Håkon Austbo made his public debut at the age of fifteen in Oslo, and went on to study in Paris at the Conservatoire and Ecole Normale de Musique, at the Juilliard School in New York, at the Staatliche Hochschule fur Musik in Munich, and in London. In 1970 Austbo was the first non-French pianist to win the Concours National de la Guilde Francaise des Artistes Solistes in Paris, and a year later, in Royan, he won the Olivier Messiaen Competition. In the mid-1970s Austbo won prizes at the International Munich Competition, where he played piano duets with Marina Horak, at the Ravel Competition in Paris, and, as a member of Trio du Nord, at the UNESCO International Rostrum, Bratislava.

In 1980 he was appointed to the staff of the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in Utrecht and in 1994 was appointed to the staff of the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam.

Austbo’s first records were some LPs of pieces by Brahms, Schumann, Janaček and Scriabin. In 1973 he recorded a disc of Debussy’s piano duets with Claude Helffer. Paul Moor in High Fidelity was not keen on the approach to the music: ‘These artists adopt Boulez’ approach to Debussy, tending toward clarity and transparency rather than conventional “impressionist” atmosphere, and more toward austere, almost sanitary detachment than smooth legato. I personally take strong issue with that approach, but here at least you certainly do hear all the detail.’

Austbo’s recording of the complete Scriabin sonatas for Simax won a Grammy Award in Norway in 1990, and in 1995, for Vanguard Classics, he recorded Schumann’s Fantasie Op. 17 and Kreisleriana Op. 16. It is, however, with twentieth-century music that Austbo has an affinity, particularly music by Messiaen and Scriabin. Austbo’s recordings for Naxos of Messiaen’s music have received unanimous critical praise and reveal a pianist who is highly sensitive to the sounds and mood he creates. A comparative review of the Vingt regards sur l’Enfant Jesus in Classic CD magazine chose it as ‘by far the most satisfying Vingt regards sur l’Enfant Jesus in the current catalogue’. The recording of Messiaen’s complete Catalogue des oiseaux was awarded the Edison Prize in 1998 for the best solo recording, and another reviewer in Classic CD chose it as his disc of the year, stating that Austbo’s ‘…great achievement was to vividly project the extraordinary range of touch and colour in these pieces without ever over-advertising the extremities of their virtuosic demands’. Austbo has also made recordings for Brilliant Classics of Satie, Grieg and Brahms, and played the harmonium in a recording of Schoenberg’s Weihnachtsmusik for Disques Montaigne.

© Naxos Rights International Ltd. — Jonathan Summers (A–Z of Pianists, Naxos 8.558107–10).