.-Childhood & Studies:Svante Henryson grew up in Umeå in northern Sweden...
) (ECM, 2009) - RemembranceRemembrance (Ketil Bjørnstad album)Remembrance is an album by Norwegian pianist and composer Ketil Bjørnstad featuring saxophonist Tore Brunborg and drummer Jon Christensen recorded in 2009 and released on the ECM label in 2008.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Michael G...
(with Tore Brunborg and Jon Christensen) (ECM, 2009)
Books
- Ketil Bjørnstad. The story of Edvard Munch, London, UK: Arcadia, 2001. ISBN 1900850443.
- Ketil Bjørnstad. Villa Europa: novel, Oslo, Norway: Aschehoug, 1992 (Norwegian). ISBN 8203168728.
Awards
- SpellemannprisenSpellemannprisenSpellemannprisen is an award presented to Norwegian musicians for their contributions.-Operation:The award was established on the initiative of International Federation of the Phonographic Industry , an organization that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide...
1974 in the open class forBerget det blå - Sarpsborg Prize 1978
- Riksmål Society Literature PrizeRiksmål Society Literature PrizeThe Riksmål Society Literature Prize is awarded annually by the Riksmålsforbundet for the outstanding publication in riksmål...
1988 - Mads Wiel Nygaard's Endowment 1989
- Gammleng Prize in the open class in 2001
- The French reader prize Le prix des lecteurs for his novel To Music in 2008