RockOm

By Tom Crenshaw and Trevor Harden

On Tuesday of this week we posted our review of Sting's new winter-themed concept album, If on a Winter's Night... It just so happens that one of the musicians who plays on this recording - violinist Daniel Hope - shares a home city with RockOm. We reached out to Daniel to get his thoughts on Sting's new collection, what winter means to him and more. First a little background...

British violinist Daniel Hope is a four-time Grammy nominated violin virtuoso who has toured and performed with the world’s greatest orchestras and conductors for many years. Hope is renowned for his musical versatility, creativity and his dedication to humanitarian causes. A compelling performer, Hope’s work involves standard repertory, new music, raga, and jazz. He is also an artistic partner, associate artistic director, and producer of musical festivals, events and special musical programs around the world.

Daniel Hope, now an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist, has earned a Classical BRIT award, the Deutsche Schallplattenpreis, and five consecutive ECHO Klassik Prizes. He previously recorded for Warner Classics and Nimbus, playing Bach, Berg, Britten, Elgar, Finzi, Foulds, Ireland, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Penderecki, Schnittke, Shostakovich, Tippett, Walton, and Weill. His interpretation of Ravi Shankar’s compositions, on the CD East Meets West, met with worldwide acclaim.

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RockOm: Briefly describe how you came to be involved with If on a Winter's Night...

Daniel: In a sense, Sting and I go back a long way, but our connection is a curious one. He bought Yehudi Menuhin's house in London, the place where I spent the first seven years of my life growing up. The house was very important to me, and offered me the first chance to experience some of the greatest musicians close-up, such as Ravi Shankar, Stephane Grapelli, and of course the classical masters. I consider it one of the most important musical influences in my life. When Sting moved into the house, we lived across the street, and so I would often see him around. I became acquainted with his music first through The Police, which I listened to when I was a small boy. In 2006 we were both awarded the German ECHO Prize (the equivalent to the German Grammy), and we met officially for the first time backstage in Munich. Sting was so intrigued by this co-incidence, that we have kept in touch since. Then, early this year, he emailed me and invited me to guest on his new album. I was honoured and very excited.

RockOm: Your improvisation skills are quite impressive and impeccable. How much improvisation did you and the other musicians incorporate into the album?

Daniel: There are phenomenal musicians on this album, and all of them are masters of improvisation too. Classical musicians are not usually required to improvise, but my earliest musical training encouraged me to learn how to, and I am very thankful for that! Of the tracks in which I was involved, and also listened to, there was great freedom between the musicians, and it was inspiring to watch the story unfold.

RockOm: What are your overall impressions of the completed album?

Daniel: I think it's a beautiful, unique and deeply powerful album. Sting is a supreme artist, and his knowledge and command of repertoire, style and musicality is simply astonishing. I can't think of another pop star who would have the courage or the insight to bring off, for example, a song from Schubert's Winterreise or a Purcell Aria, and yet, everything Sting does, he does with his own voice and expression, and the very highest level.

RockOm: What does winter mean to you, both personally as well as from a philosophical viewpoint?

Daniel: For me winter is a season of reflection, and calm, especially as the year draws to a close. I can't think of a better companion to these feelings than sitting in front of the fire, and listening to If on a Winter's Night...

http://www.danielhope.com/home/

Tags: Calm, Daniel Hope, Deutsche Grammophon, Grammy, If on a Winter's Night..., Improvisation, Purcell, Reflection, Savannah Music Festival, Schubert, Sting, Winter, Yehudi Menuhin

This entry was posted on Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 6:56 am and is filed under Featured Blog Posts, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.