violin

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

Planxty was an Irish folk music band consisting of soon-to-be-legendary musicians Christy Moore (vocals, acoustic guitar, bodhrán), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guitars), Andy Irvine (mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, hurdy-gurdy, harmonica), and Liam O'Flynn (uilleann pipes, tin whistle). The band was formed in 1972, and quickly revolutionized and popularized Irish folk music, touring and recording to great acclaim. The band broke up twice; first in 1975 and again in 1983. The band re-united again in 2004. Their final performance (to date) was in 2005.

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James Ehnes was born in 1976 in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. He began violin studies at the age of four, at age nine he became a protégé of the noted Canadian violinist Francis Chaplin. He studied with Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School of Music, then in 1993 at The Juilliard School. He graduated from Julliard in 1997, winning the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music. Mr.

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Started about eight years ago as an acoustic based side-project between two friends who wished for a more minimalist distraction from their main musical endeavours, subzar (an approximate acronym of "somewhere between the zenith and ruin") has recently evolved into a quartet that has taken on a life of its own. From the formulaic post-rock equation, drums have been banished while violin and cello warmly welcome - elevating the humble foundation to an - at times - pseudo-classical proposition that strives to encourage the listener to join its visceral and affecting musical journey.