Marianne Thorsen

About Marianne Thorsen

Violinist Marianne Thorsen  enjoys a varied musical life as a performer. As a soloist, she has performed with the Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, all the Norwegian orchestras and many of the major orchestras in Scandinavia.

With a particular passion for chamber music, Marianne Thorsen was first violin of the Nash Ensemble from 2000–2015 and a founder member of the Leopold String Trio from 1991–2006, touring extensively and appearing at the BBC Proms as well as numerous festivals.

Other notable projects include regular collaborations with Norway’s renowned string orchestra TrondheimSolistene, with whom she recorded Mozart’s violin concertos nos. 3-5 to great critical acclaim, winning the Norwegian Spellemann prize in 2006. 2011–2014 also saw the release of five CDs of music by Halvorsen and Svendsen on the Chandos label, with Thorsen as soloist alongside the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Neeme Järvi.

Thorsen was Artistic Director of the Vinterfestspill festival in Røros, Norway from 2009 to 2013. Since 2006 she has been professor of violin at the Department of Music of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. Marianne plays on a violin by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini from 1745, kindly on loan from the Dextra Musica Foundation.