Autumn 2010: KB on tour: Berlin 6 September (presenting the German version of Damen i Dalen – Die Frau im Tal). Nordhausen 7 September (Lesung), Köln 8 September (solo piano. St. Mauritius Kirche). Sortland 15, Lørenskog 16, Ørsta 17 Stryn 18 and Sandvika 25 September (all with Lill Lindfors.) Tønsberg 25 September (Lecture about Oda Krohg). Madrid 27 September (presenting the Spanish version of To Music). Kvinesdal 29 September (solo piano). Frankfurt Book-Fair, 6-8 October (presenting Die Frau im Tal). Eidsvoll 16. October (solo piano). Moster 24 October (solo piano). Notodden 26 October (solo piano). Neuwied 29 October (solo Piano).

 

July 2010: KB and his powerful ensemble (Shepard, Lechner, Mazur, Aarset, Andersen) got standing ovations after their performance of The Antonioni Project at Molde Int. Jazzfestival. The reviews gave unison praise to the musicians, and in a huge and detailed review in All About Jazz, John Kelman wrote about “the feeling of having been there ... in this very specific place, at this very particular point in time.” The concert was recorded for ECM, and Kelman wrote that the recording “will, no doubt, be a terrific one – perhaps, even, the best recording of Bjørnstad’s career.”

 

July 2010: In a huge review in Le Monde, Nils C. Ahl gives KB exceptional praise for his novel The River (L’appel de la rivière). He writes that the novel is an excellent sequel of To Music (La Société des Jeunes Pianists) and concludes that it is a novel that makes you feel you don’t miss anything. In Libération, Claire Devarrieux praises the novels beautiful parts, and France TV 2 concludes that it is a strong and beautiful novel about love, elevated by music.

 

July 2010: John Kelman from All About Jazz visits Norway’s most famous jazz-festivals, and after KB and Svante Henryson’s concert at Kongsberg Jazzfestival, where the duo for the first time presented music from their upcoming Night Song­-album (ECM, January 2011), he wrote that it was “a show that was largely gentle, occationally majestic and always elegant ... Nearing 60, Bjørnstad continues at a pace that would put many younger musicians to shame ... Henryson’s understated passion created a dramatic undercurrent to Bjørnstad that made their performance a trancendent experience.”

 

Summer 2010: Unison praise for Remembrance in German, French, Italian, English and Canadian magazines and newspapers. In Jazzpodium, Heribert Ickerott writes that it is “klang- und formschönen Jazz-Kammermusik". In Daily Express, Chris Pearson writes that the album is “exquisite, intriguing and, in its quiet way, life-affirming,” In The Irish Times, Ray Comiskey concludes that “it’s all undeniably lovely ... It takes class musicians to bring off the artful simplicity of this sumptuously melodic album.” And in Jazz Journal, Michael Tucker writes: “Sometimes an album comes along that simply – really – stops you in your tracks, that demands your attention time and time again ... Many thank’s gentlemen.” In Jazzwise, Stuart Nicholson writes that “it is an absorbing musical  journey.” And in All About Jazz,  Dan McClenaghan compares the album to Paul Motian’s Lost in a Dream, and writes that Remembrance is “cool, spacious, unhurried, unfailingly lovely.”

 

Summer 2010: KB gives several concerts. Lillehammer Litteraturfestival 27 May (with Kari Bremnes), Hay Festival, Wales, 29 May (solo piano), Bergen Nattjazz 2 June (with Kari Bremnes), Reine Festival, Lofoten, 4 June (solo piano), Vestfold Festspillene, Åsgårdstrand, 6 June (solo piano) and the day after (with Kari Bremnes). Rosendal Barony 19 June (with Lill Lindfors), Tjuvholmen, Oslo, 20 June (with Lill Lindfors), Sunndal 22 June (with Lill Lindfors), Hochneunkirchen, Austria, 25 June (solo piano), Kongsberg Int. Jazzfestival 8 July (with cellist Svante Henryson), Dovre 12 July (solo piano), Molde Int. Jazzfestival 21 July (Commisioned work, The Antonioni-project). Augsburg 4 August (with Tore Brunborg and Jon Christensen). Hamsun-dagene, Hamarøy, 6 August (solo piano) and Oslo Jazzfestival, 21 August (night-concert with Tore Brunborg and Jon Christensen in Oslo Domkirke).

 

April 2010: KBs new ECM-recording Remembrance, with drummer Jon Christensen and saxophone-player Tore Brunborg gets very good reviews in Scandinavian newspapers. In Sweedish Dagens Nyheter, Johannes Cornell writes that the music has “a poetic closeness to nature” and gives much praise to the trio. In Dagbladet, Terje Mosnes gives the album top score and writes that the album could become a classic, and in Dagens Næringsliv, Per A. Risnes jr. compares Ketil Bjørnstad with Arvo Pärth, and writes that the music has a timeless quality.

 

Spring 2010: KB works on The Antonioni-project, a commissioned work for the Molde International Festival, in collaboration with Manfred Eicher. ECM has earlier released albums connected to Tarkovsky and Pasolini. KB will perform the music together with Andy Sheppard (sax), Eivind Aarset (guitars), Anja Lechner (cello), Arild Andersen (bass) and Marilyn Mazur (percussion) the 21 July 2010.

 

March 2010: KB's novel To Music (Til Musikken) is longlisted for The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2010. Other nominees are Boris Akunin, Jonathan Littell & Philippe Claudel. The book is translated by Deborah Dawkin and Erik Skuggevik.

 

January 2010: In The Times, Paul Binding praises To Music and writes that it is "a powerful novel" ... "a demonstration of the price society demands for the recognition of all outstanding gifts."

 

Spring 2010: KB will give a few concerts in Norway, Germany, England, France and Korea. He also writes on a new novel.

 

Winter 2009/2010: Remarkable attention for KB’s novel To Music (Til Musikken) in England. In The Independent, Tone Sutterud writes: “This is an enchanting tale of love and death, desire and loss, about how parents and mentors manipulate and ultimately fail the young people entrusted to them. Above all, it’s a story of music written by a master in the field.” In the Financial Times, the author Henry Hitchings writes: “Bjørnstad diligently maps out a plot that’s charged with Gothic intensity, as the creepy adults repeatedly forsake their sensitive dependants. The main strength of the novel is its evocation of the pathology of adolescent rivalry ... there are moments of wiry drama and of psychological acuity.”

 

Christmas 2009: The producer Manfred Eicher edits KB’s new album Remembrance (ECM) in Rainbow Studio. The album is recorded together with the drummer Jon Christensen and the saxophone player Tore Brunborg, and will be released worldwide in spring 2010. The album Night Song (ECM) with the Swedish cello player Svante Henryson will be released in September 2010.

 

4 December 2009: KB performs Grace with Anneli Drecker in St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London. He also performs at The Norwegian Seamen’s Church the day after. 17 December he performs with the Norwegian poet Ove Røsbak in Lillehammer.

 

December 2009: Lars Müller Publishers (Switzerland) release Windfall Light – The Visual Language of ECM. KB contributes with his essay about ECM, Manfred Eicher and his cd covers: Landscapes and Soundscapes.

 

Autumn 2009: KB visits Germany 16 (Langenau), 17 (Ecquinox Music Festival, Köln) and 18 September (Münster), playing both solo piano and with Arild Andersen and Alex Riel (Köln). He will perform in Sarpsborg with Ole Paus 24 September. 14 and 15 October KB will visit “Lettres du Monde” in Bordeaux, France, and 17 October he gives a concert with Terje Rypdal at the Istanbul Jazz-festival, Turkey. He gives two concerts in Haugesund, Norway 23/24 October, one solo-recital in Purcell Room, London, 27 October, Sandefjord 29 October, Larvik (With Ole Paus) 3th November, Koblenz, Neuwied and Fürth (Germany) 5th, 6th and 7th November. Asker (Norway) with Randi Stene and Lars Anders Tomter 11 November. Solo-piano in Hamm (Germany) 19 November. Moster, Horten, Asker and Lillestrøm with Lill Lindfors, November/December 2009.

 

19 September 2009: Det Norske Teatret, Scene 2. ”Ikkje lenger enn min kjærleik rekk”. The Norwegian actor Jon Eikemo celebrates his 70th anniversary with a new play about the Norwegian author and journalist Per Sivle, written by Ola E. Bø/Jon Eikemo. KB has written the music to the play. The Russian pianist Olga Konkova will perform the music live on stage.

 

Summer 2009: KB gives an outdoor-concert in Kragerø 2 July, commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Edvard Munch's arrival to the city in 1909, after his mental breakdown in 1908. The concert was the city’s gift to its inhabitants. KB also gives a solo piano concert at Baroniet Rosendal on 10 July, and in Moss (with Lill Lindfors) on 14 August.

 

28 June 2009  “Hvalenes Sang” (“Song of the Whales”) is performed at Oseberg Kulturhus, Tønsberg. Svein-Erik Tandberg writes in Tønsberg Blad: ‘The Song of the Whales’ – an engrossing oratorio in the style of a ballad … a powerful musical and rhetorical testimonial to the complexity of life and the human mind. This is an intriguing work of documentation, featuring richly contrasting sound colours, uncomplicated narrative, heartfelt poetry and visual impressions. An extremely original interaction of brutality, nature mysticism and Christian piety. At the core is Ketil Bjørnstad’s unique ability to create beautiful melodies, and here he offers a wealth of these. We predict that several of the melodies in this work will live independent lives in the future, beyond the framework of the piece as a whole. Here there are gems in abundance.”

 

Summer 2009: More remarkable attention for KB's novel Der Fluss in Germany: In the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Anja Hirsch writes that “Vindings Spiel was exciting, full of atmosphere and instructive… In Der Fluss, KB consequently gives attention to the deepest conflicts … And telling about the close connection between sorrow and desire, he is also this time able to seduce his reader.” In Kölner Stadtanzeiger, the author Peter Henning writes that Der Fluss is “a great and upsetting novel.” And in Sachsische Zeitung, Ulrich Steinmetzger writes that Der Fluss is a novel about deep passion, and that it is KB's achievement to find the right words for it.”

 

17 March 2009. Elke Heidenreich talks for the third time about one of KBs books in her famous Lesen!-program (litColony.de). She presents Bjørnstads novel Der Fluss (Elven) and says it is “a brilliant, quiet, intense and profound melancholic story.”

 

March/April 2009. KBs novel Damen i Dalen is reviewed in Norways major newspapers. Jan Askelund of Stavanger Aftenblad says that the novel is “thrilling Ketil Bjørnstad at his very best. His best book ever.” Svein Johs Ottesen of Aftenposten writes that the book is “a reading experience on the highest level” and that “KB writes about music in a way that few other authors are able to do.” Ole Jacob Hoel of Adresseavisen calls the novel “a very good read”. In VG, Sindre Hovdenak praise the book as “a full-blooded artist novel”. And in Dagbladet, Cathrine Krøger says that “KB is professional. He knows how to create a story.”

 

7 March 2009 in Dagsavisen, Damen I Dalen gets an excellent review by Kjell Olaf Jensen. He writes that the last volume of the Vinding-trilogy is both “thrilling, vivid and entertaining.” Jensen specially values Bjørnstad's attempt to describe life, love and self-analysis through music. More reviews of this novel are expected to come.

 

Friday 13 March 2009 KB will attend the Leipzig Bookfair, in Blüthner Klavierschule. He will read from the novel Der Fluss and also play solo piano. The day before, he gives a solo-concert at Schloss Landestrost outside Hannover. He is also performing with Anneli Drecker and Lill Lindfors on different concerts in Norway this spring. He will visit Germany and Austria in April (Frankfurt 22, Oberursel 23, together with Moritz Stoepel, and Innsbruck 25), playing solo-piano.

 

6 March 2009 the third novel about Aksel Vinding, Damen I Dalen is published in Norway by Aschehoug. The publishing house also invites to a release concert in Store Studio, NRK, with KORK (The Norwegian Radio Orchestra) Friday 20 March, presenting music from the trilogy. Jie Zhang will play Chopin and Ravel, Gunilla Süssmann will play Debussy, Beethoven and Rachmaninov. Christian Eggen is the conductor. He will also play Mozart. KB will read and tell from the books. Both radio and television will record the concert.

 

In January 2009, KB will record a new album for ECM together with Svante Henryson.  Manfred Eicher is the producer and the duo-album has an expected release late Fall 2009 or winter 2009/2010.

 

Sunday 28 June 2009 KB has been asked to compose the commissioned work for the Vestfold Festspillene 2009. The oratorium “Hvalenes Sang” (“Song of the Whales) will be performed at Oseberg Kulturhus, Tønsberg with Anneli Drecker, Svante Henryson, Bjørn Kjellemyr, Rune Arnesen, Bjørn Meyer Charles, Sven Persson and Sjøbodkoret with Arne Næss, together with the composer and two actors from Teater Ibsen.

 

January 2009 excerpts from Bjørnstad's 3CD solo-piano set Rainbow Sessions is released by Universal Music.

 

Ketil Bjørnstad’s novel The River (Aschehoug 2007) is currently being published in Denmark to glowing reviews. The River was given a full-page review in Politiken, one of Denmark’s major daily newspapers, 25 October 2008. Mette Winge writes, “It is not without good reason that Ketil Bjørnstad has been awarded the Prix des Lecteurs for To Music.” She calls The River “a worthy successor”, and writes, “Like To Music, The River is great literature – sombre and uplifting at the same time.” Henriette Bacher Lind of Jyllands-Posten, Denmark’s largest-selling daily newspaper, writes: “As the musician he is, Ketil Bjørnstad constructs his story very elegantly, like a musical composition, repeating the same passages again and again in new ways.” She concludes that the reader is “once again captivated by Ketil Bjørnstad’s musical and expressive language”. And Eva Pohl of Berlingske Tidende opens her review by commenting, “Waves of drama sweep over the characters in Ketil Bjørnstad’s compelling and psychologically insightful novel The River.” The third volume of the trilogy about Aksel Vinding, The Lady of the Valley, will be published in Norwegian in February 2009.

 

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung has a very favourable review of KB's "Oda" by Matthias Hannemann October 25. 2008. Hannemann writes that the novel is very elegantly written, and that KB shows all his musical talent in his work with the text. He also praises KB for being trustworthy with all the biographical elements.

 

In Norwegian Dagbladet, Tom Stalsberg writes that KB's book "Kolbein Falkeid - Et nærbilde" is a wonderful book about poetry, life and cosmos. Gro Jørstad Nilsen of Bergens Tidende says that KB gives a brilliant portrait of a wise poet. 

 

23 September 2008, Ketil Bjørnstad was announced as the winner of the prestigious French readers’ award "Prix des Lecteurs" for his novel Til Musikken (La Société des Jeunes Pianistes). This prize is awarded by a large jury composed of readers all over France, who have read four books each month for an entire year. They select one candidate every month as a finalist, and then one of the twelve finalists is chosen as the winner. Ketil Bjørnstad’s novel Til Musikken, competing with novels by writers such as Paul Auster and Truman Capote, was the favourite of the French readers. Previous winners include Carlos Ruiz Zafón and Isabel Allende.

  

Ketil Bjørnstad presents a reading from his forthcoming novel "To Music" (Maia Press 2009) and a solo piano performance at Kings Place, 17 November 2008, during London Jazz Festival.

 

“The Light – Songs Of Love And Fair” (ECM) gets critical acclaim both in Norway, Great Britain and in Germany. In the October 2008 issue of Gramophone, Richard Whitehouse writes: “Ketil Bjørnstad has followed a distinctive creative course from classical piano prodigy to jazz pianist and sui generis composer, while not forgetting his success as a poet, lyricist and novelist. They are attributes that puts one in mind of a latter-day Leonard Cohen, and the song-cycles on this disc are redolent of the Canadian master in their fastidious alignment between words and music … listening of the deepest, most thought-provoking kind.” In Jazzwise, Stuart Nicholson writes that “Bjørnstad creates an album of wonderfully understated passions … Once again his melodies allow the voice to invest each word with rich, personal meaning in an album that, like so much of Bjørnstad’s work, can not be easily set aside.”  Ray Comiskey of Irish Times writes that the album is “gorgeous”, and in Norwegian DN, Trond Jensen compares the music of KB with Gorecki and writes: “Always beautiful. And, at the same time, reliefingly abstract.”

 

KBs novel ”Oda” is getting great attention in German newspapers. In his review for Züddeutsche Zeitung, Joseph Hanimann writes: “We are happy to believe that this woman anticipated the liberal masquerade between honesty and new pretence – a masquerade which the author’s generation would enjoy to its fullest extent – by almost a hundred years.” In Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Peter Urban-Halle writes that KBs novel reminds him of the writing of Per-Olov Enquist, but more sober, and without hysteria. In Rheinischer Merkur, KB is praised by Ulrich Steinmetzger, who writes that KBs novel is a sovereign piece of art.

 

Together with the Swedish cello-player Svante Henryson, KB is expected to record a new album for ECM in January 2009. The two musicians worked together on KBs “Seafarer’s Song” (Universal 2004) and have also given a recital at the Bath Festival.

 

KB was given the honour of writing the prologue for Bjørnsonfestivalen – The Norwegian festival of international literature – in Molde, August 2008.

 

The live-recording of “Coastlines” with Lill Lindfors (Canal Street, Arendal 2007) will be released on Grappa (Norwegian ECM-distributors) 24 November 2008.

 

A one-cd excerpt of KBs tripple-album “Rainbow Sessions” will be released by EmArcy/Universal in 2009. The limited edition of the tripple-box is sold out.

 

KB has delivered the third part of his trilogy about Axel Vinding, starting with “Til Musikken” (2004) and “Elven” (2007) to his publishing house Aschehoug. The novel, “Damen i dalen”, will be published in Spring 2009.

 

KB is touring all over Norway Autumn 2008 (mostly solo piano). He will also visit several German cities (Köln, Frankfurt, Ludwigshafen and Oldenburg a. o.). He will play with Terje Rypdal in Porto, Portugal, 26 October 2008. During the London International Jazz festival, 17 November 2008, he presents a reading from his forthcoming novel “To Music” (“Til Musikken”) and solo piano performance at Kings Place, the iconic new creative centre in Kings Cross.

 

Bokklubben (The norwegian Book-of-the-Month-club) makes a re-launch of KBs novel “Oda!” from 1983, due to it’s 25^th anniversary, together with a re-release of his tripple-album “Leve Patagonia” from 1978. The book and the cd’s will be offered in October 2008, and KB

will perform “Sommernatt ved fjorden” at the “Bokfest” at the new Norwegian Opera, 21 September 2008.

 

KBs portrait of the Norwegian poet Kolbein Falkeid “Kolbein Falkeid – et nærbilde. Den som ser i brønnen stirrer nedenfra.”, will be released by CappelenDamm on 22 September 2008. The book is a result of several interviews KB made with the 75 year old poet in his hometown Haugesund during 2007.

 

Life in Leipzig (KB and Terje Rypdal) is very well received, getting 5 stars in many major newspapers. Mode Steinkjær in Dagsavisen calls the recording a "first rate"-album, "challenging, exciting, playful and sincere." Dagbladets Terje Mosnes calls Terje Rypdal and KB "two of the most characteristic voices in contemporary music". He also writes that the concert-cd is "one of the most ecstatic celebrations of melody and inspired romantic expressiveness ever made." In Bergens Tidende, Hanne Farestvedt writes: "Intensely beautiful".

  

Ketil Bjørnstads novel "La Société des Jeunes Pianistes" "Til Musikken) is nominated to the French "Prix des Lecteurs" 2008.

 

KB will perform his suite "The Light - Songs of Love and Fear" with Randi Stene and Lars Anders Tomter at the "Les signes parmi nous - Musik von ECM"-festival at Schloss Elmau, Sunday 25 May 2008. The trio will also give a cd-release concert at Logen, during the Bergen Int. Festival on Wednesday 21 May 2008, and perform the suite at Randi Stenes own festival "Sommersang" at Ringve Museum, Trondheim, Friday 13 June, at the Barony in Rosendal 4 July, and at Verdens Ende outside Tønsberg (early morning open air concert) Sunday 6 July 2008.

KBs novel "Elven" (The River) was regarded as one of the best books in 2007 by Norway's biggest newspaper VG. Gabriel Michael Vosgraff Moro called the novel "a thrilling experience". (VG 19th December 2007)

 

In 2008, KB will be touring solo-piano and also visit Germany for a "Lesung"-tour in April. His Novel ODA will be published by Insel/Suhrkamp in February 2008.