My World Nigel Kennedy

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My World Nigel Kennedy Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra …. a lot of the time I play music from other worlds …. welcome to my world Nigel Kennedy This new album of Nigel Kennedy in which he features his Cover Photo: Henryk Pietkiewic Printed and Manufactured in own compositions is at the same time the most intimate Germany by Optimal Media view of his world yet. He writes works inspired by his GmbH. All rights reserved. Unauthorized copying, mentors Yehudi Menuhin and Isaac Stern, or by artists like reproduction, hiring, lending, Stéphane Grappelli, Mark O’Connor and Jarek Smietana, public performance and broadcasting prohibited. while composing a whole new suite to Anton Chekhov’s P/© 2016 Edel Germany GmbH, play Three Sisters. In My World, Kennedy shows how string Neumühlen 17, 22763 Hamburg. orchestra, rock band and piano can work well together once you forget the stereotypes. Dedications 1 Dla Jarka (für Jarek Śmietana) 07:05 2 Fallen Forest (für Isaac Stern) 07:26 3 Melody in the Wind (für Stéphane Grappelli) 05:09 4 Solitude (für Yehudi Menuhin) 05:29 5 Gibb it (für Mark O’Connor) 06:35 Three Sisters 6 Intro - Tuzenbach - Solyony’s Prophecy - Masha’s Memory - Andrei Practising 04:51 7 Vershinin’s Idealism - Irena 04:03 8 Rode’s Pictures - Andrei’s Love - Vershinin’s View of Destiny - Solyony 04:13 9 Olga - Solyony’s Possessiveness - Outro 04:00 10 Link Acts 2 – 3 (Fire) - Chebutykin’s Despair - The Sisters’ Fate 07:22 11 Link Acts 3 – 4 03:10 12 Hymn 00:58 13 Masha 02:31 Jarek S´ mietana Isaac Stern My early days in Poland were Meine ersten Jahre in Polen waren In the world of classical music, In der klassischen Musikwelt war musically characterized by meeting musikalisch geprägt von der Begegnung Isaac Stern was a huge inspiration Isaac Stern eine große Inspiration für two great musical identities – Kroke mit zwei großen Musikern – Kroke to every violinist from the younger jeden Geiger der jüngeren Generation. & Jaroslav Śmietana. When I met & Jaroslav Śmietana. Als ich Jarek generation. He had a huge sense Er selbst spürte die große Verantwor- Jarek, there was an immediate kennenlernte, entstand sofort eine Ver- of responsibility concerning the tung, die auf ihm lastete. Er wusste, recognition of each other, which only trautheit zwischen uns, die es nur bei communication of his legacy. dass es seine Aufgabe war, sein Wissen happens in a great friendship. He wahrer Freundschaft gibt. Er war einer What I loved the most about his und sein Können weiterzugeben. Was was one of the greatest European jazz der größten europäischen Jazzgitarris- musicianship was his laser-sharp mich am meisten an ihm als Musiker guitarists and a wonderful composer. ten überhaupt und ein wunderbarer analytical mind, allied with his beeindruckte, war sein messerscharfes As a band leader, he was fearless and Komponist. Er war ein furchtloser immense musical heart. I was lucky analytisches Denken in Verbindung mit everybody around him felt confident. Bandleader, mit ihm an der Seite fühl- enough to have quite a few lessons seinem zutiefst musikalischen Herz. The last thing anybody wants is an te man sich selbstsicher. Das Letzte, with him (for which he never charged Ich hatte das große Glück, einige Un- insecure, panicky, timid band leader, was eine Band braucht, ist ein Chef, anything) and as is the case with terrichtsstunden bei ihm zu nehmen and he definitely wasn’t like that! We der unsicher, ängstlich und schüchtern all great communicators, he would (wofür ich nichts bezahlen musste), played all kinds of venues ranging ist. Das war er definitiv nicht! Wir ha- help make matters appear simple as und wie es bei allen großen Kommuni- from large concert halls to small ben an allen möglichen Orten gespielt: opposed to complicated. katoren der Fall ist, hatte er die Gabe, clubs and unlike many of today’s in Konzertsälen und auch winzigen selbst die kompliziertesten Dinge auf musicians, he was always ready to Klubs, und er war stets bereit, eine einfache Weise zu vermitteln. have a jam and never thought he was Jamsession einzulegen. Das machen above doing that. Since he has passed heutzutage die wenigsten Musiker, away, Krakow is just not the same aber er war sich dafür nie zu fein. Seit place. seinem Tod ist Krakau nicht mehr die gleiche Stadt. Stéphane Grappelli Yehudi Menuhin I met Stéphane for the first time Stéphane bin ich das erste Mal be- I feel that Yehudi Menuhin gives me Ich habe so das Gefühl, als hätte Ye- when he was playing to us kids in the gegnet, als er für uns Schüler in der a direct route back to the music of hudi Menuhin mir den direkten Weg Yehudi Menuhin School; I surprised Yehudi-Menuhin-Schule spielte. Ich Bach. His teacher Enescu was, after zurück zur Musik von Johann Sebas- him by jumping on the stage and sprang überraschend auf die Bühne, all, the man who rediscovered the tian Bach vermittelt. Schließlich war joining him in his performance, um mit ihm zusammen zu spielen, Bach solo violin sonatas and Yehudi sein Lehrer George Enescu derjenige, which was the catalyst for a long und das war der Katalysator für eine was also a serious Bach interpreter on der die Solo-Violinsonaten von Bach musical relationship with him. He langjährige Zusammenarbeit. Er war the level of Casals or Glenn Gould. wiederentdeckt hat, und Yehudi war loved it that a 14-year-old kid was begeistert, dass ein 14-Jähriger seine Yehudi was a great melodist as well ein seriöser Bachinterpret, der sich mit into his music and could also play Musik toll fand und sogar spielen and although he was not technically Pablo Casals oder Glenn Gould mes- it. From my point of view, it was konnte. Für mich war es ein unschätz- brilliant, two notes from him were sen konnte. Yehudi war ebenfalls ein invaluable to meet a musician who, bares Erlebnis, einen Musiker kennen- generally worth 1000 of those großartiger Melodist, und obwohl er when playing, proved that serious zulernen, der mir zeigte, dass E-Musik played by his contemporaries or the technisch nicht immer perfekt spielte, music doesn’t have to be solemn, nicht gleich trostlos klingen muss. Seine following generation. He also paid brauchte er nur zwei Töne, um 1000 depressing or even worse. He had an musikalische Phrasierung war so was for my education at his school so Noten von seinen Zeitgenossen oder amazing fluidity in his phrasing and von fließend und wann immer er auf without him I would probably not be Musikern der folgenden Generationen whenever he played one was aware of seiner Geige spielte, schien es frisch und playing classical music at all. in den Schatten zu stellen. Außerdem a fresh story unfolding. neu, wie eine Geschichte, die man zum verdanke ich ihm meine Ausbildung ersten Mal hört. an seiner Schule: Das heißt, ohne ihn wäre ich höchstwahrscheinlich gar kein klassischer Geiger geworden. Mark O’Connor Like Stéphane Grappelli, Mark Genau wie Stéphane Grappelli, spielt O’Connor never plays a bad note. He Mark O’Connor nie einen falschen was a child prodigy and at the age of Ton. Er war ein musikalisches Wun- 12 won all of the adult competitions derkind und mit 12 Jahren hat er alle in his native Nashville. He is one of Musikwettbewerbe für Erwachsene in the most important violinists alive seiner Heimatstadt Nashville gewon- and to me it is very inspiring how nen. Er ist einer der wichtigsten Geiger he has branched out from the roots der Gegenwart und es ist für mich of country music into original and besonders inspirierend, wie er seine personal forms. I hope that one day Country-Wurzeln hinter sich gelassen we can make some sounds together. hat, um seinen originalen, persönlichen Stil zu finden. Ich hoffe, eines Tages mit ihm musizieren zu können. The Three Sisters When my wife produced the play of myself. I did not consciously try to Als meine Frau das gleichnamige Büh- bedeutenden äußeren Quelle. Ich habe the same name by Anton Chekhov assume a Russian style for my writing nenstück von Anton Tschechow insze- übrigens gar nicht erst versucht, mir I offered to write some incidental because I think that the issues nierte, habe ich ihr angeboten, dafür dabei einen russischen Stil anzueignen, music. This was the first time I Chekhov explores are human and not die Bühnenmusik zu komponieren. denn Tschechow untersucht das Thema had the opportunity to dive deep nationalistic. However, there are one Zum ersten Mal hatte ich die Gele- in meinen Augen nicht auf nationalis- into the world of Chekhov and it or two moments when the Russian genheit, mich intensiv mit Tschechow tische, sondern auf humanistische Art. became clear to me very quickly that influence prevails. I have never been auseinanderzusetzen, und es wurde mir Trotzdem gibt es ein paar Momente, in there is always a subtext, something to a play more than once so playing schnell klar, dass sich darin immer eine denen der russische Einfluss hervortritt. lurking in the shadows. At first I was the music for this masterwork on a verschleierte Botschaft, ein Subtext, Ich hatte noch nie ein Bühnenstück not remotely interested in the lives run of numerous nights was a unique verbirgt. Anfangs hat mich das Leben mehr als einmal im Theater erlebt, und of some random bourgeois family privilege and inspiration. irgendeiner bürgerlichen Familie nicht so war es für mich ein einzigartiges but the more I became involved, im Geringsten interessiert. Als ich mich Privileg und eine Inspiration, die Mu- the more fascinating Chekhov’s jedoch in die Materie vertiefte, war ich sik für dieses Meisterwerk an zahlrei- psychological study became and I fasziniert von dieser psychologischen chen Abenden spielen zu dürfen.
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