Rikke Sandberg

Rikke Sandberg has been a soloist with most Danish orchestras as well as Leipzig Chamber Orchestra, and has also recorded piano concerts with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Luxembourg Philharmonic and the Sønderjylland Sympho- ny Orchestra. She has collaborated with musicians and conductors such as Sabine Meyer, Sergei Dogadin, Radek Barborak, Elsebeth Dreisig, Alondra de la Parra, John Storgårds, Håkan Hardenberger and Adam Fischer.
Most recently, she has recorded a CD with solo works by Brahms and a CD with Herman D. Koppel’s 3rd Piano Concerto on Danacord, both with 6-star reviews in In- ternational Music Magazine. Previous CD releases have featured solo works by Rach- maninov, Brahms, Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto, Liszt’s 2nd Piano Concerto and Anders Koppel’s Double Concerto for Piano and Saxophone with Benjamin Koppel and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, in addition to chamber music and film music with the Danish Chamber Orchestra.
Rikke Sandberg has performed at festivals and in concert halls across most of Europe and in large parts of Asia and the USA. In Denmark she is the initiator and artistic director of the Nordic Chamber Music Festival.
Rikke Sandberg is, among other things, a recipient of the Danish Music Critic’s Artist Prize, Helge and Merete Finsen’s Honorary Legacy, Jacob Gade’s Store Legacy, Aennchen & Eigil Harby’s Fonds’ Legacy, Victor Schiøler’s Mind Delegate and Sonning’s Talent Award. She has been Classical Musician of the Year in Dagbladet Politiken and received the P2 Ama- deus award, CD of the Year.
Rikke Sandberg is one of the most sought-after orchestral pianists in Scandinavia and is often included in concerts by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Danish Orchestra’s symphony concerts, regional orchestras and the Malmö Symphony Orchestra. Here she has played large solo orchestral parts under the direction of such great conductors as Luisi, Petrenko, Noseda, Schiff and others.
Rikke Sandberg teaches major students and chamber mu- sic at the Royal Danish Academy of Music. She is often jury chairman, and jury member of classical competitions such as Jugend Musiziert, Steinway Festival, Pianister i Nord, Unge Spiller Klassisk and Jakob Gade’s Junior Competition.
In 2025, with a large donation from the Carl Nielsen and Anne-Marie Carl Nielsens Foundation, Rikke will record the complete works by Carl Nielsen for solo piano on OUR Re- cordings. This recording will include several works and ar- rangements by Carl Nielsen that have never been recorded before.

"A few quotes from reviews:"

“Sandberg plays with such authority that few Danish pianists would be able to keep up with her richly nuanced and superbly controlled playing” Jyllandsposten (DK)
“She joins cascades of notes into long airly passages with sharply drawn details, co- lourful nuances and an expressive declamatory presence that commands attention” and “She is first and foremost an artist, not a performer over-interested in display. The listener gets a sincere, deeply concentrated and completely faithful picture of the music” Politiken (DK)
“Magic took place in the Queen’s Hall when the pianist Rikke Sandberg inaugurated the new Steinway grand piano in Den Sorte Diamant. Rarely has one heard such a poetic and soulful interpretation of Brahms’s romantic piano sound.”
Jyllandsposten (DK)
“Few Danish pianists make as big a difference to our musical life as she does”
Politiken (DK)
”In the ‘Chaconne for the Left Hand’ she leaves room for spontaneity. Nothing sounds heated or overplayed; Sandberg prefers to create calmly and carefully. That does not mean that she loses sight of the virtuoso dimension. Quite the opposite, because she plays the ‘Hungarian Dance No. 1 in G minor’ full of fire and sparkling esprit. The mu- sic flows elegantly and clearly, full of brilliance and Sandberg plays with bold caesuras. The ‘Intermezzo No. 3’ from Op. 76 appears fine and delicate and this great pianist begins with such restrained dynamics that it takes your breath away.”
Piano News (Germany)