Nigel Kennedy

The Violin - FROM THE PAST TO THE FUTURE

with special guest Roby Lakatos

Join maverick violin superstar, Nigel Kennedy, as he takes his audience on an exhilarating journey from solo Bach through to show stopping numbers incorporating the musical influences of classical, jazz, celtic, folk, rock, gypsy and way beyond !

For over twenty-five years, Nigel Kennedy has been acknowledged as one of the world's leading violin virtuosos and is, without doubt, the most important violinist Britain has ever seen. His virtuoso technique, unique talent and mass appeal have brought fresh perspectives to both the classical and contemporary repertoire. He is the best selling classical violinist of all time.

Nigel Kennedy has attracted an enormous amount of worldwide media attention throughout an extraordinary career and his international television appearances have been wide and varied. He has given public and private performances for members of the British royal family and has also been presented with many awards (Male Artist of the Year at the UK Brit Awards, Vivement Dimanche Gold Award, numerous Echo Awards, Grammy Awards; Gold Rose of Montreux etc).
His first landmark recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the best-selling classical work of all time. It sold in excess of 2 million copies and the album remained top of the UK classical charts for almost two years.

His passion for jazz resulted in albums. The Nigel Kennedy Quintet ’s 2009 release, named in typically idiosyncratic fashion, A Very Nice Album, marked a typically bold excursion into non-classical repertoire. His earlier Bluenote album focussed on interpreting compositions from past masters of the jazz repertoire but, for A Very Nice Album, Kennedy stepped to the fore as composer as well as improviser. 2010 saw the release of the latest Nigel Kennedy Quintet release of mainly original Kennedy compositions, entitled SHHH!

Nigel Kennedy is a passionate Aston Villa fan and attends as many games as his schedule allows. He has one son, is married to Polish lawyer, Agnieszka, and they divide their time between homes in the UK and Poland.
As well as several customised 5 string electric violins, Nigel Kennedy plays a 1732 instrument by the great violin maker, Carlo Bergonzi of Cremona.

Collaborators:

Nigel Kennedy
Marian Mexicanu - accordion
Doug Boyle - guitar
Yaron Stavi - bass
Krzysztof Dziedzic - drums

www.nigel-kennedy.net

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSNz7LPz7yE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gO4mYN92Cg