Jan Olav Martinsen

Horn player Jan Olav Martinsen grew up in Moss, in a home with a large record collection and a father who played in the Staff Band of the Norwegian Armed Forces. His own path to becoming a musician started on the piano stool:

− I have been very lucky, and have had good teachers from when I started playing the piano, and later, the horn. Frøydis Ree Wekre and Kjell Erik Arnesen have been my most important horn teachers.

Arnesen has been Jan Olav’s colleague in the Oslo Philharmonic for a number of years.

− It’s magical when the concerts “take off”

Jan Olav feels it’s a challenge to highlight single experiences in all the concerts he has played since he joined the orchestra in 1997:

− What means the very most to me, is to have the possibility of playing the best works in musical history together with the skillful and dedicated colleagues I have in the Oslo Philharmonic. We are lucky enough to play with good conductors, and for me the magical moments occur when I feel the concerts “taking off”.

The horn player’s favourite music depends on where he is at the time − on stage or at home in his living room:

− As a horn player it’s naturally a great experience to play Mahler’s or Bruckner’s symphonies, but when I’m listening to music at home, I really like listening to Baroque music, or Haydn and Beethoven. Otherwise I love the music of Stravinsky, and his Pulcinella Suite is perhaps my favourite work to perform.

When he isn’t playing, Jan Olav likes keeping up with what is happening within art and architecture, and enjoys being out in nature, often in a kayak.