Truls Olaf Otterbech Mørk (born 25 April 1961) is a Norwegian cellist.
Biography
Mørk was born in Bergen, Norway to a cellist father, John Fritjof Mørk, and a pianist mother, Turid Otterbech.[1] His mother began teaching him the piano when he was seven. Mørk also played the violin, but soon switched to the cello, taking lessons from his father.
Mørk's discography includes an award-winning recordings of the Shostakovich Cello Concertos and of Bach's Suites for Solo Cello. He has recorded for such labels as Virgin Classics and harmonia mundi.[3] Mørk's interest in chamber music led to the foundation of the International Chamber Music Festival of Stavanger.
In April 2009, Mørk experienced an infection of the central nervous system, presumably caused by a tick bite he received in the United States in 2006, with subsequent encephalitis, and paralysis in the shoulder muscles of the left arm. In the autumn of 2009, he expressed concern that he might never be able to perform again.[4] After 18 months away from concert activity, during which time he was awarded the 2010 Sibelius Prize,[5] Mørk resumed his career.
Mørk holds a Professorship at the Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo. For more than 30 years, he performed on a rare Domenico Montagnana cello (Venice, 1723), whose scroll was made by Stradivarius. Norway's SR-Bank purchased the cello, and loaned it to him. The instrument was recently bought by the Dkfm. Angelika Prokopp Privatstiftung, which now loans it to cellist Harriet Krijgh.
Honors
1991: Spellemannprisen in the category Chamber music, together with Håkon Austbø for the album Verker av Franck, Chausson, Debussy, Poulenc
1993: Spellemannprisen in the category Orchestral music for the album Dvorák; Cello-konsert/Tsjaikovskij: Rokokko-variasjoner, with Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra cond. Mariss Jansons
