| Astrid Kvalbein | |
| Birth Date: | 13 October 1971 |
| Birth Place: | Oslo, Norway |
| Nationality: | Norwegian |
| Occupation: | Soprano, music critic, musicologist, rector of the Norwegian Academy of Music |
Astrid Kvalbein (born 13 October 1971 in Oslo) is a Norwegian soprano, classical music critic and musicologist, and the rector (i.e. president) of the Norwegian Academy of Music, serving since 2021.[1]
Kvalbein was born in Oslo and is the daughter of the theologian Hans Kvalbein. She is both a performer and an academic musicologist. She earned her doctorate in musicology at the Norwegian Academy of Music in 2013 with a dissertation examining the work of Pauline Hall (1890–1969) as a classical composer,[2] and subsequently worked as a senior researcher at the institution until her 2021 election as its rector, its highest office.
She is well known as the long-time classical music critic of Norway's two largest newspapers, Aftenposten and Verdens Gang.
As a performer Kvalbein has been a member of contemporary and avant-garde music groups Søyr, vonDrei (with Solveig Slettahjell and Ellen Aagaard) and asamisimasa.[3] [4] [5]