Press release from the artists:
The fiddlers Sigrid Moldestad and Liv Merete Kroken have been active as a duo, as soloists and as members of various ensembles. They have performed at the Bergen Festival (Festspillene i Bergen), the Førde Folk Music Festival, the Falun Folk Music Festival, Norrsken, and at the Folk Music Days Festival in Ål, Norway. The have also frequently performed at schools and with Norwegian State Concerts, and have traveled on tour to South Africa, Russia, Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Scotland, and Israel, among others. Liv Merete and Sigrid first met in 1996 as members of the first group of students at the new Spelemannskulen, a course for traditional musicians, at the Ole Bull Academy in Voss, Norway. They developed their talents at solo playing on hardingfele and ordinary fiddle, simultaneously cultivating their skills and enjoyment of playing as a duo. Now Liv Merete and Sigrid share their talent and music-making joy in their first recording, “Spindel,” on the Grappa/Heilo label. “Spindel” showcases their talents as a duo and as soloists, and includes several arrangements together with guest musicians.