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.