Annbjørg Lien

Annbjørg Lien
Background information
Born (1971-10-15) 15 October 1971 (age 52)
Ålesund, Sunnmøre, Norway
OriginMauseidvåg
GenresTraditional
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • composer
Instrument(s)
Websiteannbjorglien.com

Annbjørg Lien (born 15 October 1971) is a Norwegian musician, playing the hardingfele (Hardanger fiddle), violin, and nyckelharpa.

Career[edit]

She first came to national prominence in 1986. Shortly afterwards got a recording deal with the Heilo label and released her first album on that label in 1988. She has received numerous awards, both in Norway and the Nordic countries, including the Gammleng Prize in classical folk music in 2004 and the Hilmar Prize in 2006.[1]

In her work, Lien often combines traditional Norwegian music with jazz and rock music. She has traveled to Africa, Asia, Australia, Argentina, Bhutan, Greenland, Iceland, Sri Lanka, North America, and other parts of Europe, and worked with musicians from many countries. In 2006 she performed on Loreena McKennitt's album An Ancient Muse playing nyckelharpa, and in 2008 she played Hardanger fiddle on Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh's album Imeall.[1]

Her 2008 project Waltz With Me brought together American fiddler, guitarist and singer Bruce Molsky, Swedish violist Mikael Marin and Canadian cellist Christine Hanson for a concert commissioned by the Telemark Festival. The project included a CD of the same name. With Arve Moen Bergset, Bjørn Ole Rasch and Steinar Ofsdal, she is a member of the folk music group Bukkene Bruse.[1]

Lien is part of the fiddle ensemble String Sisters, which formed in 2000 and consists of six string players from different countries, who released their début album Live in 2007.[1]

Personal life and education[edit]

She is married to keyboardist and professor Bjørn Ole Rasch.[1][2][3]

In 2019 she received her PhD degree in hardingfele (Hardanger fiddle games) from the University of Agder. She has no other academic education and learned fiddle games straight from the masters.[4][5]

Honours[edit]

Discography[edit]

Solo albums[edit]

Collaborative works[edit]

Within Bukkene Bruse
With others
  • 1987: I Seierstakt (Celebration)
  • 2007: String Sisters Live (Grappa Music)
  • 2010: Abocurragh, with Andy Irvine
  • 2011: Beginner's Guide to Scandinavia (3-CD box set), with various artists
  • 2012 Nordic Woman with various artists released by Fuuse Mousiqi/Grappa Music

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Aksdal, Bjørn. "Annbjørg Lien Biography". Norsk Biografisk Leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 2012-12-12.
  2. ^ Pettersen, Tomas Lauvland (2010-07-02). "Førde 2010: Annbjørg Lien & Bjørn Ole Rasch". Listen to Norway Ballade.no. Archived from the original on 2014-01-07. Retrieved 2012-12-12.
  3. ^ Davis, Jon. "Annbjørg Lien - Folk Music Has No Borders". Expose.org. Retrieved 2012-12-12.
  4. ^ Jakobsen, Siw Ellen (December 29, 2019). "Annbjørg Lien har tatt doktorgrad på hardingfele-slåtter". forskning.no.
  5. ^ Jakobsen, Siw Ellen; Bazilchuk, Nancy (December 29, 2019). "Folk musician Annbjørg Lien's PhD on Hardanger fiddle folk tunes includes a new solo album". sciencenorway.no.

External links[edit]