Born in 1980, Kristian Lindberg began making waves in his native Norway at a young age. In 1997 he won the Norwegian Young Pianists Competition and the following year represented Norway in the Eurovision Young Musicians competition in Vienna. Since then Lindberg has been a prizewinner in several competitions, including taking first prize in Oslo's International Concours Grieg competition in 2007. Between 2006 and 2009 he was selected to play for Rikskonsertene’s prestigious INTRO Classical programme, which promotes the cream of young Norwegian musicians.
In 2006 Lindberg completed a soloist’s diploma (the highest level of postgraduate performance study) at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, where he studied with Einar Steen-Nøkleberg. His previous teachers have included Jiri Hlinka and Einar Henning Smebye in Norway, Laszlo Simon at the Universität der Künste, Berlin, and Désiré N’Kaoua at the Ecole Normale de Musique, Paris.
In August 2011, Lindberg performed Rachmaninov's 3rd Piano Concerto with Orkester Norden and Rolf Gupta in the Konzerthaus, Berlin. He has also given recitals in Carnegie Hall in New York and Wigmore Hall in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Thailand Cultural Centre in Bangkok and the Kyotofuritsu Fumin Hall. Lindberg has performed with many Norwegian and international orchestras, including the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Oslo Symphony Orchestra and the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra in Moscow. He has given recitals all over Europe, and has performed at various festivals, including the Oslo Chamber Music Festival, Vinterfestspill in Røros and the Ultima contemporary music festival in Oslo.
Lindberg completed his PhD, The Orchestral Piano, in 2019 at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo.