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Nigel Kennedy (born December 28, 1956 in Brighton, England) is a violinist and violist. He was a pupil at the Yehudi Menuhin School, under Yehudi Menuhin himself, and later at the Juilliard School in New York under Dorothy DeLay. He is most famous for his recordings of Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. For a time he preferred to be known by just his surname Kennedy.

Contents 1 Career 2 Discography 3 Instruments 4 Trivia 5 External links

Kennedy has done much to popularise classical music, particularly among young people. He has also performed and recorded most of the major violin concerti.

His carefully maintained loutish persona is seen by some as abrasive (including a 'mockney' accent instead of the received pronunciation he had when he was interviewed as a child) and limiting to his career. Kennedy was attacked for his approach to classical music by John Drummond in 1991.[1] Many respected musicians though, hold him in high esteem. With one of these, cellist Lynn Harrell, he has recorded a well-received album of duets. Currently, he has been exploring Polish music with the Polish jazz band Kroke. When not touring, he divides his time between residences in Malvern, Worcestershire and Kraków, Poland.

Kennedy expresses concern for the immediate appeal of live performance, and often records entire works or movements in single 'takes' to preserve this sense in his recordings. He also introduces improvisatory elements in his performances, as in his Jimi Hendrix-inspired cadenza to the Beethoven violin concerto and his jazz and fusion recordings. Away from his musical career, Kennedy is a supporter of football clubs Aston Villa and Cracovia. Recently he has appeared on Cracovia's 100th anniversary in club replica kit.

In 1999 Sony Classical released a recording entitled The Kennedy Experience, which featured improvisational recordings of Jimi Hendrix compositions. According to a BBC interview with Kennedy, the violinist stated that this recording is "an album of music inspired by Jimi Hendrix. It is an extended instrumental work in six movements - each movement a classical interpretation of a Hendrix song". On the recording, Kennedy is accompanied by seven other musicians, and the lineup includes two cellos, an oboe, two guitars, a dobro, flute, and double bass.

On November 27th, 2000, Kennedy joined hard rock group The Who at the Royal Albert Hall to play the violin solo on the classic song Baba O'Riley. The recording can be found on the album Live at the Royal Albert Hall, which was released three years later.

He has also recorded The Doors Concerto, a violin based orchestral version of many Doors songs, including Strange Days, LA Woman, The End, and Riders On The Storm.

On 24 October 2006, it was reported that Kennedy broke his arm in a cycling accident.

• 2006: Bluenote Sessions
• 2006: Kennedy, Live at La Citadelle
• 2006: Inner Thoughts
• 2006: Nigel Kennedy Plays Bach
• 2005: Legend: Beethoven and Bruch
• 2004: Vivaldi II
• 2003: Vivaldi
• 2003: East Meets East
• 2002: Greatest Hits
• 2000: Kennedy Plays Bach
• 2000: The Doors Concerto
• 2000: Duos for Violin & Cello
• 1999: Classic Kennedy
• 1999: The Kennedy Experience
• 1998: Kreisler
• 1997: Edward Elgar & Ralph Vaughan Williams
• 1996: Kafka
• 1993: Tchaikovsky
• 1992: Beethoven: Violin Concerto
• 1992: Sibelius: Violinkonzert / Tchaikovsky: Violinkonzert
• 1991: Johannes Brahms - Violin Concerto in D, Op. 77
• 1989: Antonio Vivaldi - The Four Seasons
• 1988: Sibelius - Violin Concerto / Symphony No. 5
• 1988: Bruch, Schubert & Mendelssohn
• 1987: Let Loose
• 1987: William Walton - Viola Concerto
• 1986: Bartók & Duke Ellington
• 1986: Tchaikovsky & Chausson
• 1984: Elgar - Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61
• 1984: Salut d'Amour & Other Elgar Favourites
• 1984: Nigel Kennedy Plays Jazz

Nigel Kennedy has owned or used violins by:

• Guarneri del Gesu, 'La Fonte' c.1735;
• Stradivari;
• Scott Cao;
• Johannes Finkel bow
• Violectra electric violin (with pickup by Barbera Transducers Systems[2])

• He trashed his hotel room at the Four Seasons in Berlin.
• He is renowned as an avid Aston Villa fan. His Rolls Royce is painted in the claret and blue of Aston Villa.
• Since his settlement in Kraków, he is also a fan of Cracovia football club; he had an opportunity to witness their quick promotion from third to first league in two consequent seasons.

• The unofficial Nigel Kennedy fanclub
• EMI Classics
• live Photos @ La Seyne sur Mer
• [3] Nigel and the "barroco outsider" (at issue/Spanish lenguaje), by Susan Campos
• Interview with Nigel Kennedy on his album of Jimi Hendrix compositions at the BBC
• The Kennedy Experience at answers.com
• The Kennedy Experience at Sony Classical