A native of Bergen on the west coast of Norway, Christian Grøvlen was born in 1990 and began playing the piano at the age of five. After initial studies at the Grieg Academy in a talent program, Christian went on to study with Prof. Jiri Hlinka. He then studied at the Norwegian Academy in Oslo and Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien. In 2017 Grøvlen graduated from the soloist class at The Royal Danish Academy of Music.  

After appearing with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra as a teenager, Grøvlen made his professional debut with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra in 2018. In February 2020 he appeared as soloist with the Norwegian Opera Orchestra in the Opera House in Oslo. Grøvlen is a recepient of the Robert Levin Prize in Oslo, the Léonie Sonning Talent Prize in Denmark and a two-year Norwegian Young Artists Grant. Christian is also associated with the recording label 2L for which he has recorded two albums. Grøvlen has appeared at most of the festivals in Norway, including the Bergen International Festival, Risør Chamber Music festival, Oslo Chamber Music Festival and many appearances abroad.  

Grøvlen has a strong relationship with Norwegian music, focusing on Edvard Grieg, Agathe Backer Grøndahl, Christian Sinding and Harald Sæverud. He is also the dedicatee of several pieces by contemporary Norwegian composers, notably by Wolfgang Plagge. In the classical standard repertoire Grøvlen is also deeply involved with the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt and Pjotr Tchaikovsky. Othe composers that appear frequently in Grøvlens programs are Carl Maria von Weber and Francis Poulenc. A published composer himself, Grøvlen often performs his own compositions in his concerts as well. 

As of December 2020 Grøvlen is also Director of Music and the Composer Homes in Kode, Bergen, which consists of the homes of Ole Bull, Edvard Grieg and Harald Sæverud, as well as the Edvard Grieg International Piano Competition.