Featured Performers:
ZiG Duo: Gundula Gruen & Zivorad Nikolic

German-born violinist Gundula could well have been raised in the Balkans, for her playing imparts the true soul of Gypsy music, bursting with colour and passion, an explosion of energy… She started Zig in 2004, and drives this group with her spirit and motivation.

The ZiG Duo, Gundula on violin and Zivorad on accordion, are the heart of this group. They perform a wonderful and virtuoso repertoire of traditional Gypsy, folk and klezmer pieces from Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Strongly influenced by Zivorad's native Serbia, it is very much complemented by Gundula's passion for Gypsy music.

On occasion they are joined by double bassist Oliver Baldwin, who with his Balkan Bass injects extra verve and energy to the group – the ZiG Trio.

The ZiG Quartet is completed with Serbian darbuka player Rastko Radic, who with his powerful, exotic rhythms turns the performance into a true Balkan feast.

ZiG have performed concerts, festivals and other events in London and around the UK, and have also appeared on television and radio. Recent sessions include a live session for the BBC programme Roma Rokker Radio.

They take their audience on a voyage of discovery through Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Listeners are enchanted by the wild rhythms, deeply touching melodies, thrilling complexity of the music – but it's the passionate performance and the rapport between these musicians that bring across such amazing joy and positive energy.

In How Music Works, Zig Duo perform Romany Czardas.

Find out more about Zig Duo >