Lars Anders Tomter

About Lars Anders Tomter

Lars Anders Tomter is one of the foremost viola players of our time, and is referred to as 'the giant of the Nordic viola'. He studied under Professor Leif Jørgensen at the Oslo Music Conservatory (now the Norwegian Academy of Music), and continued under Professors Max Rostal in Bern and Sándor Végh in Salzburg.

He was awarded a special prize for his interpretation of Bartók's Viola Concerto at the International Viola Competition in Budapest in 1984, and won the Maurice Vieux International Competition in Lille in 1986.

Tomter's extensive concert activities have included presentations of world premieres of concerti by Ragnar Söderlind, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Rolf Wallin, Lasse Thoresen and Anders Eliasson, all of which were written for him. His performances as an international viola soloist have been acclaimed by audiences and critics all over the world, in concert halls such as the Musikverein in Vienna and Royal Albert Hall in London.

Tomter is professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music and the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt.

He founded the Risør Chamber Music Festival and is artistic director of the Fjord Classics Chamber Music Festival in Sandefjord. He plays a Gasparo da Salo viola from 1590.