At 22 years old, Swedish Norwegian violinist Johan Dalene is already making an impact on the international scene. His ability to “make his Stradivarius sing like a master” (Le Monde), coupled with his refreshingly honest musicality and engagement with musicians and audiences alike, has won him countless admirers. Mr. Dalene was heralded most recently as winner of the Norwegian Soloist Prize and first-prize winner of the prestigious Carl Nielsen International Competition in 2019.

Mr. Dalene will give a series of recitals in the US for the first time in 2023, notably at Carnegie Hall and San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall. Other chamber highlights include a new collaboration with Igor Levit and Julia Hagen for performances at London’s Wigmore Hall and the Heidelberg Festival, and a collaboration with the Jussen brothers for the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival.

Mr. Dalene’s recent and forthcoming orchestral highlights include debuts at the BBC Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony.

Recently selected as an ECHO Rising Star, Mr. Dalene performed in some of Europe’s most prestigious concert halls during the 2021–2022 season, and engaged in education and learning work across the ECHO network. As a BBC New Generation Artist from 2019–2022, Mr. Dalene performed with the BBC orchestras for broadcasts on BBC Radio 3.

Recording exclusively for BIS, Mr. Dalene released his third album on the label in March 2022. Featuring the Nielsen and Sibelius concertos with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and John Storgårds, the recording garnered Mr. Dalene his third “Editor’s Choice” from Gramophone. Mr. Dalene’s first recording was praised by BBC Music Magazine as “one of the finest violin debuts of the last decade.”

Mr. Dalene began playing the violin at the age of four and made his professional concerto debut three years later. In 2018, he was accepted to the Norwegian Crescendo program, where he worked closely with mentors Janine Jansen, Leif Ove Andsnes, and Gidon Kremer. Mr. Dalene plays a Stradivarius violin from 1736, generously on loan from the Anders Sveaas’ Charitable Foundation.

Praised as an artist with “lots of clarity, confidence, and wisdom” (New York Concert Review), pianist Sahun Sam Hong brings his colorful style and riveting energy to the solo, chamber, and concerto stage.

Mr. Hong was winner of the 2017 Vendome Prize at the Verbier Festival and received second prize at the 2017 International Beethoven Competition Vienna. He was also a recipient of a 2021 American Pianists Award, and a finalist in the 2018 International German Piano Awards and 2017 American Pianists Awards.

On the roster of Young Steinway Artists since 2010, Mr. Hong has been featured as a guest soloist with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra; the Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Fort Worth, Richardson, Racine, Waco, Galveston, and Brazos Valley symphony orchestras; and Camerata New York. He has performed in prestigious venues such as Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Vienna’s Musikverein, Église de Verbier, Merkin Hall, and the Kennedy Center.

In addition to performing, Mr. Hong is a prolific arranger of chamber music and orchestra works. His creative transcriptions are performed around the world and have been described by renowned musicians as “superb” (pianist Yong Hi Moon), and “fresh, witty, and intelligent” (violinist Herbert Greenberg). The chamber music collective ensemble132 presents Mr. Hong’s virtuosic chamber music arrangements on annual tours across the US.

At the age of 16, Mr. Hong graduated magna cum laude from Texas Christian University with a bachelor’s degree in piano performance, studying with John Owings. He also studied for six years with Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Hong continues his studies with Yong Hi Moon at the Peabody Institute.