 A native of Oslo, Øivin Fjeldstad debuted as a violinist in 1921 following musical instruction in the conservatories of Oslo Conservatory of Music under the direction Gustav Lange and University of Music and Theatre in Leipzig under instruction of Walther Davisson.Ten years later, having studied with Clemens Krauss in Berlin, he began his conducting career in Oslo and, after the end of World War II and the founding of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra ("Kringkastingsorkestret") in 1946, he became its head conductor.Between 1958 and 1960, the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet had Kirsten Flagstad as its general manager and Øivin Fjeldstad as its first artistic director.