Norwegian-born, Munich-based
Vilde Frang has been among the most prominent and versatile Scandinavian violinists of the 21st century. She came on the scene as a teenage prodigy and has fulfilled the promise shown by her many awards.
Frang was born in Oslo on August 19, 1986. She was a product of Suzuki method violin instruction, which she began at age four. In 1993, she began studies at the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo. She gained attention from her teachers, who included
Henning Kraggerud, and in 1997, at age ten, she made her debut with the
Norwegian Radio Orchestra; a year later, she was chosen by conductor
Mariss Jansons to appear with the
Oslo Philharmonic. In 1998, she met violinist
Anne-Sophie Mutter, who became an important mentor and inspiration.
Mutter convinced
Frang to move to Hamburg, and she held a scholarship at the
Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation there from 2003 to 2009. By the early 2000s,
Frang's schedule included appearances with top-rank orchestras in many European capitals as well as in Tokyo. A major publicity boost was provided by her debut with the
London Philharmonic Orchestra in 2007, and American audiences were exposed to her through a duo appearance with
Mutter in a
Bach two-violin concerto in 2008. After this already enviable career,
Frang was still considered a young artist. She was named EMI Classics' Young Artist of the Year in 2010, and the following year she received the Edison Klassiek Newcomer Award in the Netherlands.
Frang has also been an active chamber music player, and not only with
Mutter: her partners include pianists
Martha Argerich and
Mitsuko Uchida and violinist
Gidon Kremer.
Frang took her time before recording major repertory. Signing with EMI Classics, she
released her debut, featuring the
Sibelius Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 47, and the
Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 19, in 2010. When the Warner Classics imprint was split off from EMI, the charismatic and photogenic
Frang was a natural; she issued an album of
Mozart violin concertos with the historical-instrument ensemble
Arcangelo in 2015 and has continued to record for Warner Classics. In
2018, she issued a recording of
Bartók's Violin Concerto No. 1 on that label.
Frang's concert appearances in the late 2010s have included those with the
Berlin Philharmonic, the
Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the
Cleveland Orchestra. Among her conductor collaborators have been
Valery Gergiev,
Manfred Honeck, and
Sir Simon Rattle.