Sigmund Groven
Biography Sigmund Groven
Sigmund Groven
is one of Norway’s most famous and beloved musicians and composers. Now working in his 6th decade as one of the world’s finest performers of the harmonica, Sigmund Groven has become a household name in Norway for his emotional and timeless renditions of popular tunes, folk music, classical works, and his own compositions.
As an international artist Sigmund Groven has performed with major symphony orchestras throughout the world, enthralled festival goers and given concerts in some of the most respected concert halls. You might even catch him entertaining cruise ship guests or giving royal command performances. He also shares his art and knowledge through popular master classes around the world.
In between touring the world or performing at local art centers and churches in Norway, Groven finds time to record albums which always bring you the best of the harmonica. Filled with Groven’s characteristic original compositions, or special arrangements of well known compositions from world famous composers, these albums reflect the Nordic moods which have always inspired him.
In the right hands the lowly mouth-organ can be an instrument of great beauty and sophistication. Sigmund Groven, like Tommy Reilly and Larry Adler before him, makes full use of the wide range and tonal expressions that the harmonica is capable of. His musicianship is superb, and he now unquestionably reigns supreme as one of the finest exponents of the harmonica in the world” – Sir George Martin, producer of The Beatles
For five decades Sigmund Groven has had an international career as soloist, composer and recording artist.
He was born in Heddal, Telemark, Norway, into a musical family; his uncle, Eivind Groven, was a composer and musicologist. Sigmund’s interest in the harmonica was aroused at the age of nine upon hearing a record of the legendary harmonica pioneer, the late Tommy Reilly, who became his source of inspiration as a musician, his mentor, and close associate. They appeared together in concert and on radio and TV in Europe and North America, and in 1976 they recorded, in London, a duo album of original works written for them by such composers as Robert Farnon, Gordon Jacob, James Moody, and Vilem Tausky.
Sigmund Groven made his recital debut on Norwegian radio in 1965, and his first LP was released by Polydor in 1975. To celebrate his anniversaries GRAPPA Music Group released Sigmund Groven Collection, a series of three CDs featuring highlights from his recording career as well as some newly recorded and previously unpublished tracks. Volume one, Harmonica Hits, was released in 2014, the second volume Tradition in 2015, and the final volume Concerto had more of a classical profile, including transcriptions of baroque music as well as original music for harmonica.
In addition to his studies with Tommy Reilly, Groven graduated from the University of Oslo as a B.A. (English, History, Political Science), and before concentrating on his career as a full-time musician and composer he worked for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) as an announcer, presenter, and music producer, and also did free-lance work as a record producer.
For more than 30 years he has been teaching at the annual summer courses organized by the Norwegian Harmonica Association. He has also been teaching at the Trondheim Conservatory of Music and has given master-classes both in Europe, North America, and several Asian countries. From 2018 he is harmonica professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo.
Sigmund Groven plays a custom-made silver concert harmonica (“Polle Concert Harmonica”) and his repertoire ranges from popular and folk music to his own compositions, from Bach to contemporary music.
His career in Europe has included performances with such orchestras as the Academy of St.Martin-in-the-Fields, Rotterdam Philharmonic, the radio orchestras of Berlin, Munich, Brussels, Stockholm, Oslo, Hilversum, and BBC London, concerts for EXPO Sevilla, UNESCO Paris, “Posidonia” in Athens, the 1994 Winter Olympics at Lillehammer, the Edvard Grieg Sesquicentennial Celebrations, as well as appearances at the Dartington Summer Music, the Bergen International Festival and other prestigious festivals. In 2002 he became the first harmonica player to appear as soloist with the Mozarteum Orchestra in Salzburg, giving the world premiere of Siegfried Steinkogler’s Harmonica Concerto.
His concert at the 25th Budapest Spring Festival, which also featured such illustrious names as the Chicago Symphony, Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Barbara Hendricks and The King’s Singers, was described by a critic as ”the most moving performance in the history of the festival”, and he has since frequently been invited back to Hungary for more concerts, in 2018/19 a series of concerts as soloist with various symphony orchestras.
On many occasions Sigmund Groven has given Royal Command Performances for the Kings and Queens of Norway and Sweden, and for 30 years has been featured as headline performer on cruise ships around the world. ....
