Biography

For the past 25 years, Nigel Kennedy has been acknowledged as one of the world's leading violin virtuosos and is, without doubt, one of the most important violinists Britain has ever produced. His virtuosic technique, unique talent and popular appeal have brought fresh perspectives to both the classical and contemporary repertoire.

As a child, he was Yehudi Menuhin's most famous protégé, studying first at the Menuhin School - following Lord Menuhin's death, it emerged that the legendary violinist had personally paid the young Kennedy's fees throughout his education at the school - before moving to the Juilliard School of Music in New York to study under the celebrated teacher, Dorothy DeLay.

During his career, Nigel Kennedy has undertaken major tours across four continents, performing with the world's major orchestras and conductors; he has made appearances at the most important festivals in Europe and the United States. Major debuts have included his 1977 London Royal Festival Hall performance of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, with the Philharmonia under Riccardo Muti, his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1980 and his New York orchestral debut in 1987.

Nigel Kennedy has attracted an enormous amount of UK and international media attention throughout his extraordinary career. His television appearances have been wide and varied; his interpretations of both Bruch's and the Brahms Concerti triggered chart busting status whilst his historic Vivaldi Four Seasons went on to win the coveted television aware The Gold Rose of Montreux. He has been the subject of ITV's This is Your Life and has given numerous Royal Performances including at Birmingham's NEC for the Prince's Trust, the London Palladium for the Royal Variety Performance before Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, for Turning Point with Princess Diana and even private soirees at both St James and Buckingham Palace for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme.

A major EMI artist since the very start of his career, Nigel Kennedy's multi-award-winning discography is extensive. He has made two highly-acclaimed recordings of Elgar's Violin Concerto; the first, with the London Philharmonic and Vernon Handley, achieved gold disc status, was voted 1985 Record of the Year by Gramophone magazine and was awarded Best Classical Album of the Year at the BPI Awards, selling in excess of 300,000 copies. His recordings of the Brahms and Beethoven violin concertos have each sold over 100,000 copies and his 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. Over 2 million copies have been sold and the album remained top of the UK classical charts for over a year with someone buying a copy every 30 seconds of every day.

Other major recordings include the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the London Philharmonic; the Bartók Solo Sonata together with Mainly Black, Nigel's own arrangement of Ellington's Black Brown and Beige Suite; the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle; Walton's Violin Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and André Previn and the Bruch and Mendelssohn concertos with the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jeffrey Tate. EMI has also released an acclaimed disc of Nigel Kennedy's own compositions, Kafka. Kennedy's recording of the Brahms Violin Concerto with the London Philharmonic, under the direction of Klaus Tennstedt, was released in March 1991 and, in June 1992, he joined forces with the NDR-Sinfonieorchester and Klaus Tennstedt to record the Beethoven Violin Concerto. Also in his catalogue are chamber works by Debussy and Ravel, and Berg's Violin Concerto.

Nigel Kennedy launched Always Playing, a best selling book about part of his life - the violinist is loathe to call it a biography - at the Edinburgh Book Fair in August 1991, published in paperback the following year. It reached No 5 in the Sunday Times Best Sellers list.

In 1992, Nigel Kennedy took the controversial and highly publicised decision to withdraw completely from public performance. During this period, EMI issued A Portrait of Nigel Kennedy.

Following a five-year sabbatical, in April 1997, he made a triumphant return to the international concert platform. Even though the performance took place during the run-up to the British General Election, news of his reappearance occupied the front pages of national newspapers. The Times critic declared, "Only one British violinist in my lifetime has produced anything as bold and exhilarating as that. It is his playing, though, that most reveals Kennedy's new maturity. No other violinist on earth could manage the astonishing stylistic transition presented." The Daily Telegraph stated, "Here was a reminder that Nigel Kennedy is a violinist in a million."

Since then the world famous violinist has been in constant demand on the international circuit, touring major venues in countries throughout the world, including Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. In 1998, he made a highly acclaimed North American tour, his first for over five years and, since then, he has returned to the USA many times.

On his return to the studio, Nigel Kennedy re-recorded the Elgar Violin Concerto, alongside Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending, with Sir Simon Rattle and the CBSO. The Daily Telegraph reviewer commented, "the unaccompanied cadenza in the finale has a greater spine-tingling eeriness than I have ever experienced before and the closing bars unleash a quite shattering intensity." In 1998 he devoted a recital disc to the works of the great violinist and composer, Fritz Kreisler. He has also produced and released The Kennedy Experience, works based on and inspired by the music of the legendary Jimi Hendrix. In 1999, Kennedy joined forces with one of the world's leading 'cellists, Lynn Harrell, to produce a critically acclaimed disc of chamber works by Bach, Ravel & Kodaly; later that year, EMI released Classic Kennedy, a collection of short pieces with the English Chamber Orchestra, which shot straight to number 1 in the UK classical charts. The following year, he released a concerto based on the work of rock band, The Doors.

2000 saw the release of Nigel Kennedy's first recording of works by Bach, a programme featuring four of the composer's best-known works: the Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, the Concerto for Oboe and Violin in D Minor and the A Minor and E Major violin concertos. Directed by the violinist himself, it also represents the first recording collaboration between him and one of the world's oldest and most revered orchestras, the Berlin Philharmonic. During the 2000/2001 season, Nigel Kennedy gave major international concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic.

In 2000, Kennedy was presented with an award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music at the UK BRIT AWARDS, which took place at London's Royal Albert Hall; the following year, the same body awarded him the coveted Male Artist of the Year; the violinist headlined the televised awards ceremony with a performance of Bach with the Berlin Philharmonic and stunned the audience with an exhilarating interpretation of the Monte Czardas with Kroke, a trio of Polish musicians based in Krakow.

His 2002 engagements included further concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic, performing Vivaldi Concertos, and a series of concerts with Kroke. 2002 also marked the 25th ANNIVERSARY of Kennedy's London debut. To celebrate the occasion Kennedy released his GREATEST HITS album worldwide and embarked on a triumphant GREATEST HITS TOUR with the Polish Chamber Orchestra in the autumn.

In September 2002 Kennedy was appointed Artist Director of the Polish Chamber Orchestra, a role Kennedy's teacher and mentor, the late Lord Menuhin, once held. In June 2003 EMI releases the latest instalment of Kennedy's remarkable musical journey, East meets East, which celebrates the musical traditions of Eastern Europe and North Africa. It was recorded last year in Krakow with Polish folk trio Kroke, and produced by Jaz Coleman and John Stanley.

Kennedy is now reunited with Stanley, his original manager, for the first time since the early Nineties. It was the Stanley-Kennedy combination which gave Nigel a multi-million selling hit with his recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. A full decade after his first record-breaking album of Vivaldi, Nigel Kennedy will finally return to the composer that made him a household name. Later this year EMI releases an album dedicated to Vivaldi with Kennedy and the most famous orchestra in the world, the Berlin Philharmonic, which will include both Concerti new to his repertoire and a stunning new recording of the Four Seasons.

Nigel Kennedy is passionate about football and has long been a devotee of Aston Villa, attending as many matches as his schedule allows. He recently married his long-time partner, Agnieska; he has one son, Sark, and divides his time between homes in Krakow, London and Malvern.

April 2003