Linda Brava

BACKGROUND: Brava was born into a Fennoswede family and culture in which music formed a vital part of life. Her father, Börje Lampenius, is a former theater 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, but also on TV and films. Brava grew up in Eira, a wealthy district in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, and in a family country house in Lappträsk. She attended Svenska normallyceum in Helsinki. After leaving Finland in 1997, Brava has resided in Los Angeles and London. Since 2002, she has lived in Stockholm. Brava is married to Martin Cullberg, a Swedish criminal defence lawyer. MUSICAL CAREER: Brava has performed around the world since the age of eight playing in and with many European orchestras, pianists and other artists. Brava has done innumerable public concerts in addition to her head of state and royal concert appearances. As a musician, Brava has performed and been interviewed on various television and radio channels from the BBC, CNN and Classic FM to CBS and Rai Uno as well as featured in broadsheets, magazines and tabloids from the The Times to The Gramophone, Playboy and The Sun. CLASSICAL MUSIC EDUCATION: Brava started her music studies as a three-year-old in a musical kindergarten and played the piano. At the age of five, she started to play the violin with Géza Szilvay at the East Helsinki Music Institute. By the age of ten, Brava had already been granted a scholarship by the notable Swedish Cultural Foundation for being such a promising young violinist. Brava was then accepted to the world-renowned university level music school Sibelius Academy (qualifies as being among the top music schools in the world) even before earning her Matriculation examination. Brava studied at the Academy from 1985 to 1996. During the years, Brava was the concertmistress of the Sibelius Academy Symphony Orchestra on several occasions and led Sibelius Academy Conducting Class Orchestra (Jorma Panula and Eri Klas served as professors of conducting) for seven years as well as did some broadcast performances for the Finnish Broadcasting Company. Brava also played in Ofelia, a string quartet, and participated in masterclass with the Amadeus Quartet. Ofelia was then chosen to perform at final concert of the masterclass. From 1990 to 1996, Brava worked for some of the best orchestras in Finland, like the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Finnish National Opera Orchestra, performing also as a soloist - for example, Brava opened Sibeliuspäivät (The Sibelius Days, named after Jean Sibelius) in Finland in 1995. Later on, Brava was guided by professor Mauricio Fuks, Jacobs School of Music, and Eduard Schmieder in the USA. Lajos Garam, Doctor of Music and former leader of The Sibelius Academy's 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". Moreover, for the respected Finnish conductor Atso Almila "it was self-evident that she was going to be one of the most notable Finnish violinists." Päivyt (Rajamäki) Meller, who herself has studied with Josef Gingold and is a notable violinist and teacher, 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". In a recent interview with a Finnish newspaper, Ari Angervo, a well-known violinist and conductor in Finland as well as a teacher in the Sibelius Academy, 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." CLASSICAL MUSIC: Brava started to play the violin at the age of five and was made a member and soloist of the prestigious Helsinki Strings Orchestra three years later. As a child prodigy on the violin, Brava also played on Finnish television countless times as part of Viuluviikarit musiikkimaassa (Minifiddlers in Musicland) TV series presenting the Colourstrings method, which was created by her first violin teacher Géza Szilvay, now also used at the Royal Academy of Music, among other music schools. Brava made her solo orchestral appearance debut with The Radio Symphony Orchestra of Finland at the age of eleven, led the Helsinki Strings at thirteen, and, from 1978 to 1993, she toured as a soloist, concertmistress and member with many orchestras in Europe, North America and Asia. Brava also served as a board member of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra after she was elected to the Helsinki City Council for a four-year term in 1996. Brava is foremost a chamber musician, performing mainly with an accompanist, but she has also made many solo orchestral appearances after her solo career fully started in 1996. Brava has played as a soloist, for example, with many Finnish city orchestras, Stockholm Sinfonietta and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. She has also played with pianists like John Lenehan and Laura Mikkola. In addition to playing in public concerts, Brava has also performed, for example, for the president of Finland, Prince of Monaco (Brava was accompanied by Milan's La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra), the Swedish Royal Family and some of the Nobel Prize winners. Brava was offered a record deal by EMI in 1997, and her classical album, "Linda Brava", which was made up of lyrical violin classics, was released worldwide by EMI Classics in 1999. Positive reviews were given by classical music magazines like The Gramophone, and Classic FM Magazine dedicated its cover story for "Linda Brava, Finland's violin sensation". The magazine also 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". American Record Guide's critic went on saying that the "interpretations are all very sensible and well paced. Indeed, from the standpoint of structural clarity, this is one of the better Grieg Sonatas I've heard". The album made its way on the UK classical chart at number 14, and sold around three thousand copies in Finland during the first months after the release - a remarkable number for a classical recording. With the classical release, Brava toured and played all around Europe and the Far East appearing on various television and radio shows including popular British morning shows Big Breakfast and This Morning as well as ITV's hit chat show Friday Night's All Wright. During the album release, Brava was also seen on a poster on the back of a red double decker bus driving on Oxford Street in London. The UK's Classic FM aired music from the album daily for several weeks, and Brava's 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. Brava has also been featured in music magazines like Andante, Classic CD, Q and Muso. The Times has stated her to be "the gifted Finnish classical violinist", who is "brilliant" and "acclaimed by critics", while The Sunday Times has said "she plays like Nigel Kennedy". Brava has also been called "a striking Finnish blonde with impeccable musical credentials" by the Los Angeles Daily News and "Finnish Phenom" by the New York Post. After taking some time of her own, and years spent in Los Angeles and London, Brava moved to Stockholm in 2002. In 2004, Kalle Moraeus, a former violinist of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and one of the most sought-after artists in Sweden, invited Brava to join his 25-city spring tour across Sweden as a guest soloist. The outcome was successful as critics raved Brava's 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 Tidningar while Göteborgs-Posten told 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". Brava also played on another 25-city concert tour in Sweden in 2004. It was Sweden's official Christmas show, which was presented in concert halls and arenas all around the country. During her years in Sweden, Brava has performed many times for the members and friends of the Swedish Royal Court, but she has also done lots of public concerts and television and radio appearances. With her classical repertoire, Brava has appeared in venues such as the Stockholm Concert Hall, but also in rock events. She has also performed around Scandinavia for various corporate events, played for the NATO troops in Kosovo, in Unicef's gala in Switzerland, in "Rhapsody in Rock" show in London's Royal Albert Hall, at 2007 Cannes Film Festival and she even made a concert appearance in Irkutsk's Drama Theater in Siberia in 2006. In the summer of 2008, Brava made exclusive outdoor classical music concerts at Swedish castles with tenor Paul Potts and a Prague symphony orchestra, which was formed by musicians from two of the biggest orchestras in Prague. Brava also performed the Triple Concerto by Beethoven at The Malar International Music Festival as part of its Beethoven evening with the Swedish pianist Patrik Jablonski, the British cellist Gemma Rosefield and the Västerås Sinfonietta, one of the oldest orchestras in Sweden. Peter Jablonski served as a conductor. Brava's instrument is a 1781 Gagliano violin. She has also used some electric violins when playing other than classical music. POP AND ROCK MUSIC: Brava released her first pop single, "Violator"/"Toccata & Fugue", in 1996. "Pammi lookalike's great on her Bach" stated The Mirror and 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. With her long blonde hair, pouting lips and gorgeous figure, she is already a sensation with her version of Bach's Toccata and Fugue". Also The Sunday Times reported how Brava "has enjoyed huge success in Scandinavia with an up-tempo version of Bach's Toccata and Fugue". Brava's self-titled pop album, "Linda Lampenius", was released in 1997, and it hit the Finnish Top Album Chart peaking at number 8 as it was only released in Finland. It went gold the following year. Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber reportedly saw a documentary about Brava on Channel 4 and was amazed at her ability to play the violin. He then invited Brava to take a lead within "Metal Philhamonic", an Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman composition, which Brava performed with a band, orchestra, choir and group of dancers at Lloyd Webber's private musical festival at his home in Sydmonton Court, Hampshire in the summer of 1997. Brava also gave a concert of her own at the festival, and the collaboration between Brava and Lloyd Webber brought her the cover story of The Sunday Times (culture supplement) and many headlines across Europe while she became known as a blonde violin sensation, the Bach Babe. Brava has since done some pop appearances on American television, the BBC and Rai Uno as well as in Globen, Sporting Club and the Royal Albert Hall, to name a few. Brava has had her own pop/rock band, The Violators, with whom she performed music from her first album. While living in London, Brava also played and recorded with musicians from Page & Plant's on-tour band and producer Craig Leon. Unreleased recordings from the sessions include perhaps the last recording of Ofra Haza who died soon after. In 2002, Brava was given a lead role in a variety show called Fantastix, which ran in Stockholm in 2003. In the show, Brava played the violin, acted, danced and she was also seen on stage as a fire eater. Brava has performed many times in the "Rhapsody in Rock" show, which was created by pianist and composer Robert Wells, who has also written music for Celine Dion and the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. "Rhapsody in Rock" combines classical and popular music, and the show has been touring all around the world and seen by hundreds of millions of people since the 1990s. Brava has performed as a soloist of the show, among other places, in Circus and the Royal Albert Hall. She was also one of the soloists of the show's 10th anniversary tour in Sweden in 2008. Aftonbladet, the largest daily newspaper in Nordic countries, rated Brava, who "awes as usual", as the best artist of the show. Brava has also made many guest appearances with pop and rock artists, e.g. Mustasch, Takida, Leningrad Cowboys and Magnus Bäcklund (Brava was featured on Bäcklund's single, "Burn", which hit the Swedish Top Singles Chart peaking at number 4 in 2007). Brava is also playing the violin in "Fade Away" on Celine Dion's album Taking Chances released in November 2007. FOLK, CELTIC AND JAZZ MUSIC: In 2005, Brava's "Nordic Light", which presents Nordic folk melodies, was released with acclaim in the North. The album was re-released in the spring of 2008 and it peaked at number 12 on the Swedish Top Album Chart. Anúna, an Irish choral group, asked Brava to participate in their upcoming "Celtic Origins" project in 2006. For the PBS music special, the choir and Brava performed in three concerts held at the Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, the USA in January 2007. Live CD and DVD were also done that time. PBS then aired the show called Anúna: Celtic Origins on over 220 TV stations in the USA in August/September 2007. Following the television special, Anúna and Brava embarked on a 9-week and around 40-city tour in concert halls all around the States. The "Celtic Origins" stage show was seen in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston, San Francisco, Denver, Detroit, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Charlotte, Nashville, Knoxville, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Toronto, Atlanta, Phoenix and others. Anúna's "Celtic Origins" CD and DVD releases, in which Brava is also featured in as a special guest violinist, were released during the summer and fall of 2007. The album was North America's bestselling World Music CD for weeks according to Nielsen SoundScan, and it was also the bestselling CD in all categories at Borders for the entire month of August. In a 2007 interview with a Finnish newspaper, Michael McGlynn, the founder and leader of Anúna, said that "Linda seemed to be exactly what the forthcoming Anúna show needs to get more classical delicacy to the performance -- Her playing is beautiful, profound and insightful". Ronan Hardiman, the Irish composer, was also quoted in the article as he has been working with Brava on different projects and stated Brava to be "a splendid classical violinist, a magnificent artist who has an incomprehensible ability to transfer her feelings strongly into the music. She is very creative. It is easy to work with her. In addition, she has charisma the like of which you rarely meet". Brava has also made a few public jazz performances during her career. The first one took part in a Los Angeles club called Lucky Seven in 1998, when Brava played with Jeff Goldblum, an Academy Award-nominated American actor and an excellent jazz pianist, and his band. The other one was with Irish singer Owen Brady in a jazz club in Stockholm at the end of the year 2007. DISCOGRAPHY: SOLOIST: Linda Lampenius (Audiovox Records, 1997) - Finnish Top Album Chart: 8 Linda Brava (EMI Classics, 1999) - UK classical chart: 14 Nordic Light (Ladybird, 2005/re-released 2008) - Swedish Top Album Chart: 12 GUEST: Paul Oxley's Unit, The Magic (Sony Music Entertainment Finland, 1996) (violin) Anúna, Celtic Origins (Elevation, 2007) (guest violin soloist) - Nielsen SoundScan: 1 Celine Dion, Taking Chances (Sony, 2007) (strings) - United World Chart: 2 Sofia Källgren, Cinema Paradiso (2008) (duet with Sofia) SINGLES: SOLOIST: Violator/Toccata & Fugue in D minor (Audiovox Records, 1996) Ave Maria/Salut d'Amour (EMI Classics, 1999) GUEST: Magnus Bäcklund, Burn (UNI, 2007) (featured artist) - Swedish Top Singles Chart: 4 Emilia de Poret, Pick me up (2008) DVDs: VARIOUS ARTISTS: Classic FM [2003] DVD (BMG Music Programming, 2003) Anúna, Celtic Origins (Elevation, 2007) (guest violin soloist) UNRELEASED EMI RECORDINGS: According to the official website of Dave Gregory, the former lead guitarist of XTC, Brava recorded various songs with him and two other musicians loaned from Page & Plant's on-tour band for EMI in 1999. According to the official website of Chris Blackwell, one of the two musicians, the recordings also include perhaps the last recording of Ofra Haza who died soon after. The songs, which were produced by Craig Leon, have not been released yet. Traclisting according to Gregory's website: Frankenstein Inna Gadda Da Vida Violator Let's Get Down Get Real Turkish/Middle Eastern tune Running Up That Hill Aquamarine OTHER CAREERS: Not only has Brava an impressive musical career, but she has also worked as a model, actress, part-time politico, rally/co-driver, entrepreneur and author. [edit]Modelling Brava was the spokesperson and model for Björn Borg's range of underwear and bathing suits in the North from 1996 to 1999. She appeared in print ads and on catwalks playing music from her pop album. In 2000, Brava was a model for Laxroix watches in England performing in their PR events and appearing in print ads. Because of her status as a blond violin sensation in Europe, Brava was offered a contract to become the celebrity cover girl of Playboy magazine. Brava agreed, and the Brahms Bombshell was featured in and on the cover of Playboy's Sex & Music issue of 1998; the first classical artist to be on the cover; the only one along Marilyn Monroe to be on the special cover without any additional headlines. Brava was then chosen to be one of Playboy's "Sexiest Stars of 1998", among such celebrities as Cindy Crawford and Kate Winslet, for the magazine's December issue of 1998. Brava has also modelled, for example, for Café, Classic FM, Details (named Brava the best newcomer in sex and music categories), Elle, Esquire, GQ, Hello!, Maxim and Vogue magazines. ACTING: Brava's film debut took place in 1970. Her mother played a lead in a notable Finnish film classic, Akseli ja Elina (Akseli and Elina), and Brava potrayed her infant daughter. Brava made her theater debut in a play called Hard Times in Svenska Teatern at the age of three, and she was also touring with the theater company in Sweden and Norway the following year. Brava has also done some acting on Finnish and Swedish TV and has been a guest actress for one episode each of American TV series Fame L.A. and Baywatch. POLITICS: Brava represented the Swedish People's Party and was elected to the Helsinki City Council for a four-year term in 1996. At the time, she also served as a board member of the Helsinki Philharmonic. In 1997, Brava was chosen to be "Finland's Tourist Envoy in Sweden". RACE RALLYING AND OTHER SPORTS: Brava has driven Sports 2000 series cars and worked as a co-driver in rally in Finland. She has also had her own go-cart team. Brava danced classical ballet for a while as a child, and learnt ballroom dances when participating in TV4's Let's Dance (a Swedish version of Dancing with the Stars) in 2008. Brava and her dance partner won several rounds of the competition, but, after an injury, they came 6th out of 12. Brava has also went in for alpine skiing, scuba-diving, boxing and archery over the years. In 2008, Brava trained Muay Thai at Fairtex Bangplee in Bangkok, and the training center made a PR video with her. The video can be seen on YouTube. During 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, in the Honda Challenge ATP Senior Tour event at the Royal Albert Hall, for Formula 1 people in Monaco and Monza and opened up the 2008 GE Galan and different K-1 galas in the Stockholm Globe Arena. Brava also recorded the official song for the Swedish national ice hockey team during the Ice Hockey World Championships in Prague in 2004. ENTREPRENEUR: Brava has had her own cider, which sold millions of litres in the North between 1997 and 2000, and she has also had her own calendar in Finland for the year 1998. AUTHOR: Brava's autobiography, Linda, was published by WSOY in Finland in 2003. Some diary entries and a short story of hers have also been published in Finnish newspapers. NOW: Brava has worked on her next album in Ireland and New York, but no release date has been given yet. She's also working on another album in Stockholm. Brava is one of the leading soloists of Sweden's official 2008 Christmas show. The tour includes 30 concerts in 20 cities.