The fiddler took his mission of dispersing Norwegian folk music to the podium at the studios of leading Bangladeshi TV-channel, Desh TV. The program Phono Live Studio Concert, a music magazine hosted by popular pop-rock singer Alif Alauddin, features well-known local and international musicians who set out their background and showcase their musical repertoire. In Norway, Ljones is renowned for his modern interpretation of traditional folk music, and he is active in a variety of musical constellations, including the group Majorstuen, as a front-man in the Andreas Ljones Band and as a musician and composer in Frikar Dance Company
The 30-minutes special program on the folk fiddler broadcasted on June 21. Dressed in Norway’s national folk costume for the occasion, Ljones took the viewer on a journey through Norwegian traditions rooted in the folk music of the pristine valley Gudbrandsdalen in Norway. Introducing Norwegian folk instruments such as the fiddle, mouth harp and a distinct flute, the program rendered an opportunity for the Bangladeshi audience to strike closer acquaintance with traditional Norwegian musical expressions.
Folk music in the heart of Dhaka
Ljones was in Bangladesh under the auspices of Concerts Norway whose core activity is to provide good concert experiences to children and youths and quality live music to an adult audience, both in and outside of Norway. In addition to the TV-appearance, Ljones also performed for children at the International School in Dhaka, as well as employees of Grameenphone at the company’s premises in Baridhara.
But the tunes of the fiddle did not only waver through the concrete jungle of Dhaka. Save the Children had invited Ljones to give a recital for some of the children they support in one of the most deprived areas they work in. Despite the blistering heat, unusual venue and language barriers, the fiddler captivated enthusiastic children and youths from the open-air scene with his music and acrobatic elements of the Norwegian folk dance, the Halling, in what was a culminating point of the two-day visit according to Ljones himself. “The language of music knows no barriers”, the STC project-manager, Rumi Rahmatullah, concluded following the performance.
The fiddler ended his tour of Dhaka with a live performance at the joint celebration of the Scandinavian National Days.