Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson (her full name) is half Thai and half Chinese. She was born in Singapore on October 27, 1978, one hundred and ninety-six years after Paganini. At age four she moved to London. She was adopted by her English stepfather. Vanessa's first music lesson was on piano at age three. She began taking violin lessons at age five. After winning a prestiges youth piano award, Vanessa-Mae chose to persue the violin seriously. At age ten, Vanessa played with the Philharmonia. She had her first international tour at age twelve with the London Mozart Players in Mozart Bicentenary.
Vanessa-Mae has received heaping praises for her exceptional, expressive playing. Just to quote a few, 'she is a true child prodigy', 'phenomenally talented', 'for this- her spirituality- you have to go back to Heifetz, Menuhin, and Kreisler' She plays an acoustic violin made in 1761 by Giovanni Guadagnini and an electric violin, a white, four string Quartet Series Jazz Violin (MIDI compatible) by Zeta. Her acoustic violin was once stolen from her home. Police managed to track it down and return it to Vanessa in time for a concert for Prince Edward at Buckingham Palace. Then, while on tour, Vanessa-Mae accidently stepped off stage while holding her acoustic violin and it was in pieces. It took weeks to repair, but neither the value nor the sound quality were harmed.
Vanessa-Mae has numerous full albums singles released already. Her most recent recording was entitled Classical Album One and was even released in the United States. She was the youngest violin player ever to have recorded Tchaikovsky and Beethoven Violin Concertos. Vanessa-Mae also has a video, "Live at Royal Albert Hall" from her recent Red Hot tour. The Violin Player was Vanessa-Mae's first techno-acoustic fusion album. She has also released more traditional classical albums, but she wanted to do something different with the violin.
Exerps from the inlay card from the album 'The Violin Player'
Violin playing is a physical art with great traditions behind it. At its best, it conveys qualities of beauty, strength, and mystique. It can evoke emotions, create moods, and stimulate the human mind.
....Playing good music on the violin has a very high 'feel good' factor. I first felt this when I was eight and I am lucky never to have lost the feeling.
So what I like, I will want to play. I have no wish to compartmentalize music. To me, music with its beauty, strength and mystique is for enjoying and for playing. This is the way of the violin player.
I have had fun stretching myself and both my violins working on this album, and I hope that you will listen and enjoy.
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