The Approaching Storm A Violin in the Hands of a true artist approaches musical perfection I’ve written before about the violin-playing Goddess that is Vanessa Mae. In this post, I’m writing about her again, and about one of her many violin pieces that is also a good match for these times and the approaching storm. I’ve followed Vanessa Mae since the late 1990s, after seeing her on a Grammy awards with one of her then-new albums. Her violin music has only gotten better since. So in keeping with these interesting times I present one of her many excellent music videos, this one of her piece “Storm.” Vanessa Mae in her Official Music Video “Storm” One of the things I admire about her music is the energy she puts into her work, making even the most difficult pieces look easy. Related Posts The April Nor’easter : A post abut another approaching storm. The Year of Hurricane Katrina : Living through a storm and the aftermath. This and That, September Edition : Catching up on the times. A Little Saturday Morning Pick-Me-Up Music Inside I’ve posted about this Chinese Violin-playing Goddess before, and see that it’s time for me to post again. Vanessa Mae has been one of my favorite musicians ever since I watched her play in a Grammy Awards show back in the late 1990s. She is an ethnic Chinese woman who grew up in Singapore, and was identified as a music prodigy at a very young age. From the ever-wonderful Wikipedia: “Vanessa-Mae was born on 27 October 1978 in Singapore, to a Singaporean mother Pamela Soei Luang Tan and Thai father Vorapong Vanakorn. After adoption by a British father, she moved to London at the age of 4 where she began playing the violin, having already started the piano in Singapore. At the age of eight Mae embarked upon an intensive period of study with Professor Lin Yao Ji at the National Conservatoire of Music in Beijing. Vanessa-Mae returned to London and entered London’s Royal College of Music. Wikipedia Entry – Vanessa Mae At age thirteen, Vanessa-Mae became the youngest soloist to record both the Beethoven and Tchaikovsky violin concertos, according to Guinness World Records […]” There’s a lot more about her. She’s also an Olympic-class skier. But Wait, There’s More! What I really want to share on this quiet October morning is one of my favorite Vanessa Mae music videos. Again from the Wikipedia: The Violin Sonata in G minor, more familiarly known as the Devil’s Trill Sonata (Italian: Il trillo del diavolo), is a work for solo violin (with figured bass accompaniment) by Giuseppe Tartini (1692–1770). It is the composer’s best- known composition, notable for its technically difficult passages. A typical performance lasts 15 minutes. Wikipedia – Violin Sonata in G Minor Vanessa Mae, of course, plays this difficult piece while obviously having fun at it. So, with no further ado, here is Vanessa Mae playing “The Devil’s Trill Sonata.” YouTube Video: Vanessa Mae The Devil’s Trill Official Video Snow Falls In Virginia Music Inside Today I’m watching the first snowfall of this season, and coincidentally the first snow of 2017. At least here in Northern Virginia. As luck would have it, today is a Saturday, so I’ve avoided the Mad Max-like horrors of traveling out on our snowy highways. On the flip side, I’m stuck in the house all day and cabin fever strikes quickly. We’re presently up to about one-half inch, and with any luck, we’ll have Washington, D.C. shut down for a week. On this cold, snowy day, we need a little something to warm the place up. Something like, Vanessa Mae playing something really hot. With ice. Okay, just about everything Vanessa Mae does is pretty hot, but some things are hotter than others. So, how about a music video clip of Vanessa Mae in “The Devil’s Trill.” On a snow-related question; Every time we get a snow storm everyone runs out and buys up melting salt and snow shovels. Now, I get the melting salt, but, snow shovels? What the hell did everyone do with the shovels from the last year? A question to ponder… Related Posts This and That, Deep Freeze Edition : Catching up on a winter’s day. So Long…To All The Fish* : My essay about an experiment of raising the luck of our house using goldfish. A Song For This Winter : Another cold winter’s day post. A Snowed-in Saturday Morning Multi-cultural Music Fun Music Inside It’s early Saturday morning here in our nation’s capital, and we’re having the storm of the century. It started snowing early last night and it’s still snowing this morning even as I write. Judging by the snow piled up on the picnic table, visible just outside our basement door, we already have at least six inches and more to come. So, what to do on a snowed-in Saturday morning? How about a little multi-cultural music fun? From the Wikipedia: Vanessa-Mae (in Chinese: 陳美, Chén Měi) was born in Singapore to a Thai father (Varaprong Vanakorn) 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. She grew up in London and is a British citizen. She was educated at the independent Francis Holland School in London. She 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. 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. Her first pop-style album, The Violin Player, was released in 1995. She appeared on the 1997 Janet Jackson album The Velvet Rope playing a violin solo on the song “Velvet Rope”. She is truly a world-class musician. But, she doesn’t just do that elitist high-nosed classical stuff. She plays real music also. And here to prove it, I offer a YouTube music video of Vanessa-Mae playing the all-time American Redneck classic “Cotton-Eye Joe.” Just a little something to cheer you up on this snowed-in Saturday morning. Related Post Ringing In The Year Of The Goat : Celebrating the Chinese Year of The Goat. The Approaching Storm : A brief musical interlude for the coming storm. Back to School : Never to old to learn, even if you can’t teach an old dog new tricks..