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Eivind Gullberg Jensen

Conductor

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“Eivind Gullberg Jensen – bookmark that name – displays a fine sensitivity for balance and rhythm.”
(Norman Lebrecht)

Artistic & General Director: Bergen National Opera
Chief Conductor: North Netherlands Orchestra (from 2022/23)

Eivind Gullberg Jensen is equally comfortable on the concert platform as the opera house stage, having been appointed Chief Conductor of Noord Nederlands Orkest (starting from 2022/23 season) and Artistic and General Director of Bergen National Opera since 2021. An experienced conductor with an extensive repertoire range, he was the Chief Conductor of the NDR Radiophilharmonie for five years and is recognised for his knowledgeable and insightful interpretations.

Jensen begins the season with a debut in Shenzhen as a part of the local Belt and Road International Festival. Having recently extended his contract with Noord Nederlands Orkest, he has his first performance of the season with them in November in a programme of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique and Tchaikovsky’s Concerto for Violin with soloist Guy Braunstein. Other performances with the NNO this season include performances with soloists bassoonist Bram van Sambeek, violinist Noa Wildschut, and mezzo-soprano Karin Strobos. He will also be conducting several of the orchestra’s traditional New Year’s concerts throughout January. Jensen also continues his tenure as Artistic Director of Bergen National Opera, playing a significant role in Norwegian cultural life.

A highlight of the season includes a re-invitation from the Royal Danish Theatre for performances of Bent Sørensen’s Asle og Alida from April to June 2025. Jensen also makes his debut with Opéra et Orchestre National de Montpellier in December 2024 alongside pianist Jonathan Fournel who will be playing Rachmaninov’s Concerto for Piano No.1. Additionally, Jensen will be making his debut with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in March 2025 with a programme including Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending and Britten’s Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes.

Last season included appearances with Orchestra Philharmonique de Monte Carlo with violinist Valeriy Sokolov, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, NDR Radiophilharmonie and Orchestre National Des Pays de la Loire. With Noord Nederlands Orkest, he conducted the world premiere of a Violin Concerto by Karmit Fadael with Pieter Van Loenen as soloist.

Jensen has notably conducted Berliner Philharmoniker, Münchner Philharmoniker and WDR Sinfonieorchester in Germany, Philharmonia Orchestra in London, Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Royal Stockholm and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic orchestras, Orchestre de Paris and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. In recent seasons, Jensen has debuted in North America with Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, alongside appearances with Utah Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Minnesota and Oregon symphony orchestras. He returned to Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, Kristiansand Symfoniorkester, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Aarhus Symphony Orchestra.

Recently he has worked with internationally renowned soloists such as Gil Shaham, Leif Ove Andsnes, Truls Mørk, Alice Sara Ott, Javier Perianes, Hélène Grimaud, Gautier Capuçon, Sol Gabetta, Alban Gerhardt, Hilary Hahn, Gabriela Montero, Emmanuel Pahud, Yefim Bronfman, Alexander Toradze, Vadim Repin, Viktoria Mullova, Renaud Capuçon, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Mari Eriksmoen, Charlotte Hellekant, Albert Dohmen and Guy Braunstein.

Opera has been a strong presence throughout Jensen’s career. In 2008, he shared a production of Fidelio with Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Claudio Abbado, to critical acclaim. Other opera highlights include Festival d’Aix-en-Provence with the new Simon McBurney production of The Rake’s Progress, the Wiener Staatsoper with Tosca and Rusalka, Opéra de Lille with Die Zauberflöte and Der fliegende Holländer, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma with Rusalka, English National Opera with Janáček’s Jenůfa, Il corsaro and Rusalka for Opernhaus Zürich, as well as Rusalka, Eugene Onegin and La bohème (in Stefan Herheim’s production) at Den Norske Opera.

Eivind Gullberg Jensen studied conducting in Stockholm with Jorma Panula, and in Vienna with Leopold Hager. Previously, he studied violin and musical theory in Trondheim, Norway.

HarrisonParrott represents Eivind Gullberg Jensen for worldwide general management.

Gallery

Eivind Gullberg Jensen - Sibelius: Symphony No.1 (Excerpt) © Berliner Philharmoniker / Digital Concert Hall

“Gullberg Jensen succeeded impressively on this evening. This Bruckner was eruptive, intense and lush, but at no point was it in danger of getting out of hand. The Radiophilharmonie’s flexibility and tonal shadings in response to Gullberg Jensen’s precise instructions were highly focussed and full of tension.”

Online-Merker, March 2024

“Eivind Gullberg depicts all the subtleties, like a vibrant painting of light and color. […] Everything is wonderfully synchronized, the harmony is crisp and clear, masterful use of tempo, wit and emotion are everywhere. […] Eivind Gullberg is a skilled music coordinator. He is not an old-fashioned conductor, rather he is the link between the soloist and the orchestra. With his humble attitude towards the soloist and this wonderful orchestra, he shapes the understanding that gives this music its full development.”

Crescendo OMPC, Carlo Schreiber, January 2024

“Has Norway ever had a conductor of Gullberg Jensen’s format? Hardly, because only the very best get away with the Berlin Philharmonic and it had been generations since a Norwegian last passed the narrow eye of the needle. Without a conductor’s stick and unnecessary facts, we immediately noticed an airy, transparent orchestral sound and distinct, elegant phrasing. The interaction with Andsnes was striking and the interpretation of the intricate Stravinsky work became just as virtuoso playful as one might wish. And then Gullberg Jensen dropped the score and gave us a dramatic version of Mozart’s 40^th symphony in G minor. Gullberg Jensen’s inspiring management ensured a terrific end to the concert.”

(Fædrelandsvennen, May 2021)

‘The orchestra has a leading role in Sour Angelica, and it was impressive to hear the full and warm sound brought out by conductor Eivind Gullberg Jensen. Puccini uses heavy layers of string harmonies, so even with the somewhat reduced numbers of string players, Gullberg Jensen managed to keep the lyrical tension throughout his conducting.’

(Aftenposten, October 2020)

“Under the energetic and precise baton of the Norwegian conductor Eivind Gullberg-Jensen, the orchestra constantly breathes with the singers in a narration which intertwines the many instruments, the artists of the choirs and the solo voices.”

(Brigitte Cormier, March 2020, Forum Opera)

“Eivind Gullberg Jensen conducts the Symphoniker Hamburg with that mixture of intelligence and sense of sound, of elegance and fire, that the much-heard gigantic D Minor Symphony begins to speak at once — not from a distant early 19^th century, but straight from the here and now.”

(Welt, January 2019)

“He has all the qualities for an excellent opera conductor: an authoritative conducting technique, the power to lead an orchestra tightly and multifaceted to drive the music forward and draw delicate moods as well as to savour dramatic climaxes. And he leads the singers with empathy, breathing with them.”

(Karlheinz Roschitz, KRONEN ZEITUNG, November 2018)

“Norwegian conductor Eivind Gullberg Jensen made the piece flow with his graceful gestures, indeed it was extraordinary to see such angular almost aggressive music expressed so smoothly.”

(Bachtrack, November 2016)

“It was a joyride: taut, together, highly effective orchestral playing under the confident and relaxed baton of Eivind Gullberg Jensen, with soloist Lugansky clearly a master of his art.”

(Edinburgh49, November 2016)

“As for young Mr Jensen, I’d be thrilled if he was invited back after his culminating and climactic direction on Saturday, which conjured from the RSNO a glorious account of Rachmaninov’s Third Symphony, quivering with volatility from top to tail.”

(Herald Scotland, November 2016)

“Jensen shaped it [Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 3] with overall fluidity, yet ensured that every phrase was purposefully sculpted, making for a performance of freshness and vigour. ”

(John Allison, The Telegraph, November 2016)

“…it was hard to be disappointed with a concert containing music-making of such consistent vitality under the very dynamic leadership from young Norwegian conductor Eivind Gullberg Jensen.”

(Simon Holden, Backtrack, May 2015)