Nigel Kennedy life and biography

Nigel Kennedy is a British born violinist and violist. He made his early career in the classical field, and he has performed and recorded most of the major violin concerti. He later included jazz, klezmer and other genres in his repertoire.

When he sets foot onstage, Nigel Kennedy raises eyebrows. In his oversized shoes and "punk" attire, Kennedy looks more the waif than the classical violin virtuoso. But when he lifts his bow, it is Kennedy's technical finesse that leaves audiences stunned, dispelling any suspicion that he is anything but a musician of the highest caliber.

Kennedy's unconventional approach to music-making is more than superficial. One of a new breed of classical musician, he has developed a highly individualized style that draws on an eclectic musical background. Inspired by jazz and rock, Kennedy's classical technique is spontaneous and enhanced by his mastery of improvisation.

Born in Brighton, England, Nigel represents a third generation of Kennedys to pursue a career in classical music. Both his grandfather and father were professional cellists--his grandfather a well-respected chamber musician, his father a member of the Royal Philharmonic. Nigel began his musical training at the age of seven when Yehudi Menuhin awarded him a scholarship to attend his highly regarded school in Surrey. It was there that Kennedy turned to the violin and developed a preference for the informal performance style that has become his trademark.

Kennedy, as quoted in the Detroit News, elaborated on this development: "I had this really rigorous teacher who used to hang out backstage to make sure my tie was on straight and that I was wearing the right jacket. Well, I had a lot of trouble wearing a jacket and tie when I performed. So I would wait until she had closed the door behind me when I walked onstage. And then, in front of the audience, I'd take the jacket off, put it on the floor, loosen my tie, play the gig, get back into the jacket and go back offstage before she could find out. That worked out fine until she noticed that the applause went on a bit too long before I played, because a lot of the audience identified with what I was doing. The whole thing was a lesson to me in two ways: first, that I could get away with it, and second, that if you showed who you were, the audience was more likely to identify with you, which is what you want anyway."

It was also at the Menuhin School that Kennedy discovered jazz. Yehudi Menuhin encouraged his interest by introducing him to the renowned jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli, with whom he would later make his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of 17. "Nigel didn't really get into the classical stride until after he had liberated himself in the improvised jazz world," Menuhin noted in the New York Times. Together, Menuhin and Grappelli had great influence on the development of Kennedy's musical style. From Menuhin he gained technical assurance, and from Grappelli, a fondness for spontaneity and a sly sense of play. "Menuhin had the right spiritual approach, yoga before breakfast and all that," Kennedy contended in Harper's Bazaar, adding that "Steph likes to have a whiskey before going onstage, and then enjoy every second of playing. He had a great attitude."

After completing his studies at the Menuhin School, Kennedy became a student of Dorothy DeLay at the prestigious Juilliard School. While at Juilliard he continued to perform as a jazz musician, appearing at Greenwich Village nightclubs with such jazz greats as Stan Getz and Helen Humes.

In 1977 Kennedy made his London debut at the Royal Festival Hall, where he appeared with the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Riccardo Muti. Since that time, his performance schedule has grown to include 120 concerts worldwide each year. He has appeared with major symphony orchestras in North America, Great Britain, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Far East, and performs regularly with the National Symphony and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, which he also conducts. Kennedy has collaborated with such renowned conductors as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Neville Marriner, Antal Dorati, and Andre Previn.

Wherever he performs, Kennedy's technical virtuosity and "everyman" style rarely fail to delight audiences and critics alike. Fans are charmed by his habit of "chatting up" the audience between pieces, addressing its members fondly as "monster," "animal," and "mate." Critics are awed by his sheer artistry. A reporter for the Detroit News deemed him "easily the most refreshing, disarming, personal, intuitive, [impetuous] and unorthodox fiddler currently before the public." A Boston Globe reviewer described his playing as "technically assured, extremely musical, dashing, elegant, and sweet-toned," while a Washington Post critic assessed Kennedy as "gifted not only with an incredible pair of hands but also with a superb set of musical instincts. He is able to play not only with incredible speed, power, and accuracy ... but also with a heart-on-sleeve romanticism when the music requires it."

In addition to maintaining a rigorous performing schedule, Kennedy has recorded extensively. He has an exclusive and unprecedented contract with EMI Records that includes a rock, classical, and jazz repertoire.

Kennedy's rock recordings include collaborations withZPaul McCartney, Talk Talk, and Kate Bush, on herZalbum The Sensual World and on her single "Experi-Zment IV" from the album The Whole Story. He alsoZcomposed his own progressive rock album Let Loose Zwith keyboardist Dave Heath. "Writing rock music real-Zly helps me," Kennedy maintained in Vogue. "BeingZinvolved in compositional techniques yourself makesZyou appreciate the techniques of the classicalZcomposers."

Judging from the critical acclaim his classical recordings have received, Kennedy does indeed appreciate those techniques. His rendition of the Elgar Violin Concerto, recorded with the London Philharmonic, was named best classical recording at the British Record Industry Awards ceremony and was honored as record of the year by Gramophone in 1985.

Kennedy then recorded Bartok's Sonata for Solo Violin along with "Mainly Black"--an interpretation of Duke Ellington's orchestral suite "Black, Brown and Beige"--two pieces that were also included on his Strad Jazz album. The inspired pairing of these two 1940s classics was hailed by critics for its innovation.

By mid-1992 Kennedy had decided to form his own string quartet and concentrate chiefly on music in the rock and jazz arenas rather than classical. "Others might see it as a giant leap, but I don't," he explained in Entertainment Weekly. "If the true test of classical music is being remembered, [rock artists Jimi] Hendrix and Led Zeppelin are the classical artists of their age."

An accomplished musician at an unusually young age, Kennedy has not let success go to his head. When asked about his booming career by a correspondent for the Baltimore Evening Sun, as reprinted in the Oakland Press, he responded in characteristically humble fashion: "I'm pleased to have a career now because it means I can buy a violin and live in a place with more than one room. But you can't take the music for granted.... The best audience I played for was in a pub in Dublin, elbow to elbow with people and mugs of Guinness. I was playing with a local violinist and the audience was so quiet that you really could've heard a pin drop. That's what I'm after. As long as I get that, the career doesn't matter."

In late 2005, Kennedy went to New York to record his first album for the jazz label Blue Note Records. Other musicians on the album were Ron Carter on double bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums; and saxophonist Joe Lovano. Kennedy has since stated that "from now on, at least 50 per cent of my endeavour is going to be in the jazz field".

Classical releases:
- Bartok, Bela and Duke Ellington: Sonata for Solo Violin (Bartok); Mainly Black (Ellington), Angel/EMI, 1986.
-Elgar, Sir Edward William: Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61 Angel/EMI, 1984.
-Just Listen EMI, 1992.
-Mendelssohn, Felix and Max Bruch: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 (Mendelssohn); Violin Concerto in G minor, Op. 26 (Bruch), Angel/EMI, 1986.
-Sibelius, Jean: Violin Concerto, Symphony No. 5 Angel/EMI, 1986.
-Vivaldi, Antonio: The Four Seasons Angel/EMI, 1989.
-Walton, Sir William Turner: Violin Concerto, Viola Concerto Angel/EMI, 1987.

Nonclassical releases:
-Nigel Kennedy: Let Loose EMI.
-Nigel Kennedy Plays Jazz Chandos.
-Once Upon a Long Ago EMI.
-Strad Jazz Chandos.
-Also contributed to Kate Bush's album The Sensual World Columbia, 1989, and single "Experiment IV" from The Whole Story EMI, 1987.

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