Musicians - Andreas Vollenweider

Home > Listing Index > Musicians > Andreas Vollenweider

	Musicians - Andreas Vollenweider

Andreas Vollenweider (b. October 4 1953) is a Swiss musician. His music has been categorized as World Music, Jazz, New Age or even Classical; two of his albums were number 1 on the Billboard charts simultaneously in the categories Classical, Jazz, Pop and Crossover for many weeks; his music is very dynamic and colorful. His primary instrument is an electrically modified harp of his own design, but he also plays a wide variety of instruments from around the world, including the Chinese guzheng. His albums feature many musicians performing his compositions with him, ranging from simple solos to suites for orchestra and soloists. His music is mostly instrumental but he has occasionally forayed into vocal music as well.

His past collaborators include Bobby McFerrin, Carly Simon, Djivan Gasparyan, Luciano Pavarotti, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Carlos Nunez, Ray Anderson, and Milton Nascimento (among many others).

Politically, Andreas Vollenweider is a pacifist (follower of the principles of non-violent conflict management of Mahatma Gandhi) who features quotes from Gandhi, among others, on his website and is currently involved in spreading awareness of the American war in Iraq by posting a ticker on the current casualties, American and Iraqi, on his website.

Biography

Vollenweider was born on October 4, 1953 in Zurich. His father Hans Vollenweider is one of Europe's leading organists. Andreas grows up in a creatively diverse and inspiring environment. A self-taught multi-instrumentalist, he searches for 'his' instrument. In 1975, he discovers the harp and develops his own style - tailoring the instrument according to his needs. Thus, he creates a new instrument for himself: the electro-acoustic harp. Vollenweider composes for film, theater and TV productions.

1979 marks his Swiss debut album "Eine Art Suite in XIII Teilen", which is considered as the cradle of the Vollenweider sound. Two years later, in 1981, Andreas Vollenweider & Friends perform their first show, at the world-renowned Montreux jazz festival. The following autumn sees the release of the album "Behind The Gardens, Behind The Wall, Under The Tree...". This proves to be a success with both critics and the audience, putting Vollenweider's distinct sound on the map.

In 1983, he emphasises his commitment to the environmental and peace movements with the single "Pace Verde" and its much-talked about video. In the same year, he receives an Edison Award in Amsterdam for his innovative sound. A year later, his 1983 album "White Winds" breaks through in no less than three US-charts in the pop, classical and jazz categories. His first US tour is hugely successful.

He plays for sold-out venues on his 1985 US-tour: conquering New York's Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington DC and the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.

1987, Vollenweider's album "Down To The Moon" receives a Grammy Award - followed by tours in Canada, the US, thirteen European countries, Japan and Australia.

The dynamic album "Dancing With The Lions" is created in 1988 and 1989. For the first time, Vollenweider opens his project to numerous guests from a wide range of musical genres. He directs and produces two award-winning videos, for which he also contributes to the storyline, the choreography and the set and costume designs.

The double album "Trilogy" is released in 1990 - a selection of the first three albums "Behind The Gardens", "Caverna Magica", "White Winds" and previously unreleased material.

1991 follows with the album "Book of Roses", on which Vollenweider includes symphonic orchestral elements for the first time.

In 1992, he participates in a benefit show for Chernobyl's children on Moscow's Red Square. He receives the World Music Award in Monaco. For the first time, Vollenweider produces an album with vocals: 1993 -1994 "Eolian Minstrels" with contributions from US singers Carly Simon and Eliza Gilkyson. The release is followed by worldwide tours.

1994, he performs at the Pavarotti and Friends event in Modena (Italy), where he plays duets with Luciano Pavarotti and rock balladeer Bryan Adams. Until 1997, he plays a series of shows in remarkable locations: a tour of Polish castles, a show with Italian singer/songwriter Zucchero at the 2500 m high location (at -8 Celsius) of Brunico in the Southern Alps and in a giant volcanic cave at Lanzarote's Festival Musica Visual. After doing tours and open air shows in Europe and the US, he plays for the first time in Latin America in 1995.

In 1998, he starts to record "Kryptos", a work for symphonic orchestras and guest virtuosos from all over the world. Parts of "Kryptos" are performed with the RAI orchestra at Italy's San Remo festival. Vollenweider initiates a symphonic live project called "Wolkenstein" in 1998. The release of these recordings is currently being prepared.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Andreas Vollenweider ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Andreas Vollenweider; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Searches on eBay