The new violinists

The violin comes from a family of musical instruments that also includes the viola, cello and doublebass. It has the highest pitch among all these and with a master player wielding the bow can elicit very profound emotions. It was long considered best suited to classical music or as source of support or kind of accessory to pop music arrangements.

I do not know if I am right about this but I believe it was the Singaporean artist Vanessa Mae who brought about the modern reinvention of the violin. She was not the first to make this move. The likes of Jean Luc Ponty and Mark Wood and others had also composed and performed modern music with the electric violin. But it was Vanessa Mae who made the radical transformation popular with the younger crowd.

The young and pretty Vanessa with her synthesized arrangements and dynamic playing made the electric violin hip. She turned it into a classy set of strings that can also rock, just like a guitar. Thanks to Vanessa Mae, it is not anymore unusual to find the violin in full use in assorted types of pop music.

Musical arrangements do benefit greatly from the inclusion of violins. Everything becomes more heartfelt, more romantic. But it is still when it is in the solo spotlight that the violin is at its best. More so when the artists performing are young, hip, attractive and can rock it hard just like any pop star. Watch David Garrett if you do not believe this. Also Lindsey Stirling and Nicola Benedetti who are two of the best examples of the new violinists.

Recent Manila visitor Lindsey is the first of her kind. The 26-year-old is a violinist who also dances. The idea may have seemed inconceivable once but constant practice and her strong determination made it possible.  She is also the first violinist to attain success via the social media. Voted out of America’s Got Talent where she was presented as a hip-hop violinist, Lindsey struck out on her own.

She made videos of her original compositions and then uploaded these to her own website, the Lindseystomp. These drew a lot of viewers who amazed with her prowess and agility, began downloading her videos. One of her original works, Crystallize got over 42 million views. In no time at all, Lindsey, who also had good looks, a hip wardrobe and rock star attitude, had become a true-blue YouTube sensation.

Lindsey’s debut album is a collection of big favorites from her Internet output. It is a most interesting take on what an ingenious musician with smarts can do with an instrument. Hip-hop, dubstep, techno or plain pop-rock. She has them all and she makes everything sound like she is having lots of fun and just has to dance. You will, too, if you will give her unique style a chance. I wonder how the judges of America’s Got Talent feel about her now. It is just too bad that they cannot lay claim to her as their successful discovery.

Aside from Crystallize, Lindsey Stirling also includes Electric Daisy Violin, Zi-Zi’s Journey, Song Of The Caged Bird, Moon Trance, Minimal Beat, Transcendence, Elements, Shadows, Spontaneous Me, Anti-Gravity and Stars Align.

The also 26-year-old Nicola comes from the UK and is of Italian and Scottish parentage. She has been playing the violin since she was four years old and later studied in the school of the legendary violinist Yehudi Menuhin for many years. She was 14 when she won the Brilliant Prodigy Competition and 16 when she bagged the BBC Young Musician of the Year Award.  She was made a member of the Order of the British Empire for her contributions to music and charity.

Nicola’s performances and recordings continue to win her worldwide acclaim. More so when people get a look at her stunning good looks. She is beautiful and packaged to look like a Hollywood movie star. No more the staid musician in black dresses for the new music lovers. Benedetti with long, blonde hair and low necklines has changed that. Add to that her superb playing and the effect on the listener can really be mesmerizing.  

How apt then that her latest album is a collection of movie themes arranged for the violin. This is her most commercial release to date and should introduce her to a wider market worldwide. This should be easy. Nicola has this gift of making music seem so easy that even serious works come across as accessible. And because it is the violin, the music here is simply divine.

Nicola performs with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kirill Karabits in the album and she is perfection in every cut. The instant audience grabber is the stirring Main Theme from Schindler’s List by John Williams. I am sure many will also enjoy the tantalizing tango Por Una Cabeza by Carlos Gardel that was used in Scent of a Woman. 

There are also Korngold’s Violin Concerto in D Major op.35 using themes first heard in the scores he created for Hollywood movies, plus the Main Theme from Ladies in Lavender by Hess; the Andante from The Counterplan by Shostakovich; My Edward & I from Jane Eyre by Marianelli; the Concertino and Tatiana by Shore from Eastern Promises; the Piano Quartet in A Minor from Shutter Island by Mahler and others.