Jiri Hlinka piano academy

The Piano Academy’s vision is to offer high-quality piano and chamber music lessons for talented pianists as well as establishing a platform for younger performers during their education or at the start of a professional career.

Since 2016, the Piano Academy has received support from Stiftelsen Kristian Gerhard Jebsen and the collaboration was renewed through funds for further operations for the years 2024 and 2025.

The academy’s founder is Professor Jiri Hlinka.

His former students, pianists Leif Ove Andsnes, Geir Botnen, Håvard Gimse and Christian Ihle Hadland took over the artistic and educational management in 2015. Professor Jiri Hlinka’s Piano Academy has achieved a solid position within the classical music community in Norway and is recognized abroad.

The Piano Academy organizes three annual master classes, one of which takes place during the Bergen International Festival (fib). International virtuoso pianists are often invited as teachers for the participants. About 5-10 students from Norway and abroad are selected per master class after application and auditions. The young pianists present their work during concerts which are arranged in collaboration with other organizers in Bergen and the region, these are usually free to attend and open to the public.

The masterclasses take place at the Rasmussen collections at Fjøsanger in Bergen (formerly the Rekstensamlingene) where both quality instruments and accommodation facilities for the performers are available.