Asked to think of a violinist, and you probably wouldn’t get much further than Nigel Kennedy. The classically trained rebel violinist was a child prodigy and shot to fame globally after his 1989 release of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, recorded with the English Chamber Orchestra. The release sold over 2 million copies, and is one of the biggest selling classical releases of all time.
Kennedy, from a classical background, has long been influenced by other genres; collaborating with the likes of Kate Bush and Robert Plant as well as regularly covering other artists he’s been inspired by. He allows his personality to shine through his music, and his recent release ‘The New Four Seasons’ has taken him full circle and put his signature on the piece with an audacious but thrilling experimental rendition of the Vivaldi masterpiece he’s most famous for. It’s influenced by a lifetime of other genres, and this is what makes Kennedy appealing to the masses.
Straight off the back of ‘The New Four Seasons’ tour that finished earlier this year, Kennedy returns to Brighton, his birthplace, to pay tribute to one of his biggest heroes in this exclusive UK show as part of the Rye International Jazz & Blues Festival programme.
Purists might rather the music of Hendrix be left alone. But from one maverick to another, expect Kennedy, a meticulous perfectionist, to deliver some electric spine tingling renditions of Hendrix’s best loved tracks.
Brighton Dome Concert Hall, Friday 25th November 2016