Responsible for a new style of fusion violin that combines classical music and pop beats,
Vanessa Mae has been winning over the hearts of music lovers ever since she was a small child. Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson was born October 27, 1978, in Singapore, but soon moved to London. As a child, she was a violin prodigy, playing her first concert with the London Philharmonic
Orchestra at the age of 10. By the time she was 13, Mae had gone on an international tour with the London
Mozart Players and recorded both Tchaikovsky's and Beethoven's Violin Concertos (making h
Continued...
er the youngest in the world to have completed such a feat). When Mae began to work on her album, The Violin
Player, she already had three classical recordings under her belt, as well as her debut and sophomore albums, Violin and Kids' Classics. But 1995’s The Violin Player changed everything. A blend of traditional and modern, electric violin sounds, it spawned the pop song, "Toccata & Fugue", which hit the UK charts running. Mae made history yet again, as the only classical artist to have a Billboard Dance Chart Topper, with the dance remix of "Toccata & Fugue". The Violin Player went multi-platinum with millions of sales worldwide, and led to quick follow-up albums that were also critical and commercial successes, helping Mae to become an international superstar.
In 1996, Mae was nominated for Best Female Artist at the BRIT Awards, blurring the lines between musical genres as the first instrumental and classical artist to receive this nomination. She also received the BAMBI International Classical Artist of the Year Award. In 1997, Mae made history again, as the first non-native of Hong Kong to be invited to perform at the China Re-Unification Ceremony. In England, Mae shared the stage with Annie Lenox, showing a true fusion of the rock and classical genres. Invited to perform at the World Series held in Chicago, she also received recognition in the United States. Featured on both the covers of Time and Newsweek, Mae remains a popular entertainer in the United States as well as on the international scene. "Beethoven and Beatles, Mozart and
Michael Jackson, Paganini and
Prince -- I like them all,” May has been quoted as saying. Small wonder that she is one of the most famous crossover artists ever.
