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Linda Lampenius extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Linda Brava
Linda Brava performing at Stockholm Pride Festival 2009
Background information
Born	26 February 1970 (1970-02-26) (age 40)
Origin	Helsinki, Finland
Genres	Classical, rock, pop, folk, celtic
Occupations	Musician, model, actress, rally driver, entrepreneur, author, politician
Instruments	Violin
Years active	1978 – present
Labels	Rory Johnston Management and Consultancy

Linda Brava is the international acting name of Finnish classical violinist and recording artist Linda Lampenius (born 26 February 1970).¹

Contents 1 Background 2 Early years as a child prodigy 3 Education and orchestral work 4 Musical career 4.1 Classical music 4.2 Other music 4.3 Solo albums 5 Other careers 6 Media 7 Discography 8 References 9 External links

Background

Brava was born in Helsinki, Finland into a Fennoswede family and culture, in which music formed a vital part of life. Her father, Börje Lampenius, is a former theatre director, actor, singer and also a composer of musicals and operettas. Her mother, Ulla Eklund, is a former actress and singer. Both of them worked primarily at the Swedish Theatre in Helsinki, but also on TV and films.

At the age of three, Brava started to perform with her parents as a singer. Later on, Brava would play the violin and have her father on the piano, while her mother sang, in addition to solo and orchestral performances.¹ In 1978, Hufvudstadsbladet reported on Brava, a child violinist to remember, after her impressive solo concert appearance.

After leaving Finland in 1997, Brava has lived in Los Angeles, London and Stockholm. She is married to Martin Cullberg, a Swedish jurist and partner in Leif Silbersky's law firm, and they have a daughter, Olivia, born on February 26, 2009. Brava's parents-in-law are professor Johan Cullberg and psychotherapist Marta Cullberg Weston.²

Early years as a child prodigy

Brava played several instruments in a musical kindergarten, but focused on the violin at the age of five, under the guidance of Géza Szilvay, the developer of the Colourstrings Method. Brava's career began as a soloist of the Helsinki Strings at the age of seven with players two and even three times her age.¹ The Helsinki Strings has been named as one of the best youth orchestras in the world,³ and Max Rostal as well as Yehudi Menuhin have both served as its patrons.⁴

Through her childhood, Brava toured all around the world, giving concerts in London, New York, Tokyo and others. As a child prodigy, she also appeared on Finnish TV numerous times as part of the artistic-educational TV series Minifiddlers in Musicland on YLE.¹⁵

In a fairly rapid succession, Brava was awarded a scholarship by the notable Swedish Cultural Foundation for being such a promising young violinist,⁶ became Concertmistress of the Helsinki Strings and performed as a soloist of the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Finland at the age of 11.¹⁷ Around the same time, she was also selected for solo roles in national orchestras touring among others in England.⁸

Education and orchestral work

Brava studied at the Sibelius Academy in Finland from 1985 to 1996, first at the Junior Academy and then at the actual university level Department of Soloists. She was one of the first students to get in based only on their audition performance.¹ Brava studied the violin, music theory and history, pedagogy and opera singing,⁹ having her own violin students as well. She also played in chamber ensembles, and her Ofelia quartet was chosen to perform at final concert of the master class by the Amadeus Quartet.¹

Still a student, Brava acquired substantial orchestral experience. From 1990 through 1996, she served as Concertmistress in the Orchestra of the Conducting Class, taught by professors Jorma Panula and Eri Klas. She also served as Concertmistress of the Sibelius Academy Symphony Orchestra on various occasions, and for three years, she played the 1st violin in the Finnish National Opera Orchestra, before embarking on a solo career.¹⁰

In addition to the Sibelius Academy, Brava has also studied with professors Mauricio Fuks¹¹ and Eduard Schmieder¹ in the USA as well as taken part in master classes in France and Israel, including Shlomo Mintz's Keshet Eilon Violin Programme.¹²

Lajos Garam, Doctor of Music and former leader of the Department of Soloists, has said that Brava "is a sensitive artistic type and very skillful and experienced as a musician. Her playing is high-quality and full-blooded".¹⁰ For conductor Atso Almila "it was self-evident that she was going to be one of the most notable Finnish violinists."¹³ Violinist and pedagogy Päivyt Meller (née Rajamäki), who has studied with Josef Gingold, has stated that "Linda is very multiply gifted. She has aberrantly lots of capability of expression, strength and artistry and her playing is technically on quite a high level".¹⁰ Ari Angervo, conductor and violinist, has said that Brava "just wanted to learn to play as well as possible, to go as deep as possible into music. To my mind she has succeeded in that. Linda is top talented as a violinist."¹⁴

Musical career

Classical music

Brava has performed chamber music all around Europe, Asia and the USA,⁹ working with various pianists from Finland, Sweden and the UK, including Timo Koskinen,¹ Folke Gräsbeck,¹⁵ Carina E. Nilsson,¹⁶ Laura Mikkola¹⁷ and John Lenehan.¹⁸ Brava has also made many solo orchestral appearances, including with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.¹ In addition to Finnish and Swedish city orchestras,¹⁹²⁰²¹ she has also played with La Scala Opera Orchestra²² and toured with a Prague Symphony Orchestra, which was formed by musicians from two of the biggest classical orchestras in Prague, including the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.²³ "She captivated the audience at the Ulriksdal Palace park with passion -- The harmonics, the left- and right-hand pizzicato, the ardour in tone, the double stops - it was all there", wrote Svenska Dagbladet on Brava's performance of Maurice Ravel's Tzigane with the Stockholm Sinfonietta.²⁴ In addition to headlining music festivals with José Carreras²⁵ and Kevin Kenner,²⁶ Brava has also toured with Paul Potts²⁷ and performed with Andrea Griminelli.¹

Brava has been living in Sweden since 2002. Her first major concert tours in the country occurred the following year. The outcome was successful as critics raved her talent and she managed to break into the Swedish music scene. "She has been described as a super violinist with Playboy attraction. When Linda Lampenius takes the stage in light blue coverings it is completely without prima donna behaviour. With total stage presence and a bewitched violin she enchants the ears already from the start and there seems to be no end to the applause after the entrance performance" wrote Dalarnas Tidningar²⁸ while Göteborgs-Posten reported how Brava's "music potpourri became a display in virtuoso violin playing" and that "she is undeniably a gifted musician with dazzling technique and a big amount of charm".²⁹ Brava has since participated in various concert tours and given concerts all around the country, performing among others with pianist Robert Wells,³⁰ soprano Hannah Holgersson³¹ and harpist Monica Ramos.³²

In addition to Sweden, Brava has continued performing internationally as well. Some of the special appearances include performances for the NATO troops in Kosovo,³³ the Rhapsody in Rock show at the Royal Albert Hall in London³⁴ and violin concerts in Astana, Kazakhstan³⁵ and Irkutsk, Siberia³⁶ as well as at the Cannes Film Festival.³⁷ Brava performs in corporate and private events on a regular basis, both in the Nordic countries and elsewhere. In 2010 and 2011, Brava will be touring in Europe and China, working among others with the Schönbrunn Palace orchestra.²³⁸

With her 1781 Gagliano violin, worth around €200,000,³⁹⁴⁰ Brava has performed many times for head of states and royals, incluging the President of Finland,⁴¹ Prince of Monaco and the Royal Family of Sweden.¹⁴ Brava has also played for some of the Nobel Prize laureates on the Arctic Circle.⁴²

Other music

After seeing a documentary about her on British TV and tracking her musical pedigree, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber invited Brava to take the lead within Metal Philharmonic. Brava performed the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman symphony together with an orchestra, a choir, a band and a group of dancers at the 23rd Sydmonton Festival. The collaboration between Brava and Lloyd Webber meant a significant media exposure for her especially in Europe, including the cover story of The Sunday Times' Culture supplement.⁸ Thereafter, Brava also became known as the Bach Babe in tabloids in the UK,⁴³ and The Sun ran a front page article on her, rating her above Vanessa-Mae with headline "Vanessa Mae, Linda does".⁴⁴

While living in England, Brava studied, played and recorded pop rock music with Dave Gregory (the lead guitarist for XTC), Chris Blackwell (drummer for Robert Plant) and Charlie Jones (bass player for Robert Plant and Jimmy Page) under the guidance of Craig Leon (The Ramones, Blondie), in addition to having her own pop rock band Violators.¹ In 2003, Brava starred in her own variety show Fantastix in a theatre in Stockholm. The show included her violin playing, acting, dancing and fire eating.⁴⁵ Brava has since performed among others with singers Sofia Källgren,⁴⁶ Pernilla Wahlgren⁴⁷ and LaGaylia Frazier.⁴⁸ She has also played with rock and heavy metal bands like Takida⁴⁹ and Mustasch,⁵⁰ and she plays the violin on Celine Dion's album Taking Chances. With Jeff Goldblum, Brava has played and performed jazz music in Los Angeles,¹ in addition to single jazz performances in New York⁵¹ and Stockholm.⁵²

In 2007, Brava worked with Anúna in North America. Their award-winning music special on PBS was broadcast on over 250 TV stations in the USA, and it is also available on DVD.⁵³⁵⁴ In addition, the Celtic Origins album was North America's Bestselling World Music CD for five consecutive weeks, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Brava also took part in Anúna's concert tour across the USA, including concert halls in nearly 40 cities.⁵⁵⁵⁶⁵⁷ In 2008, Brava was one of the leading soloists of the 10th anniversary tour of the Rhapsody in Rock spectacle, and she was titled as the tour's best artist, "who awes as usual", by Aftonbladet, the biggest daily newspaper in Scandinavia.³⁰ At the end of the year, Brava headlined Sweden's original Christmas tour for the second time, touring in concert halls and arenas all around Sweden.⁵⁸

Over the years, Brava has also performed in various sports events. She has played in national basketball, football and ice hockey matches in Finland and Sweden,¹ twice at the ATP Champions event at the Royal Albert Hall in London (televised by the BBC and Eurosport)⁵⁹⁶⁰ and for Formula One people in Monaco¹ and Monza.⁶¹ In the Ericsson Globe, Brava has opened up different televised sports events, including K-1 galas⁶² and the 2008 GE Galan,⁶³ and in Moscow, she has played for Ferrari and Maserati.⁶⁴ For the 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships in Prague, Brava recorded Tre Kronor (Slå Oss Om Ni Kan), the official song for the Swedish National Ice Hockey Team.

Solo albums

Linda Lampenius

Brava's pop album Linda Lampenius, which peaked at number 8 on the Finnish Top Album Chart,⁶⁵ was released in 1997. Although the album was released only in Finland, Brava's single "Violator"/"Toccata and Fugue" got international attention: "Pammi lookalike's great on her Bach" stated the Daily Mirror⁶⁶ and the Daily Record wrote that "just when interest in violin music was toning down along comes Linda Lampenius -- the fiddling Finn has taken a major bow -- she is already a sensation with her version of Bach's Toccata and Fugue".⁶⁷ Also The Sunday Times reported how Brava "has enjoyed huge success in Scandinavia with an up-tempo version of Bach's Toccata and Fugue".⁶⁸ Brava has performed material from the album in Finland and abroad, including Sporting Club in Monaco and televised performances at the Royal Albert Hall in London and the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles.¹

Linda Brava

Brava was offered a recording contract by EMI in 1997,⁶⁹⁷⁰ and she worked under the EMI Classics label from 1998 to 2002.⁷¹⁷² Her classical album Linda Brava was released worldwide in 1999. The album includes Edvard Grieg's Violin Sonata No. 3 in C minor as well as violin miniatures by Edward Elgar, Gabriel Fauré, Jean Sibelius, Johann Sebastian Bach-Charles Gounod, Jules Massenet, Niccolò Paganini and Fritz Kreisler.

Gramophone described the album as "a delightful recital -- played with such warmth, and an eloquent simplicity of line, that the ear is instantly beguiled -- a welcome collection".⁷³ Classic FM Magazine dedicated its cover story for "Linda Brava, Finland's violin sensation", and wrote that she plays "with a pleasant, honeyed tone - making the most of her golden-voiced 1781 Galliano violin - and an unaffected grace that will surely win her many friends".⁵ Composer and critic Paul Turok of Turok's Choice thought "the high point of her fine recital disc with pianist John Lenehan is a strong reading of Grieg's Sonata"⁷⁴ while the Evening Standard wrote "her best playing comes in the three short pieces by her countryman Sibelius: the skittish Rondino extracts her quickest fingerwork, the Humoreske Op.87 No.1 wins her most tortured expression and the Romance Op.78 No.2 sings under her confident touch".⁷⁵ Classic FM UK played music from the album on a daily basis for several weeks, and it was also noted positively by BBC Radio 3⁷⁶ and ABC Classic FM Australia.⁷⁷

With the album release, Brava appeared in various newspapers, magazines and TV and radio shows all around Europe and the Far East.⁷⁸⁷⁹ Brava was also featured on the poster on the back of a Routemaster driving on Oxford Street in London,⁸⁰ and her music video for "Ave Maria" can still be seen on Classic FM TV. The video is also featured on the first edition of Classic FM [2003] DVD.⁸¹ The album peaked at number 14 on the UK Classical Chart,⁸² and Brava became the biggest selling Finnish classical artist at the time.⁸³

Nordic Light

Brava's latest album Nordic Light was released in the Nordic countries in 2005 and re-released in Sweden in 2008, peaking at number 12 on the Swedish Top Album Chart. The album is a collection of folk melodies from Finland and Sweden, also including a medley from the musical Kristina från Duvemåla by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA. Brava was inspired to record the album after her two 25-city concert tours in Sweden together with Kalle Moraeus, a former violinist of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and one of the most sought-after folk musicians in the country. On the critically acclaimed album,⁸⁴⁸⁵ Brava is accompanied by members of Benny Anderssons Orkester while Anders Ekborg sings on two tracks.

Upcoming album

Brava has been working on her new recordings and other projects in Finland, Sweden, Ireland and the USA, including with Jeff Franzel and Ronan Hardiman.¹⁴⁸⁶ Her new classical album is set to be released in 2011 at the leatest, and it will be a collection of movements from different violin concertos.⁸⁷

Other careers

Modelling

Brava attended a modelling school and came 2nd in a major modelling competition in Finland in 1988, appearing in a few fashion shows and a televised coffee commercial.¹ She was also asked to participate in Miss Finland beauty pageants several times, but refused, because she wanted to concentrate on her playing.⁸⁸

In 1996, both Björn Borg and Panos Emporio offered Brava a modelling contract, and she became the spokesperson for the Björn Borg fashion label, appearing in advertisements, fashion shows and other promotional events in Finland, Sweden and England from 1996 through 1999.¹⁵⁹⁸⁹ Especially the Björn Borg fashion shows, some of which were also televised, became popular, and Brava drew international media attention as she was playing the violin while modelling swimsuits on catwalks.¹⁹⁰⁹¹ The shows became so popular that when Brava performed in the NK Stockholm for the first time, there was a queue outside and some people were unable to see the show. Brava's televised performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London in the middle of the 1st ATP Masters tournament between Björn Borg and John McEnroe made also headlines, and the picture of her in a tiny black, figure-hugging lycra outfit and red faux fur moon boots was prominently featured in the papers the following days.⁹²

The Swiss watch manufacturer Maurice Lacroix engaged Brava to promote their Calypso range of watches in England in 2000. In addition to editorial shoots and posters, Brava also played in various Maurice Lacroix events, including at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park.¹⁹³⁹⁴

Over the years, Brava has also modelled in many magazines, including Café⁹⁵, Elle,¹ Esquire,⁷⁹ GQ,¹ Hello!,⁹⁶ Maxim⁹⁷ and Playboy⁹⁸.

Acting

Brava appeared in a Finnish film classic, Akseli ja Elina, in 1970. Her mother played the lead and she was her daughter-in-arms. Through her childhood, Brava had small roles among others in productions of the Swedish Theatre, touring in Sweden and Norway with the theatre company. Since the 1990s, Brava has appeared in few Finnish and Swedish TV series, including Kadonnut näky,⁹⁹ Uuno Turhapuro and Cleo.¹ Brava has also starred in Finnish comedy TV series Kultajukka & kumppanit on YLE. Among her other roles on the show, she parodied her own public image in Finland, playing the "Media Linda", a stupid blonde, who carries a violin and invades everywhere in little outfits.¹

While living in Los Angeles, Brava was offered roles in Fame L.A., Melrose Place and Baywatch,¹¹⁰⁰ and she was also asked to star a television talk show as its musical guest host.¹¹⁰¹ Brava refused to sign any long-term contracts, but agreed to appear in one episode of Fame L.A. as a guest star, playing Ilsa Lundqvist, a Swedish violinist, who ends up playing the violin at a Christmas party of an art school, having one of the students fall in love with her. After months of persuading by Douglas Schwartz, Brava also agreed to appear in one episode of Baywatch, in which she portrayed Ariana, a European violinist in trouble. Both of the shows used music from Brava's pop album, including pieces "Violator" and "Aquamarine".

Politics

Brava represented the Swedish People's Party and was elected to the Helsinki City Council for a four-year term in 1996,¹⁰² serving also as a board member of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.¹⁰³ In 1997, Brava was titled as Finland's Tourist Envoy in Sweden as she had increased Swedes' interest in Finland.¹⁰⁴

Entrepreneur

Brava had her own cider brand, Linda Cider, in the Nordic countries between 1997 and 2000, selling over 12 million bottles in two years.¹⁰⁵ To support the cider sales, Brava had a calendar for 1998, and every now and then, she would travel all around the country by a helicopter, visiting several major supermakets in one day, giving autographs and posing for pictures.¹¹⁰⁶

Author

Brava's autobiography, Linda, was published by WSOY in Finland in 2003. In her book, Brava talks openly about her upbringing, demanding violin training, tours around the world, years of success, and severe personal struggles, including low self-esteem, unhealty relationships, legal battles against her former American manager and his millionaire friend, depression and eating disorders.¹

Over the years, Brava has also published some of her diary entries and short stories in Finnish newspapers.¹¹⁰⁷

Sports

Brava got her rally licence in the 1990s,¹⁰⁸ and has since raced Sports 2000 series cars and worked as a co-driver in rally competitions in Finland, in addition to having her own kart racing team. She has also worked as a commentator for Nordic TV channels during ice hockey and Formula One meets in Europe.¹ As for other sports, Brava has gone in for alpine skiing (naming Madonna di Campiglio, Courchevel and Åre as her favorite skiing resorts),¹⁰⁹ boxing and scuba diving, practicing also archery in Israel.¹ In 2008, Brava trained Muay Thai in Thailand and made a PR video for the Fairtex Bangplee training camp.¹¹⁰

Brava has also learnt ballroom dances as she participated in Let's Dance (the Swedish version of Dancing with the Stars) on TV4 in 2008. Brava and her dance partner Daniel da Silva won several rounds of the competition, but after an injury, came 6th out of 12.^111112113

Media

Brava first came into the public spotlight as a child prodigy on the violin, performing on Finnish TV numerous times in the 1970s and 1980s and being featured in Finnish newspapers, in addition to concert tours all around Europe, the USA, Canada and Japan. Since the mid-1990s, she has been one of the most famous celebrities in Finland, being also one of the best known Finnish personalities in Sweden, her current home country. Brava has always been open about her personal life, and especially the Finnish media has been covering this field of her life in detail throughout the years.¹¹⁴¹¹⁴

Since 1997, Brava has been featured in numerous TV programmes all around the world. Channel 4's documentary about her has been aired all around Europe and Japan,⁹⁰ while the documentary by CBS' Inside Edition was broadcast in the USA.¹¹⁵ Brava has also starred in a music special by Rai Uno, the biggest TV channel in Italy, and the concert was broadcast in 160 countries worldwide,¹¹⁶ while her solo orchestral appearance with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales was televised for Britain.⁷⁹ In 2007, Brava appeared as a violin soloist in Anúna's Celtic Origins music special on PBS, which aired the show on over 250 TV statios across the USA.⁵⁶ Brava has also been featured in news programmes on ABC, the BBC,¹ CNBC,⁴⁰ CNN and Fox News Channel,⁴⁰ including BBC Breakfast¹ and The O'Reilly Factor,⁴⁰ the most-watched cable news show in the USA. Brava has also been featured in light entertainment shows, including on E! Entertainment.⁴⁰ With her classical album release, Brava visited several TV shows in Europe and the Far East,⁷⁸⁸⁰ performing even for 200 million TV viewers at a time.⁷⁹

As for publications, Brava has been featured in the cover stories of The Sunday Times,⁸ Classic FM Magazine,⁵ Playboy⁹⁸ and many others. Both American Elle¹⁰⁰ and Details¹¹⁷ chose Brava as the Best Newcomer in Music in 1998, and she has since been featured in numerous other fashion, lifestyle and entertainment magazines as well, including Entertainment Weekly,¹¹⁸ Esquire,⁷⁹ GQ,¹ Hello!,⁹⁶ Maxim⁹⁷ and Vogue.¹ The Times has stated her to be "the gifted Finnish classical violinist",⁴³ who is "brilliant" and "acclaimed by critics",¹¹⁹ while The Sunday Times stated "she plays like Nigel Kennedy".⁶⁸ Brava has also been called "a striking Finnish blonde with impeccable musical credentials" by the Los Angeles Daily News¹²⁰ and "Finnish Phenom" by the New York Post.¹²¹ Additionally, she has been called a "virtuoso violinist" by both The Guardian¹²² and The Independent.¹²³ Billed as the Bach Babe in tabloids in the UK,⁴³ Brava has been featured in the front page article of The Sun,¹²⁴ while she has also been featured in such British publications as Classic CD,¹²⁵ the Daily Mail,¹ the Evening Standard,³⁴ Q,¹ The Daily Telegraph¹²⁶ and The European.⁹⁰

In 2010, Brava is one of the judges of the 1st season of X Factor, a singing competition based on Simon Cowell's The X Factor franchise.

Discography

References

External links

• Homepage
• Linda Brava at the Internet Movie Database
• Linda Brava performing at the Swedish Museum of Natural History
• Linda Brava performing on the Finnish Broadcasting Company's Internet Archive (Introduction in Finnish)