Northern Lands

Celebrated Grammy-nominated Norwegian jazz pianist Jan Gunnar Hoff will make his Australian premiere in Northern Lands, an intimate program of solo piano and duos with acclaimed Sydney viola da gambist Jenny Eriksson. 

The concert mark the culmination of a long-standing creative partnership between Hoff and Sydney-based viola da gambist Jenny Eriksson, founder and leader of Elysian Fields. Of Swedish heritage, Eriksson has recorded several of Hoff’s compositions on the ensemble’s critically acclaimed album Fika and has previously performed alongside him in Northern Norway, forging a collaboration that spans continents and cultures.

One of the leading figures in European jazz, Hoff served as arranger, pianist and musical director for the Grammy-nominated album Quiet Winter Night (2013) and was nominated for a Norwegian Grammy in 2014. A Steinway Artist, he has recorded and performed with international jazz luminaries including Mike Stern and Alex Acuña. He was awarded the prestigious Edvard Grieg Prize for composition in 2005 and has released 27 albums as a solo artist and co-leader. .

Elysian Fields is one of Australia’s few ensembles exploring the intersection of Scandinavian folk and improvised music. Founded in 2015, the group brings together leading cross-genre musicians and has released three albums, performing widely across Australia’s east coast.

The Utzon Room program features Hoff’s signature composition Fly North, a jazz interpretation of the Beach Boys’ God Only Knows and Barndomsminne fra Nordland, a traditional song deeply connected to Norwegian cultural identity.

Duos with Jenny Eriksson include Hoff’s Living and Meditatus, alongside works from Elysian Fields’ album Swirling Flame by Australian composer Alice Chance.