Musical Opinion: August 2008.
Interview by Judith Monk.
If you need a single word to describe Nigel Kennedy it should be ‘fun’. Talking to him is like experiencing a blast of fresh oxygen – it’s energising! An iconic figure on the classical music circuit his solid reputation as a violin virtuoso is undiminished after more than twenty five years of performing and recording.
Kennedy’s tastes in haircuts, clothes and speech have all come in for negative comment by various pundits but his official biography states: ‘His virtuosic technique, unique talent and mass appeal have brought fresh perspectives to both the classical and contemporary repertoire. He is the best selling classical violinist of all time.’ We really can’t argue with any of that!
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Brighton born Nigel was sent to board at the Yehudi Menuhin School at seven after becoming a protégé of the great man himself. I asked him about this early start to his path to fame:
“It was quite a narrow existence really, there were only a few children my age so socialising was limited.” Socialising crops up as a frequent theme in our conversation and I get the idea that our Nigel quite likes to!
He later studied at the Juilliard School of Music in New York under the celebrated teacher, Dorothy DeLay. Here there was no lack of opportunity to socialise and it was in New York that at just 16, he gave his, now infamous appearance, (his teachers warned him not to – it would ruin his career!), in Carnegie Hall with Stéphane Grappelli, a man who was also to have a seminal influence on Nigel’s musical life. It seems you can separate a man from jazz but you can’t take the jazz out of the man. Nigel is passionate about jazz.
When we discussed what changes he would like to see made to the UK’s classical music scene he responded with: “I wouldn’t presume to change things. The only changes I do make are to my own gigs when I make sure the atmosphere is right. I still put the emphasis on top class performances but in a more relaxed way. I feel better that way. I have nothing but respect for British musicians; they’re the quickest learners and produce a warmth of sound you can’t find anywhere else in the world. My issue is around rehearsal times and this is down to administrators. Foreign soloists get three or four rehearsals with an orchestra but British soloists usually get just one! If you want to produce a performance of quality you have to give it the rehearsal time it takes to do that.” He also gets annoyed at conductors who devote a minimal 10 or 12 weeks a year to their orchestra. His belief is that for an orchestra and conductor to develop fully, more time together is a prerequisite.
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Our discussion moved on to talk about playing music in war torn countries and I mentioned Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and asked if Nigel had ever played with them?
“No, but I think it’s a fantastic concept.There are some horrific things happening in Palestine.” So, if you were invited you’d go? “I’d definitely play with them, it would be an honour.”
Kennedy was due to appear at this year’s Classical Brits and had worked hard to put together some thing special playing Vittorio Monti’s Czardas with the all girl string group Bond. The Brits organisers had refused to let him play anything lasting longer than a pop song so his original selection of a Mozart Violin concerto was out. However the same organisers had not officially sanctioned Bond either so Kennedy pulled out. He commented on what had happened by saying: “Seeing that the words ‘music business’ still places the word ‘music’ first, I am not going to let some old farts dictate my musical decisions. I am mindful that a few people might have wanted to hear me and have been prevented from doing so by amateur politicians beyond my control.” This musician will always put the music first – it’s what marks him out as great.
“How do you feel about contemporary classical music?” I asked. “I was asked to play Fratres by Arvo Pärt in Verbier but I turned it down. Any student could pick it up and play it: it’s not the work for an interpreter. A lot of contemporary music is fashion oriented, it’s quite a sycophantic world I find.”
That wasn’t the answer I expected but then this genius of the violin thrives on delivering the unexpected!
Since September 2002 Kennedy has been Artistic Director of the Polish Chamber Orchestra, a role his teacher and mentor, the late Lord Menuhin, once held. With this orchestra he is more of a player/conductor and has rediscovered a stunning and forgotten late Romantic Polish concerto - Emil Mlynarski’s Second Violin Concerto, combining it with Mieczyslaw Karlowicz’s Violin Concerto in A major. It was recently released on EMI. His latest classical recording, of Beethoven and Mozart concertos, saw Kennedy as director as well as soloist and was positively reviewed in our May/June issue.
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20 JULY–AUGUST 2008 MUSICAL OPINION
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You can take the girl out of the bar, but can you take the bar out of the girl?
or
You can take the musician out of the jazz, but can you take the jazz out of Nigel?
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