Current Kennedy

Nigel keeps the juices flowing

He is surely not as popular as he used to be and his re-recording of the "Seasons" has cost him a lot of credit among "serious" Music fans (please note the inverted commas!), but Nigel Kennedey is still the biggest star Classical Music has to offer. His "Vivaldi I" album has sold more copies than any other Classical album since the year 2000, "Vivaldi II" won the prestigious German Echo-award and his excursion into "Eastern" territory on "East meets East" received nothing but praise even from his staunchest opponents. And in 2005, the train makes no sign of slowing down. His label EMI will release one of his 90s recordings, a rendering of Beethoven's Violin Concerto, as part of its "Legends" series, devoted solely to the greatest artists of its roster. The CD will be spiced up by the inclusion of a DVD with video segments of a performance of Brahms pieces. But the biggest project by any means is a compilation entitled "Inner Thoughts", which bundles the slow movements of works Kennedy has played. It is said that the marketing campaign for the set is to be the most costly one EMI has ever devoted to the violinist. A corresponding DVD is also in the making and France, where Nigel has a particularly strong fan base, will be treated to a re-release of "Kennedy plays Bach" with bonus tracks and two slip-case editions of "Vivaldi I" and "II". No signs of any new material as yet, but then the world will need to digest this first.

Homepage: Nigel Kennedy