Arve Tellefsen (born 14 December 1936) is a Norwegian violinist.   He was born and raised in Trondheim, Norway. When he was 6 years old, he began playing the violin in 'Trondheims musikkskole' (the music school in Trondheim). In 1955, he began his studies at the Music Conservatory of Copenhagen and, in 1959, he had his debut in Universitetets Aula, Oslo.   In his long career as a soloist, he has played with many of the world's greatest orchestras and conductors. He has made many recordings and received many awards, including the Harriet Cohen International Music Award.   In August 2009 he received an honorary degree at the Norwegian Academy of Music. There is a statue of him in Trondheim.   Arve Tellefsen is one of the most highly regarded violinists in Europe and performs with leading orchestras across the globe.   “... there were times when he made the Shostakovich a bigger, more cohesive work even than did his dedicatee, David Oistrakh”   The Daily Telegraph, London.   Arve Tellefsen has worked with conductors such as Mariss Jansons, Arvid Jansons, Herbert Blomstedt, Gary Bertini, Evgeny Svetlanov, Bryden Thomson, Neeme Järvi, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Paavo Berglund, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Walter Weller and Zubin Mehta. In the UK, he has appeared with the Royal Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, the Hallé, BBC Scottish, BBC Welsh, the Liverpool Philharmonic and the Royal Scottish National orchestras.   His discography includes concertos by Carl Nielsen, Shostakovich, Bach, Beethoven, Bruch and Sibelius, as well as concertos by Scandinavian composers: Tor Aulin, Franz Berwald, Lars-Erik Larsson, Johan Svendsen, Christian Sinding, Fartein Valen, Arne Nordheim and Alfred Janson. In 1997 he gave the world premiere of the Violin Concerto dedicated to him by Arne Nordheim, Norway’s foremost contemporary composer, with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra on Sony Classical.   As a chamber musician, Tellefsen has taken part in festivals all over the world, including the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, Bath Festival, Gidon Kremer’s Festival in Lockenhaus, Barbara Hendricks’ Festival in Montreux and the Pablo Casals Festival in Prades.   Arve Tellefsen founded the Oslo Chamber Music Festival, which takes place annually and attracts the cream of international artists, including Anne Sofie von Otter, Randi Stene, Solveig Kringlebotn, Elizabeth Nordberg-Schulz, Barbara Hendricks, Liv Ullmann, Jan Garbarek, Leif Ove Andsnes, Truls Mørk, Yuri Bashmet, Mischa Maisky, Gidon Kremer, Angela Hewitt, Hagen Quartet, Hilliard Ensemble, Jordi Savall, Rolf Lislevand and Maria João Pires.   Tellefsen broadcasts regularly for the BBC; in Norway he featured in a series of television programmes with the Oslo Philharmonic focusing on classical music. He was music consultant and soloist on the soundtrack of the feature film Sofie, Liv Ullmann’s directorial debut.   Born in Norway, Tellefsen continued his studies at the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music with Professor Henry Holst, before moving to New York to study with Professor Ivan Galamian.   He has recently recorded Edvard Grieg: Complete Violin Sonatas with pianist Håvard Gimse at Grieg’s home, Troldhaugen, for Sony Classical. His latest recording is music by the famous Norwegian violinist and composer Ole Bull (1810-1880) on Simax label.