Arve Moen Bergset (born 13 March 1972) is a Norwegian traditional folk singer,

hardanger fiddle A hardanger fiddle () is a traditional stringed instrument considered the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than four as on a standard v ...

r, and classical

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist. He is known both for his solo works as well as for his works with

Bukkene Bruse Bukkene Bruse (established in 1988 in Norway) is a Norwegian traditional folk music band, presenting a varied repertoire of traditional and folk-style Norwegian songs, but also including many new compositions based on various Norwegian musical tr ...

Life and career

He was born in

Sandnessjøen Sandnessjøen is a town and the administrative centre of Alstahaug Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Sandnessjøen was granted special trading privileges in the late 1600s, but it did not receive town status until 1999. Sandnessjøen is ...

, Nordland County in 1972. When he was five, he moved to

Vinje Vinje is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vest-Telemark which is part of Øvre Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Åmot. Other villages in the muni ...

, an area with rich folk music traditions.

Odd Nordstoga Odd Nordstoga (born 10 December 1972) is a folk singer, musician, actor and editor from Vinje Municipality in Telemark, Norway. In 2004, he went from relative obscurity to becoming the country's biggest selling recording artist, with the phenome ...

was among his childhood friends. At eight, he started taking song lessons with

Sondre Bratland Sondre Bratland (born 11 September 1938) is a Norwegian folk singer, song teacher and Government scholar. He has performed traditional songs from Setesdal and Telemark, collected religious folk tunes and composed music to songs by poets as Olav ...

.Anne Sofie Stang et al
Arve Moen Bergset
NRK, 6 September 2007 He released two albums of folk and traditional religious music as a boy singer in 1986 (''Litle Fuglen'', cassette) and ''Arvesølv'' in 1987. For ''Arvesølv'', he won the

Spellemannprisen The Spellemannprisen (also referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards) is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry#Local associations, IFPI Norge and :no:FONO, FONO. It was first awarded i ...

award in the category of traditional music. Bergset is a member of

, a Norwegian folk music group, for whom he sings and plays the violin. In 1994, Bergset was an Olympic musician at the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, were an international winter multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Hav ...

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

.Arve Moen Bergset
Oslofilharmonien.no, retrieved 30 March 2013 Parallel to his folk music career, he is a classical musician, educated at the

Norwegian Academy of Music The Norwegian Academy of Music (Norwegian: ''Norges musikkhøgskole'', NMH) is a university-level music conservatory located in Oslo, Norway, in the neighbourhood of Majorstuen, Frogner. It is the largest music academy in Norway and offers the ...

. He has played with the

Norwegian Chamber Orchestra Det Norske Kammerorkester or The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra (established in 1977) is a chamber orchestra based in Oslo. Biography The orchestra was founded by the violinist Bjarne Fiskum who got the idea for a summer course for young string tale ...

and is since 2003 employed as a violinist in the

Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra The Oslo Philharmonic () is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 1871, and was esta ...

. Bergset played the solo part in the recording of the two Hardanger Fiddle Concertos by

Geirr Tveitt Geirr Tveitt (born Nils Tveit; 19 October 1908 – 1 February 1981) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. Tveitt was a central figure of the national movement in Norwegian cultural life during the 1930s. Life Early years Tveitt was born in Be ...

with the

Stavanger Symphony Orchestra The Stavanger Symphony Orchestra (, SSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Stavanger, Norway. The SSO principal venue is the Stavanger Concert Hall (Stavanger konserthus), performing in the Fartein Valen concert hall. History The Norwegian Broad ...

in September 1999, under the direction of

Ole Kristian Ruud Ole Kristian Ruud (born 2 October 1958) is a Norwegian conductor. Ruud was born in Lillestrøm. He studied clarinet with Richard Kjelstrup at the Norwegian Academy of Music. He studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy and made his debut in Os ...

. Arve Moen Bergset also performs with his wife, pianist Gudrun Skretting. Their daughter Margrete (Maggie) was a finalist in the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix Junior 2008.Eyvind Sverre Menne
MGP jr. jubel for"Maggie"
Budstikka, 5 September 2008 The family lives in

Billingstad Billingstad is a village in Asker municipality, Akershus county, Norway. It is close to the border of Bærum and Vestmarka (Oslomarka), Vestmarka and is 18 km west of Oslo. It has 2,349 residents (2006). The area is both residential and com ...

, Akershus County.

Discography

Solo records

* ''Litle fuglen'' (1986, cassette) * ''Arvesølv'' (1987) *''Religiøse folketonar'' (1997)

As soloist

* Johan Kvandal: ''Fantasia for hardingfele og orkester'' (1999 – soloist with hardanger fiddle)) with Kristiansand kammerorkester and conductor Jan Stigmer. *

Stephen Frost Stephen Frederick Eustace Frost (born 28 December 1955) is an English actor and comedian, best known for his work on ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' as well as several projects with comedy partner Mark Arden. Early life Frost was born in Redr ...

: ''Bassoon Concerto; Oboe Concerto; The Lesson'' (2000 – soloist as classical singer at the Lesson) with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and conductor Tony Harrison *

: ''To konsertar for hardingfele og orkester'' (2002 – soloist with hardanger fiddle) with

and conductor

Johan Halvorsen Johan Halvorsen (15 March 1864 – 4 December 1935) was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist. Life Born in Drammen, he was an accomplished violinist from a very early age and became a prominent figure in Norwegian musical life. He r ...

s ''Fossegrimen, Greetings to Roosevelt'' (2002 – soloist with hardanger fiddle) with

Latvian National Symphony Orchestra The Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO; ) is a Latvian orchestra based in Riga. Its primary performance venue is the Great Guild Hall in Riga. In addition to regular symphonic concerts, the orchestra also broadcasts and records. H ...

With Bukkene Bruse

See

References

1972 births Norwegian fiddlers Norwegian folk singers Norwegian traditional musicians Norwegian male classical violinists Living people People from Vinje People from Alstahaug Spellemannprisen winners 21st-century Norwegian singers 21st-century Norwegian classical violinists 21st-century Norwegian male singers 21st-century Norwegian folk musicians Players of the Oslo Philharmonic {{Norway-singer-stub