Øystein Baadsvik was voted one of the top ten brass players in history by Classic FM listeners. He gave the first TED Talk on the tuba and is one of the most popular classical musicians on YouTube, with more than nine million views. His career as a soloist and recording artist has taken him around the world. He currently works as Professor of Tuba at the Norwegian Academy of Music.
Baadsvik studied with Michael Lind and Harvey Phillips. His international career began in 1991, when he won two prizes at the prestigious Concours International d’Exécution Musicale in Geneva. He has since performed with orchestras such as the Oslo Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Warsaw Philharmonic, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra (Taiwan), Gdansk Philharmonic, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Musica Vitae and Wratislavia Chamber Orchestra. After his performance with the Warsaw Philharmonic under Christopher Seaman, the critic of Ruch Muzyczny wrote that pianists and violinists ought to study the tuba for a year to learn from its phrasing and rubato.
Baadsvik works constantly to expand the musical possibilities of the tuba. He has premiered more than 70 solo works by composers such as Dai Fujikura, Christian Lindberg, Fredrik Högberg, Jan Sandström and Andrea Clearfield, and the new playing techniques he has developed are used in many recent works for the instrument. He has also added to the repertoire as a composer, including a concerto for tuba and orchestra. His piece «Fnugg» has become a favorite of tuba players worldwide.
His guiding principle in every genre is to communicate directly with the audience. Beyond the classical repertoire, he has toured and recorded with Indian violinist Dr. L. Subramaniam and singer Kavita Krishnamurthy, Norwegian jazz pianist Erlend Skomsvoll, and the Norwegian female choir Cantus.
Baadsvik has recorded twelve solo albums to great critical acclaim. His first BIS release, «Tuba Carnival», was distributed in more than 40 countries and broadcast by BBC, NPR, ABC Australia, SR, NRK and stations in New Zealand, Poland and Germany. In 2003, ClassicToday named it one of the six best recordings in the world for solo instrument and orchestra, writing: «State of the art recorded sound caps an extremely well planned, perfectly executed recital in which humor, charm and virtuosity combine to make the best possible case for the tuba as the star of the show.»
His 2006 recital debut at Carnegie Hall featured the repertoire from «Danzas», also on BIS. His BIS recording of Finnish composer Kalevi Aho’s Tuba Concerto, with the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra under Mats Rondin, was named a Gramophone Critics’ Choice and earned five out of five stars from Klassik.com: «Borders are redefined.» John Williams said of Baadsvik’s recording of his tuba concerto on «20th Century Tuba Concertos»: «His rendering of my concerto far surpasses anything a composer might hope for.»
Baadsvik has given masterclasses at more than fifty universities in the USA, including the Juilliard School, Cleveland Institute of Music and Indiana University. He has also taught at the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris, the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Central Conservatory in Beijing and many other institutions worldwide.
To reach students beyond the masterclass, he created the Complete Tuba Method, an online course at the Baadsvik Online Academy. Drawing on more than 40 years of performing, it covers every aspect of tuba playing and how to practice it. The course has more than 500 students from 86 countries.