Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
The Bergen Philharmonic, a Norwegian national orchestra, is one of the oldest in the world, dating back to 1765. Edvard Grieg served as its artistic director from 1880 to 1882. The orchestra was named Gramophone Orchestra of the Year 2025.
Tabita Berglund is appointed Designate Chief Conductor from August 2026 and Chief Conductor from August 2027. Edward Gardner was Chief Conductor from 2015 to 2024, and he is now Honorary Conductor. Sir Mark Elder serves as Principal Guest Conductor and Jan Willem de Vriend as Artistic Partner. The Orchestra enjoys high international standing through recordings, touring and international commissions, and was named Gramophone Orchestra of the Year 2025, and won two Gramophone Classical Music Awards in 2021; Recording of the Year and Opera Award Winner for the recording of Britten’s Peter Grimes.
International Touring
The orchestra has performed in the Concertgebouw, at the BBC Proms, Wiener Musikverein and Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall, New York, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Grosses Festspielhaus Salzburg and the Philharmonie, Berlin. The Orchestra and Edward Gardner appeared at the Edinburgh International Festival (2017) and Royal Festival Hall (2019) with their critically acclaimed production of Peter Grimes. In 2022 the orchestra’s production of Richard Strauss’ Salome was hailed as an artistic highlight at the Edinburgh International Festival. Germany and Austria have been popular destinations for the orchestra’s international tours with 15 tours so far, including residencies in Vienna and Salzburg.
Upcoming tours: Together with conductor Dima Slobodeniuk and pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, the orchestra tours Italy and France in September 2026 and is touring Germany and Belgium in spring 2027. This spring-tour with an all-Norwegian programme is conducted by Tabita Berglund, with two Norwegian soloists, soprano Victoria Randem and violinist Ragnhild Hemsing.
Free streaming service - Bergenphilive
The orchestra offers a free streaming service, Bergenphilive.no, with a fine selection of works performed by the orchestra and a range of conductors and soloists.
Recordings
The Orchestra has an active recording schedule. With former Chief Conductor Edward Gardner, the Orchestra has released a series of critically acclaimed recordings: orchestral works by Janáček, including a Grammy-nominated recording of his Glagolitic Mass, Schönberg’s Gurre-Lieder, Erwartung and Pelleas und Melisande, songs by Sibelius, Grieg’s Piano Concerto and Incidental music to Peer Gynt, featuring Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Ann-Helen Moen and Lise Davidsen, Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra and Rhapsodies with James Ehnes, Bartóks Bluebeard’s Castle, Brahms symphonies Nos 1 to 4, Britten’s Peter Grimes with Stuart Skelton and Erin Wall, songs by Britten and Canteloube with soprano Mari Eriksmoen, a cd with saxophonist Marius Neset, The Tempest by Arne Nordheim, Strauss’ Salome (Live Recording from Edinburgh International Festival) and Elektra, and a series with concertos and symphonies Nos 3, 4 and 5 by Carl Nielsen, including his Violin Concerto (James Ehnes), the Clarinet Concerto (Alessandro Carbonare), and the Flute Concerto (Adam Walker). With Sir Mark Elder the orchestra has recorded Frederick Delius’ Eine Messe des Lebens, which was awarded the Norwegian Spellemann-prize.
Other projects include Messiaen’s Turangalîla, ballets by Stravinsky, and the complete symphonies, ballet suites, concertos by Prokofiev, Bruckner symphonies, works by Halvorsen and Svendsen, Mendelssohn symphonies and the complete orchestral music of Edvard Grieg, with conductors Andrew Litton, Juanjo Mena, Sir Andrew Davis, Neeme Järvi and Thomas Dausgaard.
June 2026