As a musician, what is your definition of success?

Making a living through music and having family and friends around. It’s not so important how prestigious or not, so long as you feel what you are doing is meaningful – for yourself and for others.

What do you consider to be the most important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians?

I am a strong believer in diversity – studying several genres and styles will develop skills in all kinds of music (I am currently trying to prove how jazz-learning approaches can be beneficial in classical music through my doctoral research project). I am classically trained with a Master’s in performance from Norway and New York and I have gone through all the stuff that any other pro pianist has, but I still feel that modern classical performers (myself included) should be encouraged to reconquer skills from the golden romantic age such as improvisation, spontaneity and freedom of expression. That is the (retrospective) future of classical music in my humble opinion.

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