Andreas Vollenweider
(born October 4, 1953) is a Swiss musician. His music has been categorized as World Music, Jazz, New Age and even Classical; two of his albums were number 1 on the Billboard charts simultaneously in the categories Classical, Jazz, Pop and Crossover for more than 11 weeks. His music could be described as 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 Núñez, Ray Anderson, and Milton Nascimento.
Politically, Andreas Vollenweider is an outspoken pacifist and follower of the principles of non-violent conflict management of Mahatma Gandhi. On his website he features quotes from Gandhi (among others), and in an effort to spread awareness of the American war in Iraq, he has also posted a ticker reflecting the current number of casualties in the conflict, both American and Iraqi.
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ANDREAS VOLLENWEIDER TICKETS
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Biography
Early Life and Career
Vollenweider was born on October 4, 1953 in
Zürich as the son of Hans Vollenweider, a composer and organist.
[1] Acquainted with many instruments and an
autodidact, Andreas Vollenweider discovered the harp in 1975.
[2] This instrument – notably his self-modified electro-acoustic harp, would define the signature sound on all of his music albums. During this time Vollenweider also started composing for film, theater and TV.
Eine Art Suite in XIII Teilen
, was his first album, released in in Switzerland in 1979. Pieces of this album were performed at a concert at the
Montreux Jazz Festival in 1981. This first concert preceded the release of Vollenweider's second album,
Behind the Garden - Behind the Wall - Under the Tree
, which was released worldwide in autumn of the same year.
His next album,
Caverna Magica
, was released in 1982. The single
Pace Verde
("Green Peace") was cut from
Caverna Magica
and released in 1983 as a tribute to environmental and peace movements. In the same year, he received an
Edison Award in
Amsterdam,
The Netherlands,
for the
Caverna Magica
album.
Mid-1980s and Early 90s
The album
White Winds
was released in 1984 and was listed in three US charts. A US tour soon followed in 1985, including performances at the
Kennedy Center (
Washington, DC),
New York's
Carnegie Hall and
Radio City Music Hall, and the
Universal Amphitheatre (
Los Angeles).
(1986), his fourth full-length album, received a
Grammy Award. Vollenweider toured again in Europe, Japan, Canada and the US, and Australia.
His fifth album,
Dancing With The Lion
(1989), marked a change in the way Vollenweider produced his music. His previous albums featured a more or less fixed set of musicians, while
Dancing With The Lion
incorporated numerous guest appearances of musicians from all musical styles. For this album Vollenweider himself directed and produced two music videos, for which he was also heavily involved in writing the storylines, the choreography, and the design of sets and costumes.
The album was followed by
Book of Roses
, released in 1991, which has a more symphonic sound than can be heard on the previous albums.
He received a
World Music Award in Monaco in 1992 and performed at a benefit show for the child victims of the
Chernobyl disaster on Moscow's
Red Square.
Mid- to Late-90s
The album
Eolian Minstrel
, released in 1994 marked another change in musical direction for Vollenweider. Previous albums had been largely instrumental, sometimes including wordless solo and chorus lyrics. On
Eolian Minstrel
most of the songs feature lyrics written by Vollenweider and sung by
Carly Simon and
Eliza Gilkyson. Although the next album with a heavy focus on vocals would not appear until almost 11 years after the release of
Eolian Minstrel
, lyrics would remain an important part of Vollenweider's music.
The period of 1994 to 1997 was marked with a series of concerts, notably with
Pavarotti and Friends
in
Modena, Italy, and at remarkable locations, including a concert at 2500 meters in
Brunico in the Southern
Alps with
Zucchero and in a volcanic cave at the
Festival Musica Visual on
Lanzarote.
1998 saw the release of
Kryptos
, a largely symphonic album featuring guest musicians from all over the world. During the summer of the same year, he worked on his next symphonic project.
Wolkenstein
, which he calls a "symphonic mind movie", was first performed to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the
canton of Zürich in 1998.
The 1999
Cosmopoly
is a return to a more "
world music" oriented sound and included guest appearances of Carly Simon, pianist
Abdullah Ibrahim, singer and poet
Milton Nascimento,
Bobby McFerrin,
duduk player
Djivan Gasparyan and trombonist
Ray Anderson. A
Cosmopoly
tour followed, featuring many of the aforementioned musicians appearing as special guests during the tour.
2000 and Beyond
Vollenweider's "symphonic novel"
Tales of Kira Kutan
premiered at the
Warsaw Film Music Festival in 2002. In the same year he composed and performed the music for the play
Socrates — Dawn of Civilization
with
Rod Steiger as Socrates.
[3]
From 2002 to the present Vollenweider has been busy with performing his music at various festivals and releasing multiple compilation albums and DVDs. His second major foray into vocal work came with
VOX
in 2005, featuring Vollenweider himself on most of the vocals.
Midnight Clear
was released in 2006, followed by his most recent full-length album,
A I R
, released in
2009.
Discography
- - Eine Art Suite in XIII Teilen
(1979)
- - Behind the Garden - Behind the Wall - Under the Tree (album)
(1981)
- - Caverna Magica
(1982)
- - Pace Verde
(single for Greenpeace, 1983)
- - White Winds
(1984)
- - Down to the Moon
(1986)
- - Dancing with the Lion
(1989)
- - Traumgarten
(collaboration with his father, organist Hans Vollenweider, 1990)
- - The Trilogy
(compilation of Behind the Gardens
, Caverna Magica
, White Winds
and Pace Verde
, with selections from Eine Art Suite
, 1990)
- - Book of Roses
(1991)
- - Eolian Minstrel
(1993)
- - Andreas Vollenweider & Friends - Live 1982-1994
(1994)
- - Kryptos
(1997)
- - Cosmopoly
(1999)
- - Vox
(CD + DVD, 2004)
- - The Essential Andreas Vollenweider
(compilation, 2005)
- - The Storyteller
(compilation, 2005)
- - Magic Harp
(compilation, CD + DVD, 2005)
- - The Magical Journeys of Andreas Vollenweider
(soundtrack for the DVD The Magical Journeys of Andreas Vollenweider
, 2006)
- - Midnight Clear
(2006, featuring Carly Simon)
- - A I R
(2009, featuring Xavier Naidoo)
References and footnotes
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