- Nigel Kennedy
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Nigel Kennedy 
Nigel Kennedy, Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2009Background information Born 28 December 1956
Brighton, EnglandGenres Jazz, Classical, Classic rock Occupations Violinist, violist Instruments Violin, viola Years active 1966–present Labels EMI Classics Notable instruments Violin
Guarneri del Gesu, 'La Fonte' c.1735, Stradivari, Scott Cao, Johannes Finkel bow, Violectra electric violinNigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) 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.
Contents
Biography
Musical lineage
Nigel Kennedy's grandfather was Lauri Kennedy, a British-born musician and principal cellist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra,[1] who played with Fritz Kreisler, Jascha Heifetz, Arthur Rubinstein and others. His grandmother was Dorothy Kennedy, a pianist, who accompanied John McCormack and taught Enrico Caruso's children. Lauri and Dorothy settled in Australia, where their son, the cellist John Kennedy, was born. At the age of 24, John moved to England and joined the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, later becoming the principal cellist of Sir Thomas Beecham's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. While in England, John developed a relationship with an English pianist, Scylla Stoner, with whom he eventually toured in 1952 as part of the Llewellyn-Kennedy Piano Trio (with the violinist Ernest Llewellyn; Stoner was billed as "Scylla Kennedy" although she and John never married). However, John ultimately left Stoner and returned to Australia, unaware she was pregnant by him. John remained unaware of the existence of his son, Nigel Kennedy, until they met for the first time when Nigel was 11.[2] Nigel Kennedy has about 30 close relatives in Australia, whom he visits whenever he tours there.[3]
Early life
Nigel Kennedy was born in Brighton, East Sussex. A boy prodigy, as a 10-year-old he would pick out Fats Waller tunes on the piano after hearing his stepfather's jazz records.[4] He was a pupil at the Yehudi Menuhin School of Music, and later studied at the Juilliard School in New York with Dorothy DeLay.
Career
At the age of 16, Kennedy was invited by Stéphane Grappelli to appear with him at New York's Carnegie Hall, under the threat from his teachers at the Juilliard that it would ruin his classical career.[5] He made his recording debut in 1984 with Elgar's Violin Concerto. Kennedy's recording of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons with the English Chamber Orchestra in 1989 sold over 2 million copies and earned a place as one of the best-selling classical works ever.[6] The album remained top of the UK classical charts for over a year with sales equivalent to one copy sold every 30 seconds.[7]
He gave numerous performances for The Prince's Trust, the Royal Variety Performance and private performances at St. James's Palace and Buckingham Palace. He released his biography Always Playing in 1991.[8] He then took the controversial and highly publicised decision to withdraw completely from public performance, at which point he made the album Music In Color with Stephen Duffy. He made a triumphant return to the international concert platform to critical acclaim five years later.[7] In 1997, Kennedy received an award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music at the BRIT Awards, and in 2001 received the 'Male Artist of the Year' award.[7]
Kennedy recorded a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Fire" for the 1993 album Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix. In 1999 Sony Classical released The Kennedy Experience, which featured improvisational recordings of Hendrix compositions. According to a BBC interview with Kennedy, the violinist stated that the recording is "an album of music inspired by Jimi Hendrix. It is an extended instrumental work in six movements, each movement a classical interpretation of a Hendrix song".[9] On the recording, Kennedy is accompanied by seven other musicians, and the lineup includes two cellos, an oboe, two guitars, a Dobro, flute, and double bass. With cellist Lynn Harrell, he has recorded an album of duets.
In 2000, he has recorded Riders on the Storm: The Doors Concerto (with Jaz Coleman), a violin based orchestral version of many Doors songs, including "Strange Days", "LA Woman", "The End", and "Riders On The Storm". And, on the 27th of November, Kennedy joined rock group The Who at the Royal Albert Hall to play the violin solo on the song "Baba O'Riley", released three years later on the album Live at the Royal Albert Hall. Kennedy has played on several tracks by British singer/songwriter Kate Bush, who was a guest on Kennedy's episode of This Is Your Life. He was featured on two of Sarah Brightman's songs for her 2003 album Harem.
He has been exploring Klezmer music with the Polish jazz band Kroke. The band consists of musicians "who have been knocking around with Kennedy for five years. ... [Kennedy explains], 'I met them all separately at jam sessions in the jazz club near where I live in Cracow, ... I thought: that’s the drummer I want, that’s the bass player, and so on. They’ve all got their own projects.'"[10]
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".[4]
Kennedy appointed a new manager, Terri Robson[citation needed], and returned to the Proms after an absence of 21 years, performing Elgar's Violin Concerto and a late-night Prom with the Nigel Kennedy Quintet.[10]
He also plays the viola, and has recorded Sir William Walton's Viola Concerto.[11]
Image
Kennedy's persona is seen by some as abrasive and limiting to his career,[12] citing as an example his use of a 'Mockney' accent instead of the Received Pronunciation he had when he was interviewed as a child in 1964 on the BBC's Town and Around.[13]
Kennedy was attacked for his approach to classical music by John Drummond in 1991, who called him "a Liberace for the Nineties" and criticised his "ludicrous clothes and grotesque, self-invented accent."[14][15]
Until 2006 he had expressed his intention of not appearing on the classical London concert scene with a London orchestra, seen by some as arrogance[5] and stated by Kennedy in terms of frustrated perfectionism: "It all comes down to the amount of rehearsal you get, or don't get, in this country. I insist on three or four sessions prior to a concert, and orchestral administrators won't accommodate that. If I didn't care about getting it right I could do three concerts in the same amount of time and earn three times the money. But you can't do something properly in less time than it takes."[5]
Kennedy expresses a preference[16] for the immediate appeal of live performance, and often records entire works or movements in single 'takes' to preserve this sense in his recordings. He also introduces improvisatory elements in his performances, as in his Jimi Hendrix-inspired cadenza to the Beethoven Violin Concerto and his jazz and fusion recordings.
Personal life
When not touring, Kennedy divides his time between residences in Malvern, Worcestershire (where his ex-partner and son Sark live); and London and Kraków where he lives with his Polish second wife, Agnieszka.[4][5][17][18]
In the late 80s, Kennedy was romantically involved with singer/guitarist Brix Smith.
Kennedy is a well-known Aston Villa F.C. supporter.[19] At Przystanek Woodstock 2010, he had his orchestra wear Aston Villa shirts, while directing the crown in the team's chants. Whilst living and recording in Poland he also took an active interest in Cracovia, in whose 100th anniversary club replica kit he appeared.
On 24 October 2006, Kennedy broke his arm in a cycling accident, confirmed in an interview on BBC Radio 3 on 20 April 2007.[20]
Kennedy has acknowledged regularly smoking cannabis in order to aid his creativity.[21]
Politics
Kennedy is a socialist.[22] He supported David Davis's campaign when he quit his shadow home secretary post to force a by election in protest over proposals to allow terrorist suspects to be locked up for 42 days without charge.
The musician is a vocal opponent of Israel's policies in the West Bank, and, in the summer of 2007, he told a Ha'aretz reporter:
"I was shocked to see these walls, it's a new apartheid, barbaric behaviour: How can you impose such a collective punishment and separate people? After all, we are all living on the same planet. It seems to me the world should have already learned from what happened in South Africa. And a country that hasn't learned should be boycotted, so that's why I don't perform in your country."[23]
Discography
Year Album Notes 2010 The Very Best of Nigel Kennedy (EMI) with various artists 2008 A Very Nice Album (EMI) Nigel Kennedy Quintet (Nigel Kennedy, electric violin; Adam Kowalewski, bass; Paweł Dobrowolski, drums; Tomasz Grzegorski, tenor sax; Piotr Wyleżoł, piano) with vocals by Xantoné Blacq & Chris Lung; Sylwia Wójcik, cello; Suzy Willison-Kawalec, harp; Beethoven: Violin Concerto / Mozart: Violin Concerto No.4 / Horace Silver: Creepin In (EMI) Polish Chamber Orchestra 2007 Polish Spirit (EMI) Polish Chamber Orchestra, Jacek Kaspszyk The Platinum Collection (EMI) with various artists 2006 The Bluenote Sessions (EMI) Kennedy, Live at La Citadelle (DVD) (EMI) Polish Chamber Orchestra Inner Thoughts (EMI) Nigel Kennedy Plays Bach (DVD) (EMI) Irish Chamber Orchestra 2005 Legend: Beethoven and Bruch (CD+DVD) (EMI) NDR Symphony Orchestra, Klaus Tennstedt / English Chamber Orchestra, Jeffrey Tate 2004 Vivaldi II (EMI) Berliner Philharmoniker 2003 East Meets East (EMI) with Kroke Vivaldi Berliner Philharmoniker 2002 Greatest Hits (EMI) with various artists 2000 Kennedy Plays Bach (EMI) (as Kennedy) Riders on the Storm: The Doors Concerto (Decca) as Kennedy with Jaz Coleman Duos for Violin & Cello (EMI) as Kennedy with Lynn Harrell 1999 Classic Kennedy (EMI) (as Kennedy) 1999 The Kennedy Experience (Sony) (as Kennedy) 1998 Kreisler (EMI) (as Kennedy) 1997 Elgar: Violin Concerto / Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending (EMI) (as Kennedy), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle 1996 Kafka (EMI) 1993 Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto (EMI) London Philharmonic Orchestra, Okko Kamu 1992 Beethoven: Violin Concerto NDR Symphony Orchestra, Klaus Tennstedt Just Listen: Sibelius: Violin Concerto / Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto (EMI) City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Okko Kamu 1991 Brahms: Violin Concerto in D, Op. 77 (EMI) London Philharmonic Orchestra, Klaus Tennstedt 1989 Vivaldi: The Four Seasons (EMI) English Chamber Orchestra 1988 Sibelius: Violin Concerto (EMI) City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor / Bruch: Violin Concerto No.1 / Schubert: Rondo in A (EMI) English Chamber Orchestra, Jeffrey Tate 1987 Let Loose Walton: Violin Concerto / Viola Concerto (EMI) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, André Previn 1986 Bartók: Mainly Black / Ellington: Sonata for Solo Violin (EMI) with Alec Dankworth (double bass) Tchaikovsky; Violin Concerto / Chausson: Poeme (EMI) London Philharmonic Orchestra, Okko Kamu 1984 Elgar: Violin Concerto in B minor, Op.61 (EMI) London Philharmonic Orchestra, Vernon Handley Salut d'Amour & Other Elgar Favourites (Chandos) Nigel Kennedy Plays Jazz (Chandos) Instruments
Nigel Kennedy has owned or used violins by:
- Guarneri del Gesu, 'La Fonte' c.1735;
- Stradivari, 'La Cathédrale' 1707;
- Scott Cao;
- Torbjörn Zethelius, 1991
- Anselmo Bellosio, 1792 viola
- Johannes Finkel bow
- Violectra electric violin
References
- ^ John White, Lionel Tertis. Books.google.com.au. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=RfpLcZf6zaoC&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&dq=nigel+kennedy+lauri&source=web&ots=3OYeDJDFrV&sig=9DWaeJi0cAWcSHFDtkB1EyJVEBA&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA53,M1. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
- ^ "NSW HSC online". Hsc.csu.edu.au. http://www.hsc.csu.edu.au/music/musicology/info/topics/instrument_and_repertoire/instrument_violin_kennedy.htm. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
- ^ Limelight, February 2008
- ^ a b c Nigel Kennedy: All jazzed up The Independent - 5 December 2007
- ^ a b c d "If you need a pillock, call me", The Guardian, 29 September 2006
- ^ Not quite Vivaldi: Nigel Kennedy remembers Hendrix CNN.com - 23 August 1999.
- ^ a b c "We may play dead composers' works, but we don't have to look as if we're still at the funeral", - Nigel Kennedy ClassicFM
- ^ Nigel Kennedy Always Playing. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1991 ISBN 0-2978-1209-2
- ^ Interview with Nigel Kennedy on his album of Jimi Hendrix compositions from the BBC News website
- ^ a b Richard Morrison "Nigel Kennedy returns to the BBC Proms", The Times, 11 July 2008.
- ^ "Nigel Kennedy and the viola". Viola-in-music.com. http://www.viola-in-music.com/Nigel-Kennedy.html. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
- ^ "Get Nigel Kennedy's Four Seasons CD FREE in today's Mail On Sunday | Mail Online". The Daily Mail (London). 9 March 2008. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-522997/Get-Nigel-Kennedys-Four-Seasons-CD-FREE-todays-Mail-On-Sunday.html. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
- ^ Preston, John (8 June 2008). "Nigel Kennedy: 'I didn't want to be the Des O'Connor of the violin'". London: Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/3553974/Nigel-Kennedy-I-didnt-want-to-be-the-Des-OConnor-of-the-violin.html. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
- ^ Nigel Kennedy: All jazzed up The Independent - 2 April 2007
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ booklet Beethoven violin concerto (1992)
- ^ "Nigel Kennedy tries less spit, more Polish", The Times, 26 October 2007.
- ^ "Nigel Kennedy is back. Nigel Kennedy is back from the Polish wilderness with a fine new album."[dead link]
- ^ "Famous Aston Villa supporters". Avfc.co.uk. http://www.avfc.co.uk/page/FamousFans/0,,10265,00.html. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
- ^ http://www.musicalamerica.com/news/newsstory.cfm?archived=0&storyid=14824&categoryid=2&cookies=1
- ^ Hall, Allan; Ward, Victoria (5 October 2010). "Nigel Kennedy admits smoking cannabis at drugs raid party". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/8043722/Nigel-Kennedy-admits-smoking-cannabis-at-drugs-raid-party.html.
- ^ "First violin / Prelude to dialogue". Noam Ben Zeev . Ha'aretz, 24 December 2007.
External links
- Kennedy's discography at EMI Classics
- The Kennedy Experience at Sony Classical
- Nigel Kennedy at Allmusic
- Television Interview with Nigel Kennedy from C Music TV
Simon Jeffes
Barbara Bolte · Roger Chase · Danny Cummings · Dave DeFries · Wilfred Gibson · Stephen Fischer · Michael Giles · Nigel Kennedy · Chris Laurence · Helen Liebmann · Steve Nye · Geoffrey Richardson · Kathryn Tickell · Naná Vasconcelos · Annie Whitehead · Gavyn Wright · Emily YoungStudio albums Music from the Penguin Cafe · Penguin Cafe Orchestra · Broadcasting from Home · Signs of Life · Union CafeEPs Live alums Categories:- 1956 births
- Living people
- People from Brighton
- Juilliard School alumni
- English classical violinists
- English classical violists
- British expatriates in Poland
- British socialists
- English classical musicians
- English violinists
- English violists
- People educated at Yehudi Menuhin School
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