[1] It was established in 1991 by Bernt Lauritz Larsen from Risør, in collaboration with Lars Anders Tomter.

Turid Birkeland,[3] former Norwegian Culture minister, replaced Bernt Lauritz Larsen[4] as festival manager in 2004.

After a tour to Brussels, London and New York in 2010, Birkeland and Andsnes resigned, and Henning Kraggerud entered as new artistic director with Tomter.

Erik Kise Larsen[6] was terminated as festival director, and Henning Kraggerud and Lars Anders Tomter both joined as artistic leaders.

The festival was linked up with artistic guest leaders, such as pianist Enrico Pace[9] in 2017 and violinist Christian Tetzlaff[10] in 2018.