With both Eastern and Western facial features, the world's top violinist looks brisk, fluent and passionate. With every stroke of a string, she raises her head or turns around or twists her waist, and the tune reaching our ears is Bach and Beethoven, played in jazzy style.
She debuted with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the tender age of 10, dazzling the country with her amazing skills and being dubbed by the BBC as the best young violinist in the world. Two years later in 1991, she began her first world tour with the Mozart Orchestra. Then she was invited to put on a special performance for the British Royal Family, which Princes Charles and Edward both attended. Her other honors include being the only musician allowed to hold an outdoor concert at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, appearing at the G7 Summit Conference Concert which attracted an audience of more than 100,000, and performing on the icy surface of the famous St. Moritz Lake...
She's Vanessa-Mae
Born in Singapore on October 27, 1978, the same day as the music legendary
Paganini, the now 26-year-old violinist moved to London with her mother at 4, where she began her violin lesson a year later. Her talent soon impressed her instructor; "She is, just like her precedents Beethoven and Mendelssohn, a real prodigy," praised Michael Gough Matthews, the president of the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Vanessa-Mae received a formal and varied musical education. Besides studying at the Royal Academy, she also benefited from Professor Lin Yaoji of China Central Academy of Music, as well as a Russian instructor. All these cross-culture experiences have allowed her to develop a versatile style of music.
When she was aged between 10 to 14 years old, Vanessa-Mae delivered numerous live shows covering famous classical music from Beethoven, Mozart and Tchaikovsky, her outstanding performances made millions prick up their ears, and made her stand out among her rivals. Most of her pieces are available in a three-CD box set.
In 1995, Vanessa-Mae had two different violins. One was a rare Italian Guadagnini made in 1761, and she used this to play Beethoven and Bach. The other was a white, toy-like ZE TA electronic violin, the latest weapon in her musical arsenal. With it, she astounded the traditional classical music field with her first pop tone, Violin Player. It sold several million copies in 25 countries the world over, becoming the best-selling record of her label, EMI, that year.
Vanessa-Mae's performing is extremely lively. Her music exudes a mysterious power that puts us mere mortals into a trance. On stage, she not only plays the violin, but also dances and leaps around the place. Most people agree that the only way to really appreciate Vanessa-Mae is to go along and see her in action.
As one of the few successful avant-garde violinists, her string action sweeps 21 Century freshmen off their feet. On the other hand, it also caused quite a fuss. Many criticized her as being too rebellious. However, actions speak louder than words, and she keeps releasing new albums one after another like China Girl, Storm, The Original Four Season and Subject To Change proved her real popularity. In 1997, her music was honored as the Best Seller of Classical Music at the World Music Award.
She has also been selected as one of the top 50 most beautiful people in the
world. Vanessa-Mae's affection has already stretched beyond the music world; the worldwide icon became the youngest person to deliver a speech at the Oxford University when she was just 16. What's more, she put on three charity performances in aid of the International Red Cross Association.
Vanessa-Mae has a free spirit that can be found in her music. Or as she says herself, "I can find great pleasure playing the violin, because it touches my heart."
(CRI March 12, 2004)
