Vanessa-Mae

Vanessa-Mae

born on 27/10/1978 in Singapore

Vanessa-Mae

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Vanessa-Mae
Birth name Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn
Born October 27 1978
Singapore
Origin London, England
Genre(s) Pop, classical
Occupation(s) Violinist
Instrument(s) Violin
Years active 1990present
Label(s) Sony BMG, Virgin, EMI
Website www.vanessa-mae.com

Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson (born October 27, 1978), known professionally as Vanessa-Mae (in Chinese: , Chén Mi), is an internationally known British pop and classical musician, especially noted for her violin skills. Her music style is self-described as "violin techno-acoustic fusion," as several of her albums prominently feature the techno style.

Childhood

Vanessa-Mae was born in Singapore to a Thai father (Varaprong Vanakorn, who is now a Thai monk) and a Chinese mother (Pamela Tan). After her parents separated, her mother married Briton Graham Nicholson, and the family moved to England when Vanessa-Mae was four years old, but they separated many years ago. She grew up in London and is a British citizen. She was educated at the independent Francis Holland School in London.

Vanessa-Mae, born October 27, 1978, coincidentally shares her birthday with famed violinist Niccolò Paganini, who was born 196 years earlier on October 27, 1782.

Professional life

Vanessa-Mae began playing piano at the age of three and violin at five.

She was particularly famous in the United Kingdom throughout her childhood making regular appearances on television (for example on Blue Peter) mostly involving classical music and conservative style. According to Guinness World Records, she is the youngest soloist to record both the Beethoven and Tchaikovsky violin concertos, a feat she accomplished at the age of thirteen.[1] During this time she attended the Francis Holland School in central London.

Vanessa-Mae made her international professional debut at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany in 1988, and also during 1988 made her concerto debut on stage with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London.

On entering adolescence Vanessa-Mae broke away from her traditional classical influences and became known for her flashy, sexual style appearing in music videos in stylish outfits. She appeared on the Janet Jackson album The Velvet Rope playing a violin solo on the song "Velvet Rope." Her first pop-style album, The Violin Player, was released in 1995.

She performed in the interval of the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest in Birmingham.

In April 2006, Vanessa-Mae was ranked as the wealthiest young entertainer under 30 in the UK in the Sunday Times Rich List 2006.[2] having an estimated fortune of about £32 million ($64 million) stemming from concerts and record sales of over an estimated 10 million copies world wide, which is an unprecedented achievement for a young female violinist.

Vanessa-Mae announced in 2006 that she would be releasing a new album sometime between 2007 and 2008. The album was said to draw inspiration from great ballets and opera themes. Her new album is now scheduled to be released in 2010.[3]

Her violins

Vanessa-Mae most often uses one of two types of violins, a Guadagnini acoustic violin or a Zeta Jazz model electric violin. The Guadagnini was made in 1761, and was purchased by her parents at an auction for £150,000. It was stolen in January, 1995, but was recovered by the police two months later. She once fell and broke it, but it was repaired.

In addition, she uses one of two Zeta Jazz Model electric violins, one of which is white and the other one of which features decals of the U.S. flag. She has also been using a silver-gray Zeta Jazz Model electric violin since 2001. In addition to these two main violins, she sometimes buys violins and resells them later, giving the proceeds to charity. Occasional media appearances show her to be using a clear acrylic electric violin made by Ted Brewer.

Discography

Albums

  • Violin (1990)
  • Kids' Classics (1991)
  • Tchaikovsky & Beethoven Violin Concertos (Vanessa Mae) (1991/1992)
  • The Violin Player (1995)
  • The Alternative Record from Vanessa-Mae (1996)
  • The Classical Album 1 (November 12, 1996)
  • China Girl: The Classical Album 2 (September 9, 1997)
  • Storm (UK: October 27, 1997; USA: July 14, 1998)
  • The Original Four Seasons and the Devil's Trill Sonata: The Classical Album 3 (February 16, 1999)
  • The Classical Collection: Part 1 (2000)
  • Subject to Change (July 17, 2001)
  • The Best of Vanessa-Mae (November 5, 2002)
  • Xpectation (Jazz collaboration with Prince) (2003)
  • The Ultimate (December 23, 2003)
  • Choreography (2004)
  • Platinum Collection (2007)

Special edition albums

  • The Violin Player: Japanese Release (1995)
  • The Classical Album 1: Silver Limited Edition (January 1, 1997)
  • Storm: Asian Special Edition (January 1, 1997)
  • The Original Four Seasons and the Devil's Trill Sonata: Asian Special Edition (February 1, 1999)
  • Subject to Change: Asian Special Edition (July 1, 2001)
  • The Ultimate: Dutch Limited Edition (January, 2004)

Singles

  • "Toccata & Fugue" (1995)
  • "Toccata & Fugue - The Mixes" (1995)
  • "Red Hot" (1995)
  • "Classical Gas" (1995)
  • "I'm a Doun for Lack O' Johnnie (A Little Scottish Fantasy)" (1996)
  • "Happy Valley" (1997)
  • "I Feel Love Part 1" (1997)
  • "I Feel Love Part 2" (1997)
  • "The Devil's Trill & Reflection" (1998)
  • "Destiny" (2001)
  • "White Bird" (2001)

Filmography

  • Live at the Royal Albert Hall, The Red Hot Tour (1995)
  • The Violin Fantasy (1998)
  • Arabian Nights (2000)
  • The Making of Me (TV series) (2008)

References

  1. "{{{title}}}". Guinness World Records: 191. (2003). Guinness World Records Ltd.
  2. Vanessa-Mae tops young rich list, BBC News, 2006-04-21. URL accessed on 2008-11-13.
  3. http://www.soglos.com/music/28693/Vanessa-Mae-at-Westonbirt-Arboretum

External links

  • Official website
  • {{{label}}} at the All Music Guide
  • Vanessa-Mae at the Internet Movie Database
  • Vanessa-Mae at Discogs.com
  • {{{name}}} at MusicBrainz
This page was last modified 19.09.2009 18:15:33

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