Linda Brava
Encyclopedia
Linda Magdalena Cullberg Lampenius, better known by her maiden name Linda Lampenius and international stage name Linda Brava, (born 26 February 1970) is a Finnish classical
concert violinist
and recording artist.
and operetta
s. 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 her solo and orchestral performances. In 1978, Vasabladet
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 lawyer and partner in the Leif Silbersky
law firm, and they have a daughter, Olivia, born on 26 February 2009. Brava's parents-in-law are professor Johan Cullberg
and psychotherapist Marta Cullberg Weston.
, 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. The Helsinki Strings has been named as one of the best youth orchestras in the world, and Max Rostal
as well as Yehudi Menuhin
have both served as its patrons.
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.
In a fairly rapid succession, Brava was awarded a scholarship by the notable Swedish Cultural Foundation for being such a promising young violinist, became Concertmistress
of the Helsinki Strings and performed as a soloist of the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Finland
at the age of 11. Around the same time, she was also selected for solo roles in national orchestras touring among others in England
.
in Finland from 1985 to 1997, 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 performances. Brava studied the violin, music theory and history, pedagogy and opera singing, 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
.
Still a student, Brava acquired substantial orchestral experience. From 1990 through 1997, 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.
In addition to the Sibelius Academy, Brava has also studied with professors Mauricio Fuks and Eduard Schmieder
in the USA as well as taken part in master classes in France
and Israel
, including Shlomo Mintz
's Keshet Eilon Violin Programme, studying with Shmuel Ashkenasi
.
Lajos Garam
, Doctor of Music and former leader of the Department of Soloists at the Sibelius Academy, 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". For conductor Atso Almila
"it was self-evident that she was going to be one of the most notable Finnish violinists." Violinist and pedagogue Päivyt Meller
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", while violinist and conductor Ari Angervo
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." Furthermore, professor Mauricio Fuks has said that "she has a talent for learning and absorbing new things very quickly -- Linda is very talented and takes her playing seriously -- I am very happy getting to work with a person this sweet. We have been working daily and her playing keeps improving all the time. I would describe Linda as a natural talent, who is at home with the violin."
all around Europe
, Asia
and the USA, working with various pianists, including Timo Koskinen
, Folke Gräsbeck
, Laura Mikkola
, Carina E. Nilsson
, Linn Hendry
and John Lenehan
. Brava has also made many solo orchestral appearances. In addition to Finnish and Swedish city orchestras, she has played with La Scala Opera Orchestra
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. "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 her performance of Maurice Ravel
's Tzigane with the Stockholm Sinfonietta
. Brava has also appeared as a soloist of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
. In addition to headlining music festivals with José Carreras
and Kevin Kenner
, Brava has also toured with Paul Potts
and performed with Andrea Griminelli
.
Brava has been living in Sweden
since 2002. Her first major concert tours in the country occurred a few years later. 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 Tidningar
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". Brava has since participated in various concert tours and given concerts all around the country, performing among others with pianist Robert Wells
, soprano Hannah Holgersson
and harpist Monica Ramos
.
In addition to Sweden, Brava has continued performing internationally as well. Some of the special appearances include performances for the NATO troops in Kosovo
, the Rhapsody in Rock show at the Royal Albert Hall
in London and violin concerts in Astana, Kazakhstan
, and Irkutsk, Siberia
, as well as at the Cannes Film Festival
. Brava also performs in corporate events on a regular basis, both in the Nordic countries
and elsewhere.
In 2010, Brava performed in the last concert of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
's Summer Concert Series, playing works by Turlough Carolan, Michael William Balfe
and Michael McGlynn
. She also appeared as a soloist of the Royal Swedish Chamber Orchestra in the grand finale concert of the 40th Annual Royal Palace Music Festival at the Royal Palace of Stockholm, Sweden
. In January 2011, Brava toured as a soloist of the Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra Vienna
, performing in New Year's Concerts all around the Nordic countries
, appearing in venues such as the Stockholm Concert Hall
and Finlandia Hall
.
With her 1781 Gagliano
violin, worth around €200,000, Brava has performed many times for head of states and royals, including the President of Finland
, Prince of Monaco
and the Royal Family of Sweden
. Brava has also played for various European and American politicians, including the United States Secretary of Defense
William Perry
, and for some of the Nobel Prize
laureates on the Arctic Circle
. During the years, Brava has also performed in numerous benefit concert
s, in order to help contribute funds for different charities, including for several children's hospital
s in Finland. She has also played the violin at the 150th Anniversary Gala Concert of the Queen Silvia Children's Hospital in Sweden, and on behalf of Unicef during the White Turf celebrations on the frozen Lake St. Moritz
in Switzerland
.
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. Thereafter, Brava also became known as the Bach Babe in tabloids in the UK, and The Sun
ran a front page article on her, rating her above Vanessa-Mae
with a headline "Vanessa Mae, Linda does".
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
(producer for The Ramones and Blondie
), in addition to having her own pop rock band Violators. She also worked with Ofra Haza
, with whom she recorded at Abbey Road Studios
. Their song "Tarab" is the last recording of Haza, who died soon after.
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. Brava has since performed among others with singers Sofia Källgren
, Pernilla Wahlgren
and LaGaylia Frazier
, in addition to playing with rock and heavy metal bands like Takida
and Mustasch. Brava has also worked as a session musician
, playing the violin on Celine Dion
's album Taking Chances
and Sami
singer Yana Mangi's album Earth Shadow, which was produced by Kee Marcello
and released in 2010, among many others. With Jeff Goldblum
, Brava has played and performed jazz music in Los Angeles, in addition to her other jazz performances in New York and Stockholm.
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. 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.
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
. 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. In December 2010, Brava headlined Christmas concerts both in Sweden and Finland, including a Saint Lucy's Day concert in Vimmerby
, two concerts at Hotel Birger Jarl in Stockholm
and another two concerts at Borgå Cathedral
in Finland
, the Finnish concerts receiving excellent reviews by the press.
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, twice at the ATP Champions event at the Royal Albert Hall in London (televised by the BBC
and Eurosport
) and for Formula One
people in Monaco
and Monza
. In the Ericsson Globe, Brava has opened up different televised sports events, including K-1
galas and the 2008 GE Galan
, and in Moscow
, she has played for Ferrari
and Maserati
. 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.
Brava's pop album Linda Lampenius, which peaked at number 8 on the Finnish Top Album Chart, 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 Mirror 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". 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 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.
Linda Brava
Brava was offered a recording contract
by EMI
in 1997, and she worked under the EMI Classics
label from 1998 to 2002. In 1998, Brava started recording her first classical album with John Lenehan
at Abbey Road Studios
in London, and the Linda Brava album was released worldwide in 1999, the tracklisting including Edvard Grieg
's Violin Sonata No. 3 in C minor as well as lyrical violin miniatures by Edward Elgar
, Gabriel Fauré
, Jean Sibelius
, Johann Sebastian Bach
-Charles Gounod
, Jules Massenet
, Niccolò Paganini
and Fritz Kreisler
. The album peaked at number 14 on the UK Classical Chart
, and Brava became the biggest selling Finnish classical artist at the time.
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". 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". 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" 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". Classic FM UK
played music from the album on a daily basis for several weeks, and it was also noted positively by BBC Radio 3
and ABC Classic FM Australia
.
With the album release, Brava appeared in various newspapers, magazines and TV and radio shows all around Europe and the Far East
, being featured on the poster on the back of a red double-decker bus
driving on Oxford Street
in London as well. Brava's music video for "Ave Maria
" was seen on Classic FM TV
, and it was also featured in the first edition of Classic FM [2003] DVD. Nowadays, Brava's music video can be seen on C Music TV
, which included the video in its August Highlights 2010.
Nordic Light
Brava's third 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, Brava is accompanied by members of Benny Anderssons Orkester
while Anders Ekborg
sings on two tracks.
Angels
Brava's latest album Angels is a collection of Christmas carol
s from Finland
, Sweden
, Germany
, France
, England
and the United States
, arranged for solo violin, string quartet, harp, and female choir, in addition to numerous guest artists such as guitarist Ulf Wakenius
, trombonist Nils Landgren, and soprano Sofia Källgren
. The album peaked at number 5 on the Swedish Classical Album Chart, and includes classics like "Angels We Have Heard on High
", "Away in a Manger
", "Ding Dong Merrily on High
", "O Holy Night
", "Panis Angelicus
", and "Silent Night
". Angels is the first album released through Brava's own record label Linda Lampenius Productions, although, the album is distributed by Naxos Records
. It is also Brava's first Christmas release.
The album was produced by Lars Nilsson, who also produced Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
and Prince Daniel's wedding album, and Brava as an executive producer. The arrangers include Swedish composers Paula af Malmborg, Olov Helge, and Dan Evmark as well as a Norwegian composer Tormod Tvete Vik. The featured string quartet is Hvila from the Gothenburg Symphony, and the female choir is Leif Strands Damkör from Gothenburg
as well. The harpist is Delphine Constantin from France
.
Released in Finland and Sweden, Angels has got warm reviews in various publications. Göteborgs-Posten
wrote that Brava is "a good soloist", who "approaches her music with devotion", and the critic was especially "fascinated by the strong, melancholic Finnish Christmas song 'Sylvian joululaulu' ('Sylvia's Christmas Song')". Hallands Nyheter
declared that "musically, the outcome sounds more like a concert recording", and Västerbottens-Kuriren described the album as "beautiful, caressing and enjoyable, soothing and pleasant", while Hufvudstadsbladet
stated that Brava is "a divinely gifted violinist" and "the performances are high-class". Furthermore, Rondo-Classica, the biggest classical music magazine in the Nordic countries, thought the album is Brava's "best release so far -- She plays convincingly. The tone of her Gagliano violin has become more beautiful, and her pretty straightforward phrasing is completed well by the clang of the harp and the angelic voices of the female choir."
Brava promoted the album in Finland and Sweden with numerous television and radio appearances, newspaper and magazine articles, and promotional performances.
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
.
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. She was also asked to participate in Miss Finland
beauty pageants several times, but refused, because she wanted to concentrate on her playing.
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. 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. 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.
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
.
Over the years, Brava has also modelled in many magazines, including Café
, Elle
, Esquire
, GQ, Hello!
, Maxim
and Playboy
.
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, Uuno Turhapuro and Cleo
. 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.
While living in Los Angeles, Brava was offered roles in Fame L.A.
, Melrose Place and Baywatch
, and she was also asked to star a television talk show as its musical guest host. 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, serving also as a board member of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
. In 1997, Brava was titled as Finland's Tourist Envoy in Sweden as she had increased Swedes' interest in Finland.
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. 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.
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.
Over the years, Brava has also published some of her diary entries and short stories in Finnish newspapers. In December 2010, she started blogging on her life and career on the official website of Mama
magazine in Sweden.
Sports
Brava got her rally licence in the 1990s, 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. As for other sports, Brava has gone in for alpine skiing (naming Madonna di Campiglio
, Courchevel
and Åre
as her favorite skiing resorts), boxing and scuba diving, practicing also archery in Israel. In 2008, Brava trained Muay Thai in Thailand
and made a PR video for the Fairtex Bangplee training camp.
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.
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.
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, while the documentary by CBS
' Inside Edition
was broadcast in the USA. 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, while her solo orchestral appearance with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales was televised for Britain. 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. Brava has also been featured in news programmes on ABC
, the BBC
, CNBC
, CNN
and Fox News Channel
, including BBC Breakfast
and The O'Reilly Factor
, the most-watched cable news show in the USA. Brava has also been featured in light entertainment shows, including on E! Entertainment. With her classical album release, Brava visited several TV shows in Europe and the Far East
, performing even for 200 million TV viewers at a time.
As for publications, Brava has been featured in the cover stories of The Sunday Times
, Classic FM Magazine
, Playboy
and many others. Both American Elle
and Details
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
, Esquire
, GQ, Hello!
, Maxim
and Vogue
. The Times
has stated her to be "the gifted Finnish classical violinist", who is "brilliant" and "acclaimed by critics", while The Sunday Times stated "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
. Additionally, she has been called a "virtuoso violinist" by both The Guardian
and The Independent
. Billed as the Bach Babe in tabloids in the UK, Brava has been featured in the front page article of The Sun
, while she has also been featured in such British publications as Classic CD, the Daily Mail
, the Evening Standard
, Q
, The Daily Telegraph
and The European.
In 2010, Brava was one of the judges of the 1st season of X Factor
, a singing competition based on Simon Cowell
's The X Factor
franchise.
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
concert violinist
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and recording artist.
Background
Brava was born into a Swedish-speaking Finnish family 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 musicalsMusical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
and operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
s. Her mother, Ulla Eklund, is a former actress and singer. Both of them worked primarily at the Swedish Theatre
Swedish Theatre
The Swedish Theatre is a Swedish-speaking theatre in Helsinki, Finland and is located at the Erottaja square, at the end of Esplanadi . It was the first national stage of Finland.- History :...
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 her solo and orchestral performances. In 1978, Vasabladet
Vasabladet
Vasabladet is a Swedish language regional newspaper in Ostrobothnia, Finland. In terms of circulation, it is the second largest Swedish newspaper in Finland, behind 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
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. She is married to Martin Cullberg, a Swedish lawyer and partner in the Leif Silbersky
Leif Silbersky
Leif Silbersky is a well-known Swedish lawyer and author, living in Stockholm.He is notable for taking many high-profile cases which have enjoyed large media attention, making him one of the most noted lawyers in Sweden....
law firm, and they have a daughter, Olivia, born on 26 February 2009. Brava's parents-in-law are professor Johan Cullberg
Johan Cullberg
Johan Cullberg, born in 1934, is a Swedish professor in psychiatry, researcher, psychoanalyst and author of a number of internationally recognized textbooks. He started his career at the department of gynecology at the Karolinska Hospital studying the effects of birth control...
and psychotherapist Marta Cullberg Weston.
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 SzilvayGéza Szilvay
Géza Szilvay is a Finnish violin pedagogue, founder and conductor of the Helsinki Strings and principal of the East Helsinki Music Institute....
, the developer of the Colourstrings Method. Brava's career began as a soloist of the Helsinki Strings
Helsinki Strings
The Helsinki Strings is a world-renowned youth orchestra based in Helsinki, Finland....
at the age of seven with players two and even three times her age. The Helsinki Strings has been named as one of the best youth orchestras in the world, and Max Rostal
Max Rostal
Max Rostal was a violinist and a viola player. He was Austrian-born, but later took British citizenship.-Biography:Max Rostal was born in Cieszyn and studied with Carl Flesch. He won the Mendelssohn Scholarship in 1925...
as well as Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
have both served as its patrons.
Through her childhood, Brava toured all around the world, giving concerts in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
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.
In a fairly rapid succession, Brava was awarded a scholarship by the notable Swedish Cultural Foundation for being such a promising young violinist, became Concertmistress
Concertmaster
The concertmaster/mistress is the spalla or leader, of the first violin section of an orchestra. In the UK, the term commonly used is leader...
of the Helsinki Strings and performed as a soloist of the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Finland
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra is a Finnish orchestra based in Helsinki, and is the chief radio orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company . The orchestra primarily gives concerts at the Helsinki Music Centre...
at the age of 11. Around the same time, she was also selected for solo roles in national orchestras touring among others in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Education and orchestral work
Brava studied at the Sibelius AcademySibelius Academy
The Sibelius Academy is a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It also has an adult education centre in Järvenpää and a training centre in Seinäjoki. The Academy is the only music university in Finland. It is among the biggest European music universities...
in Finland from 1985 to 1997, 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 performances. Brava studied the violin, music theory and history, pedagogy and opera singing, 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
Amadeus Quartet
The Amadeus Quartet was a world famous string quartet founded in 1947.Because of their Jewish origin, violinists Norbert Brainin, Siegmund Nissel and Peter Schidlof were driven out of Vienna after Hitler's Anschluss of 1938...
.
Still a student, Brava acquired substantial orchestral experience. From 1990 through 1997, she served as Concertmistress in the Orchestra of the Conducting Class, taught by professors Jorma Panula
Jorma Panula
Jorma Panula is a Finnish conductor, composer, and professor of conducting.Panula is a graduate of the Sibelius Academy, where he studied the organ, church music and conducting...
and Eri Klas
Eri Klas
Eri Klas, is an Estonian conductor.Klas is of Jewish ancestry. Klas graduated as an opera and concert conductor in both Tallinn and Leningrad , beginning his conducting career at the Estonia Theatre in Tallinn and at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow...
. 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
Finnish National Opera
The Finnish National Opera in Helsinki is the leading opera company in Finland. Its home base is the Opera House on Töölönlahti bay in Töölö which opened in 1993, and is state-owned through Senate Properties...
, before embarking on a solo career.
In addition to the Sibelius Academy, Brava has also studied with professors Mauricio Fuks and Eduard Schmieder
Eduard Schmieder
Eduard Schmieder is a violinist, teacher and conductor. He is a highly regarded violin pedagogue. Lord Yehudi Menuhin said, "Eduard Schmieder is one of the outstanding teachers of the violin...
in the USA as well as taken part in master classes in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, including Shlomo Mintz
Shlomo Mintz
Shlomo Mintz is an Israeli violin virtuoso, violist and conductor. He regularly appears with orchestras and conductors on the international scene and is heard in recitals and chamber music concerts around the world.- Awards :...
's Keshet Eilon Violin Programme, studying with Shmuel Ashkenasi
Shmuel Ashkenasi
Shmuel Ashkenasi is an Israeli violinist and teacher.-Biography:Born in Tel Aviv on January 11, 1941, he began his musical training at the Musical Academy of Tel-Aviv studying with legendary pedagogue Ilona Feher, the teacher of such violinists as Pinchas Zuckerman and Shlomo Mintz...
.
Lajos Garam
Lajos Garam
Lajos Garam, D.Mus., is a Hungarian-born Finnish classical violinist and pedagogue.-Background:Garam was born to a Hungarian father and a Finnish mother, after they had met and married in Finland and then moved to Eger, Hungary in the 1930s. Garam's father worked as a vicar and his mother taught...
, Doctor of Music and former leader of the Department of Soloists at the Sibelius Academy, 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". For conductor Atso Almila
Atso Almila
Atso Almila is a Finnish orchestral conductor, musical director, composer, trombonist and teacher.He has worked with most Finnish orchestras as a guest conductor or otherwise. Though he primarily operates in Finland he also works heavily in Sweden and Estonia...
"it was self-evident that she was going to be one of the most notable Finnish violinists." Violinist and pedagogue Päivyt Meller
Päivyt Meller
Päivyt Meller, née Rajamäki, is a Finnish classical violinist.Meller started her violin studies in Oulu, under the guidance of Tatyana Pogozeva and Pertti Sutinen. She then moved to Helsinki, studying at the Sibelius Academy with Anja Ignatius, earning her violin diploma at the age of 15...
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", while violinist and conductor Ari Angervo
Ari Angervo
Mauri Arijoutsi Angervo is a Finnish classical violinist and conductor.-Education:Angervo studied at the Sibelius Academy in Finland, but also in Stockholm and Saint Petersburg...
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." Furthermore, professor Mauricio Fuks has said that "she has a talent for learning and absorbing new things very quickly -- Linda is very talented and takes her playing seriously -- I am very happy getting to work with a person this sweet. We have been working daily and her playing keeps improving all the time. I would describe Linda as a natural talent, who is at home with the violin."
Classical music
Brava has performed chamber musicChamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
all around Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and the USA, working with various pianists, including Timo Koskinen
Timo Koskinen
Timo Koskinen is a Finnish classical pianist.Koskinen studied the piano at the Helsinki Conservatory of Music, the Sibelius Academy, and the Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy...
, Folke Gräsbeck
Folke Gräsbeck
Folke Johan Gottfrid Gräsbeck, D.Mus., is a Finnish classical pianist.-Background:Folke Gräsbeck was born to a musical family: his father was the composer Gottfrid Gräsbeck...
, Laura Mikkola
Laura Mikkola
Laura Imola Mikkola is a Finnish pianist.Laura Mikkola, having previously won Pretoria's UNISA TRANSNET and Helsinki's Maj Lind competitions, and been awarded the XII Paloma O'Shea Competition's contemporary music prize and a grant-prize, was second to Markus Groh at the XIII Queen Elisabeth Music...
, Carina E. Nilsson
Carina E. Nilsson
-Biography:Nilsson is one of the most popular pianists in Sweden. Her repertoire ranges from classical to pop, jazz and gospel music. She plays regularly on TV and radio as well as in public concerts, including concert halls and churches, galas and corporate events. Nilsson has done well over 4000...
, Linn Hendry
Linn Hendry
Linn Rothstein, better known by her maiden name Linn Hendry, is a Canadian-born classical pianist, living in England.-Education:Born and raised in Canada, Hendry began to play the piano at the age of three...
and John Lenehan
John Lenehan
John Lenehan is a British classical pianist and composer. He has earned an international reputation for his work as soloist, accompanist and chamber musician.-Pianist:...
. Brava has also made many solo orchestral appearances. In addition to Finnish and Swedish city orchestras, she has played with La Scala Opera Orchestra
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
and toured with a Prague Symphony Orchestra, which was formed by musicians from two of the biggest classical orchestras in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, including the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. "She captivated the audience at the Ulriksdal Palace
Ulriksdal Palace
Ulriksdal Palace is a royal palace situated on the banks of the Edsviken in the National City Park in Solna, 6 km north of Stockholm. It was originally called Jakobsdal after its owner Jacob De la Gardie, who had it built by architect Hans Jacob Kristler in 1643-1645 as a country retreat...
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
Svenska Dagbladet
Svenska Dagbladet is a daily newspaper in Sweden. The first issue appeared on 18 December 1884. Svenska Dagbladet is published in Stockholm and provides coverage of national and international news as well as local coverage of the Greater Stockholm region...
on her performance of Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
's Tzigane with the Stockholm Sinfonietta
Stockholm Sinfonietta
The Stockholm Sinfonietta is a Swedish chamber orchestra. Its primary concert venue is the Swedish House of Nobility.The orchestra consists of 30 or 40 musicians from the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and the Royal...
. Brava has also appeared as a soloist of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisation in Wales, occupying a dual role as both a broadcasting orchestra and national orchestra.The BBC NOW has its...
and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
The RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra is the concert music orchestra of Raidió Teilifís Éireann...
. In addition to headlining music festivals with José Carreras
José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
and Kevin Kenner
Kevin Kenner
Kevin Kenner is an American concert pianist.-Biography:At the age of 17, Kenner participated in the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw and was awarded the 10th prize and a special prize from the jury called Honorable Mention...
, Brava has also toured with Paul Potts
Paul Potts
Paul Robert Potts is an English pop opera tenor who won the first series of ITV's Britain's Got Talent in 2007, singing an operatic aria, "Nessun dorma" from Puccini's "Turandot". As a singer of operatic music, Potts recorded the album One Chance, which went to #1 in nine countries...
and performed with Andrea Griminelli
Andrea Griminelli
Andrea Griminelli is an Italian flutist.-Education:Griminelli started to play the flute at the age of ten, studying with Jean-Pierre Rampal, who called him an "artist of the highest caliber", and Sir James Galway, who has described him as "the greatest flute player who has come to the forefront of...
.
Brava has been living in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
since 2002. Her first major concert tours in the country occurred a few years later. 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 Tidningar
Dalarnas Tidningar
Dalarnas Tidningar is a Swedish media company founded in 1987 by the merger of two companies, Falu-Kuriren AB with the newspaper Falu Kuriren and Dalarnes Tidnings- och Boktryckeri AB with newspapers Borlänge Tidning, Nya Ludvika Tidning, Mora Tidning and Södra Dalarnes Tidning. These local...
while Göteborgs-Posten
Göteborgs-Posten
Göteborgs-Posten is a major daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Gothenburg, with containing coverage of local, regional, national and international issues. It is chiefly distributed in western Götaland. It has the second largest national circulation, after Dagens Nyheter and before...
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". Brava has since participated in various concert tours and given concerts all around the country, performing among others with pianist Robert Wells
Robert Wells (composer)
Robert Henry Arthur Wells is a Swedish pianist, composer and singer, best known for his highly successful musical extravaganza Rhapsody in Rock which has achieved great prominence in Scandinavia, a mixture of rock, Sunden, classical and boogie-woogie.-Early life and career :A child prodigy, Wells...
, soprano Hannah Holgersson
Hannah Holgersson
Hannah Holgersson is a Swedish operatic soprano.She was born in Höör, Skåne County, Sweden. In 2003 Holgersson made her opera début as Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and in May 2004, she graduated from the Royal College of Music, Stockholm, receiving diplomas in voice performance and pedagogy...
and harpist Monica Ramos
Monica Ramos
Monica Ramos is a Chilean-born Swedish harpist.-Biography:Monica Ramos is a graduate of the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and has performed in the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Sweden and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra...
.
In addition to Sweden, Brava has continued performing internationally as well. Some of the special appearances include performances for the NATO troops in Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, the Rhapsody in Rock show at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in London and violin concerts in Astana, Kazakhstan
Astana
Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...
, and Irkutsk, Siberia
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
, as well as at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
. Brava also performs in corporate events on a regular basis, both in the Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
and elsewhere.
In 2010, Brava performed in the last concert of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
The RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra is the concert music orchestra of Raidió Teilifís Éireann...
's Summer Concert Series, playing works by Turlough Carolan, Michael William Balfe
Michael William Balfe
Michael William Balfe was an Irish composer, best-remembered for his opera The Bohemian Girl.After a short career as a violinist, Balfe pursued an operatic singing career, while he began to compose. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he composed 38 operas, almost 250 songs and other works...
and Michael McGlynn
Michael McGlynn
Michael McGlynn is an Irish composer, producer, director and founder of Anúna, Ireland's National Choir.-Career:...
. She also appeared as a soloist of the Royal Swedish Chamber Orchestra in the grand finale concert of the 40th Annual Royal Palace Music Festival at the Royal Palace of Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm Palace
The Stockholm Palace is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch. . Stockholm Palace is located on Stadsholmen , in Gamla Stan in the capital, Stockholm...
. In January 2011, Brava toured as a soloist of the Schoenbrunn Palace Orchestra Vienna
Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace is a former imperial 1,441-room Rococo summer residence in Vienna, Austria. One of the most important cultural monuments in the country, since the 1960s it has been one of the major tourist attractions in Vienna...
, performing in New Year's Concerts all around the Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
, appearing in venues such as the Stockholm Concert Hall
Stockholm Concert Hall
The Stockholm Concert Hall is the main hall for orchestral music in Stockholm, Sweden. Designed by Ivar Tengbom and inaugurated in 1926, it is the home to the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. It is also where the awarding ceremony for the Nobel Prizes, Polar Music Prize are held annually....
and Finlandia Hall
Finlandia Hall
Finlandia Hall is a concert hall with a congress wing in Helsinki, Finland, by Töölönlahti bay. The building was designed by Alvar Aalto. The work began in 1967 and was completed in 1971.-Design and building:...
.
With her 1781 Gagliano
Gagliano Family of Luthiers
There are as many as eighteen violin makers named Gagliano that are known worldwide today. Below are a few of the more recognizable luthiers.-Alessandro Gagliano:...
violin, worth around €200,000, Brava has performed many times for head of states and royals, including the President of Finland
Martti Ahtisaari
Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari is a Finnish politician, the tenth President of Finland , Nobel Peace Prize laureate and United Nations diplomat and mediator, noted for his international peace work....
, Prince of Monaco
Rainier III, Prince of Monaco
Rainier III, Prince of Monaco , styled His Serene Highness The Sovereign Prince of Monaco, ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest ruling monarchs of the 20th century.Though he was best known outside of Europe for having married American...
and the Royal Family of Sweden
Swedish Royal Family
The Swedish Royal Family since 1818 consists of a number of persons in the Swedish Royal House of Bernadotte, closely related to the King of Sweden. They are entitled to royal titles and style , and some perform official engagements and ceremonial duties of state...
. Brava has also played for various European and American politicians, including the United States Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
William Perry
William Perry
William James Perry is an American businessman and engineer who was the United States Secretary of Defense from February 3, 1994, to January 23, 1997, under President Bill Clinton...
, and for some of the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
laureates on the Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
. During the years, Brava has also performed in numerous benefit concert
Benefit concert
A benefit concert or charity concert is a concert, show or gala featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. Such events raise both funds and public awareness to address the cause at...
s, in order to help contribute funds for different charities, including for several children's hospital
Children's hospital
A children's hospital is a hospital which offers its services exclusively to children . The number of children's hospitals proliferated in the 20th century, as pediatric medical and surgical specialties separated from internal medicine and adult surgical specialties...
s in Finland. She has also played the violin at the 150th Anniversary Gala Concert of the Queen Silvia Children's Hospital in Sweden, and on behalf of Unicef during the White Turf celebrations on the frozen Lake St. Moritz
Lake St. Moritz
Lake St. Moritz is a lake near St. Moritz, Switzerland. With a surface of 0.78 km², it is smaller than the main lakes of the Upper Engadin valley ....
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
Other music
After seeing a documentary about her on British TV and tracking her musical pedigree, Sir Andrew Lloyd WebberAndrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
invited Brava to take the lead within Metal Philharmonic. Brava performed the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman
Jim Steinman
James Richard "Jim" Steinman is an American composer, lyricist, and Grammy Award-winning record producer responsible for several hit songs. He has also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer...
symphony together with an orchestra, a choir, a band and a group of dancers at the 23rd Sydmonton Festival
Sydmonton Festival
The Sydmonton Festival is a summer arts festival presented in a deconsecrated 16th century chapel on the grounds of Sydmonton Court, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Hampshire estate...
. 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
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
Culture supplement. Thereafter, Brava also became known as the Bach Babe in tabloids in the UK, and The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
ran a front page article on her, rating her above Vanessa-Mae
Vanessa-Mae
Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson , known professionally as Vanessa-Mae , is an internationally known British violinist. Her music style is self-described as "violin techno-acoustic fusion", as several of her albums prominently feature the techno style...
with a headline "Vanessa Mae, Linda does".
While living in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Brava studied, played and recorded pop rock music with Dave Gregory (the lead guitarist for XTC
XTC
XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
), Chris Blackwell (drummer for Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
) and Charlie Jones
Charlie Jones (musician)
Charlie Jones is a British bassist, songwriter and record producer. He has toured and recorded with Robert Plant, Page and Plant, The Strange Sensation, Goldfrapp and many others. He was married to Robert Plant's daughter Carmen Plant, they divorced in 2010....
(bass player for Robert Plant and Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
), under the guidance of Craig Leon
Craig Leon
Craig Leon is an American born record producer, composer and arranger currently living in England. Leon was instrumental in launching the careers of many recording artists including The Ramones and Blondie...
(producer for The Ramones and Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
), in addition to having her own pop rock band Violators. She also worked with Ofra Haza
Ofra Haza
Ofra Haza was an Israeli singer of Yemeni origin, an actress and international recording artist....
, with whom she recorded at Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
. Their song "Tarab" is the last recording of Haza, who died soon after.
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. Brava has since performed among others with singers Sofia Källgren
Sofia Källgren
Anna Sofia Helena Källgren, known as Sofia Källgren , is a Swedish singer. She sings in two other languages, English and Mandarin Chinese, in addition to in Swedish....
, Pernilla Wahlgren
Pernilla Wahlgren
Pernilla Nina Elisabeth Wahlgren is a Swedish singer, actress and presenter. In 2004, she received the Ulla Billquist award.-Family:...
and LaGaylia Frazier
LaGaylia Frazier
LaGaylia Frazier, born on the February 16, 1961 in Florida, USA, is an American singer who moved to Sweden in 2001. Since 2008 she is a Swedish citizen. She is the daughter of the American singer Hal Frazier.-Eurovision Song Contest:...
, in addition to playing with rock and heavy metal bands like Takida
Takida
Takida is a band from Ånge, Sweden, formed in 1999. The band consists of Robert Petterson , Tomas Wallin , Mattias Larsson , Fredrik Pålsson and Kristoffer Söderström ....
and Mustasch. Brava has also worked as a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
, playing the violin on Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
's album Taking Chances
Taking Chances
Taking Chances is an English language studio album by Canadian singer Céline Dion, released on November 7, 2007 on CD and CD/DVD. It is her 13th English album and 36th in total. The album was released physically worldwide during the month of November 2007 in CD edition. The album was also released...
and Sami
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
singer Yana Mangi's album Earth Shadow, which was produced by Kee Marcello
Kee Marcello
Kee Marcello is a Swedish musician, best known as the former guitarist in the rock band Europe. He is currently pursuing his solo career.-Career:...
and released in 2010, among many others. With Jeff Goldblum
Jeff Goldblum
Jeffrey Lynn "Jeff" Goldblum is an American actor. His career began in the mid-1970s and he has appeared in major box-office successes including The Fly, Jurassic Park and its sequel Jurassic Park: The Lost World, and Independence Day...
, Brava has played and performed jazz music in Los Angeles, in addition to her other jazz performances in New York and Stockholm.
In 2007, Brava worked with Anúna
Anúna
Anúna is an Irish choral group. In 1987 Dublin composer Michael McGlynn founded An Uaithne, a name which describes the three ancient types of Celtic music, Suantraí , Geantraí and Goltraí . One of the group's stated aims is to explore and redefine this music...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Their award-winning music special on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
was broadcast on over 250 TV stations in the USA, and it is also available on DVD. In addition, the Celtic Origins album was North America's Bestselling World Music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
CD for five consecutive weeks, according to Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
. Brava also took part in Anúna's concert tour across the USA, including concert halls in nearly 40 cities.
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
Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet is a Swedish tabloid founded by Lars Johan Hierta in 1830 during the modernization of Sweden. It is one of the larger daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. Aftonbladet is owned by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation and Norwegian media group Schibsted, and its editorial page...
, the biggest daily newspaper in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
. 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. In December 2010, Brava headlined Christmas concerts both in Sweden and Finland, including a Saint Lucy's Day concert in Vimmerby
Vimmerby
- External links :* - Official site* - Theme Park...
, two concerts at Hotel Birger Jarl in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
and another two concerts at Borgå Cathedral
Porvoo Cathedral
Porvoo cathedral is a cathedral in Porvoo, Finland. It was built in the 15th century, although the oldest parts date from the 13th century. It is used by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and is the seat of the Diocese of Borgå, Finland's Swedish-speaking diocese...
in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, the Finnish concerts receiving excellent reviews by the press.
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, twice at the ATP Champions event at the Royal Albert Hall in London (televised by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Eurosport
Eurosport
Eurosport is a pan-European television sport network operated by French broadcaster TF1 Group. The network of channels are available in 59 countries, in 20 different languages providing viewers with European and international sporting events...
) and for Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
people in Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
and Monza
Monza
Monza is a city and comune on the river Lambro, a tributary of the Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy some 15 km north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of Monza and Brianza. It is best known for its Grand Prix motor racing circuit, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza.On June...
. In the Ericsson Globe, Brava has opened up different televised sports events, including K-1
K-1
K-1 is a defunct world-wide kickboxing promotion based in Tokyo, Japan founded by Kazuyoshi Ishii, a formerKyokushin karate practitioner. K-1 combines stand up techniques from Muay Thai, Karate, Taekwondo, Savate, San Shou, kickboxing, western-style boxing, and other martial arts...
galas and the 2008 GE Galan
GE Galan
The XL Galan is an annual indoor athletics event held in February at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. The meeting was first held in 1990 and from 2000 to 2010 known as GE Galan, because General Electric was the official title sponsor...
, and in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, she has played for Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
and Maserati
Maserati
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
. For the 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships
2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships
The 2004 Men's Ice Hockey Championships were held April 24-May 9, 2004, in Prague and Ostrava, Czech Republic. Games for this Ice Hockey World Championships tournament were played at Sazka Arena and ČEZ Aréna...
in Prague, Brava recorded Tre Kronor (Slå Oss Om Ni Kan), the official song for the Swedish National Ice Hockey Team.
Solo albums
Linda LampeniusBrava's pop album Linda Lampenius, which peaked at number 8 on the Finnish Top Album Chart, 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 Mirror and the Daily Record
Daily Record (Scotland)
The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...
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". 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 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
Playboy Mansion
The Playboy Mansion is the home of Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner. Located in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles, California, the mansion became famous during the 1970s through media reports of Hefner's lavish parties.-History:The house is described as being in the "Gothic-Tudor" style...
in Los Angeles.
Linda Brava
Brava was offered a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
in 1997, and she worked under the EMI Classics
EMI Classics
EMI Classics is a record label of EMI, formed in 1990 in order to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogs for internationally distributed classical music releases....
label from 1998 to 2002. In 1998, Brava started recording her first classical album with John Lenehan
John Lenehan
John Lenehan is a British classical pianist and composer. He has earned an international reputation for his work as soloist, accompanist and chamber musician.-Pianist:...
at Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
in London, and the Linda Brava album was released worldwide in 1999, the tracklisting including Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
's Violin Sonata No. 3 in C minor as well as lyrical violin miniatures by Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
, Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...
, Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
, Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
-Charles Gounod
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
, Jules Massenet
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
, Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique...
and Fritz Kreisler
Fritz Kreisler
Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler was an Austrian-born violinist and composer. One of the most famous violin masters of his or any other day, he was known for his sweet tone and expressive phrasing. Like many great violinists of his generation, he produced a characteristic sound which was immediately...
. The album peaked at number 14 on the UK Classical Chart
UK Classical Chart
The UK Classical Charts are three record charts based on classical music in the United Kingdom: the Classical Artist Albums Chart, the Classical Compilation Albums Chart and the Specialist Classical Albums Chart...
, and Brava became the biggest selling Finnish classical artist at the time.
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". Classic FM Magazine
Classic FM Magazine
The Classic FM Magazine is a magazine published in the United Kingdom each month. It is the printed organ of Classic FM, a British classical commercial radio station. The magazine reviews classical recordings and live performances and often includes tracks from recent releases on its cover disk....
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". 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" while the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
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". Classic FM UK
Classic FM (UK)
Classic FM, one of the United Kingdom's three Independent National Radio stations, broadcasts classical music in a popular and accessible style.-Overview:...
played music from the album on a daily basis for several weeks, and it was also noted positively by BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
and ABC Classic FM Australia
ABC Classic FM
ABC Classic FM is a classical music radio station available in Australia, and internationally online. It is operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation . It was established in 1976 as "ABC-FM", and later for a short time was known as "ABC Fine Music" , before adopting its current name...
.
With the album release, Brava appeared in various newspapers, magazines and TV and radio shows all around Europe and the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
, being featured on the poster on the back of a red double-decker bus
Routemaster
The AEC Routemaster is a model of double-decker bus that was built by Associated Equipment Company in 1954 and produced until 1968. Primarily front-engined, rear open-platform buses, a small number of variants were produced with doors and/or front entrances...
driving on Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
in London as well. Brava's music video for "Ave Maria
Ave Maria (Gounod)
The Bach/Gounod Ave Maria is a popular and much-recorded setting of the Latin text Ave Maria.Written by French Romantic composer Charles Gounod in 1859, his Ave Maria consists of a melody superimposed over the Prelude No. 1 in C major, BWV 846, from Book I of The Well-Tempered Clavier, written by...
" was seen on Classic FM TV
Classic FM TV
Classic FM TV is a web based internet channel owned by Classic FM. Until 14 December 2007 it was available as a television channel on the Sky Digital and Virgin Media cable TV services. Classic FM TV now only broadcasts online in the United Kingdom via the Internet.- Other media :Classic FM TV is...
, and it was also featured in the first edition of Classic FM [2003] DVD. Nowadays, Brava's music video can be seen on C Music TV
C Music TV
C Music TV is an international music television channel dedicated to classical, soundtrack and chillout music videos.- History :C Music Entertainment Ltd was founded in 2007 and the channel's distribution is handled by Paris based Agents Thema. The C in C Music TV stands for the genres of the...
, which included the video in its August Highlights 2010.
Nordic Light
Brava's third 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
Kristina från Duvemåla
Kristina från Duvemåla is a Swedish musical written by former ABBA members Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson , based on a series of four novels by Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg detailing a family's poverty-driven migration from Sweden to America in the mid-19th century: The Emigrants, Unto a Good...
by Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
and Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
of ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
. 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
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is a Swedish orchestra based in Stockholm.The orchestra was founded in 1902 as the Stockholm Concert Society . The orchestra became a permanent ensemble in 1914. Since 1926, it has been based in the Stockholm Concert Hall...
and one of the most sought-after folk musicians in the country. On the critically acclaimed album, Brava is accompanied by members of Benny Anderssons Orkester
Benny Anderssons Orkester
Benny Anderssons Orkester is a Swedish band, with Benny Andersson as musical leader and composer...
while Anders Ekborg
Anders Ekborg
Anders Ekborg is a Swedish actor and singer who has performed the roles of Karl Oskar in Kristina från Duvemåla and Freddie Trumper in Chess, two musicals that were written by former ABBA members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus...
sings on two tracks.
Angels
Brava's latest album Angels is a collection of Christmas carol
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...
s from Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, arranged for solo violin, string quartet, harp, and female choir, in addition to numerous guest artists such as guitarist Ulf Wakenius
Ulf Wakenius
Ulf Wakenius is a Swedish jazz guitarist. Wakenius was a member of the Oscar Peterson quartet from 1997. He was also a member of the Ray Brown trio...
, trombonist Nils Landgren, and soprano Sofia Källgren
Sofia Källgren
Anna Sofia Helena Källgren, known as Sofia Källgren , is a Swedish singer. She sings in two other languages, English and Mandarin Chinese, in addition to in Swedish....
. The album peaked at number 5 on the Swedish Classical Album Chart, and includes classics like "Angels We Have Heard on High
Angels We Have Heard on High
"Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol. The song commemorates the story of the birth of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Luke, in which shepherds outside Bethlehem encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child....
", "Away in a Manger
Away in a Manger
"Away in a Manger" is a Christmas carol first published in 1885 in Philadelphia and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. In Britain it is one of the most popular carols, a 1996 Gallup Poll ranking it joint second.-History of the lyrics:...
", "Ding Dong Merrily on High
Ding Dong Merrily on High
"Ding Dong Merrily on High" is a Christmas carol. The tune first appeared as a secular dance tune known as "le branle de l'Official" in Orchésographie, a dance book written by Jehan Tabourot...
", "O Holy Night
O Holy Night
"O Holy Night" is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau , a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem...
", "Panis Angelicus
Panis Angelicus
Panis angelicus is the penultimate strophe of the hymn Sacris solemniis written by Saint Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi as part of a complete liturgy of the Feast including prayers for the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours....
", and "Silent Night
Silent Night
"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" were written in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, by the priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber...
". Angels is the first album released through Brava's own record label Linda Lampenius Productions, although, the album is distributed by Naxos Records
Naxos Records
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
. It is also Brava's first Christmas release.
The album was produced by Lars Nilsson, who also produced Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland is the heiress-apparent to the Swedish throne. If she ascends to the throne as expected, she will be Sweden's fourth queen regnant .-Early life:...
and Prince Daniel's wedding album, and Brava as an executive producer. The arrangers include Swedish composers Paula af Malmborg, Olov Helge, and Dan Evmark as well as a Norwegian composer Tormod Tvete Vik. The featured string quartet is Hvila from the Gothenburg Symphony, and the female choir is Leif Strands Damkör from Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
as well. The harpist is Delphine Constantin from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Released in Finland and Sweden, Angels has got warm reviews in various publications. Göteborgs-Posten
Göteborgs-Posten
Göteborgs-Posten is a major daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Gothenburg, with containing coverage of local, regional, national and international issues. It is chiefly distributed in western Götaland. It has the second largest national circulation, after Dagens Nyheter and before...
wrote that Brava is "a good soloist", who "approaches her music with devotion", and the critic was especially "fascinated by the strong, melancholic Finnish Christmas song 'Sylvian joululaulu' ('Sylvia's Christmas Song')". Hallands Nyheter
Hallands Nyheter
Hallands Nyheter is a Swedish newspaper, founded by Artur Lagerihn in 1905. The newspaper is published in Falkenberg. It has a daily circulation of 31,600 and is owned by Stampen. The editorial page supports Centerpartiet. It is printed six days a week, all days except Sunday.The paper employs...
declared that "musically, the outcome sounds more like a concert recording", and Västerbottens-Kuriren described the album as "beautiful, caressing and enjoyable, soothing and pleasant", while Hufvudstadsbladet
Hufvudstadsbladet
Hufvudstadsbladet is the highest-circulation Swedish-language newspaper in Finland. Its headquarters are located in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The name of the newspaper translates approximately into "The Capital City Newspaper", hufvudstad being 19th century Swedish for capital...
stated that Brava is "a divinely gifted violinist" and "the performances are high-class". Furthermore, Rondo-Classica, the biggest classical music magazine in the Nordic countries, thought the album is Brava's "best release so far -- She plays convincingly. The tone of her Gagliano violin has become more beautiful, and her pretty straightforward phrasing is completed well by the clang of the harp and the angelic voices of the female choir."
Brava promoted the album in Finland and Sweden with numerous television and radio appearances, newspaper and magazine articles, and promotional performances.
Upcoming album
Brava has been working on her new recordings and other projects in Finland, Sweden, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and the USA, including with Jeff Franzel
Jeff Franzel
Jeff Franzel is a songwriter and musician who has composed for a number of artists, including 'N Sync, Taylor Dayne, The Temptations, Shawn Colvin, and Clay Aiken. He has collaborated with lyricists such as Alex Forbes, Ty Lacy, Jess Cates, Monty Powell, Anna Wilson, Lindy Robbins, Darrell Brown,...
and Ronan Hardiman
Ronan Hardiman
Ronan Hardiman is an Irish composer, famous for his soundtracks to Michael Flatley's dance shows Lord of the Dance, Feet of Flames and Celtic Tiger Live.-Biography:...
.
Other careers
ModellingBrava 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. She was also asked to participate in Miss Finland
Miss Finland
-External links:*...
beauty pageants several times, but refused, because she wanted to concentrate on her playing.
In 1996, both Björn Borg
Björn Borg
Björn Rune Borg is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Sweden. Between 1974 and 1981 he won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. He won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles and six French Open singles titles...
and Panos Emporio
Panos Emporio
Panos Emporio AB was founded by Panos Papadopoulos who is also the head of design. The company is today represented in over 30 countries throughout Europe and the Caribbean. Panos markets swimwear and accessories under the brand name Panos Emporio...
offered Brava a modelling contract, and she became the spokesperson
Spokesman
A spokesperson or spokesman or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others.In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have received formal training in journalism, communications, public relations and...
for the Björn Borg fashion label, appearing in advertisements, fashion shows and other promotional events in Finland, Sweden and England from 1996 through 1999. 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. The shows became so popular that when Brava performed in the NK Stockholm
Nordiska Kompaniet
Nordiska Kompaniet is the name of two department stores located in Stockholm and Gothenburg, in Sweden....
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
John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles , nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title...
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.
The Swiss watch
Swiss Made
Swiss Made is a label used to indicate that a product was made in Switzerland.-Overview:The wording was formally adopted in the late 19th century and is unique in that most other countries use the phrase "Made in ". The most obvious place where the label is found is on Swiss watches...
manufacturer Maurice Lacroix
Maurice Lacroix
Maurice Lacroix is a luxury brand of Swiss watches based in the Canton of Jura and headquartered in Zurich.-History:Maurice Lacroix was founded as part of Desco von Schulthess of Zurich in 1975. Founded in 1889, Desco von Schulthess is an older company with roots in the silk trade...
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
Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London
Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London is a five-star hotel, located in the exclusive Knightsbridge district of London, owned and managed by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. Housed in a historic, Edwardian-style building, the hotel originally opened its doors to the public as the Hyde Park Hotel in 1902...
.
Over the years, Brava has also modelled in many magazines, including Café
Café Magazine
Café Magazine is a monthly Swedish men's magazine focused on fashion, style, and culture, including articles on food, movies, fitness, sex, music, travel, sports, technology, and books. The magazine is comparable to U.S. publications such as Esquire and GQ.- History :Café debuted in May 1990,...
, Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
, Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, GQ, Hello!
Hello!
Hello is a weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news and human-interest stories, published in the United Kingdom since 1988. Hello is sister magazine to ¡Hola!, the Spanish weekly magazine launched in Spain in 1944...
, Maxim
Maxim (magazine)
Maxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....
and Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
.
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
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
with the theatre company. Since the 1990s, Brava has appeared in few Finnish and Swedish TV series, including Kadonnut näky, Uuno Turhapuro and Cleo
Cleo (TV series)
Cleo is a Swedish drama/comedy TV series in two seasons, each consisting of nine episodes. The series was broadcast on SVT, the first season in 2002 and the second in 2003. Directed by Svante Kettner and screenplay by Michael Hjorth, Tomas Tivemark and Johan Kindblom.The name of the series comes...
. 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.
While living in Los Angeles, Brava was offered roles in Fame L.A.
Fame L.A.
Fame L.A. was an MGM U.S. television series from 1997-1998. It told the story of a drama/dance school in Los Angeles where students honed their talents while overcoming various personal problems. It starred Christian Kane, Rosalyn Sanchez, and William R. Moses. Its producers included Patricia...
, Melrose Place and Baywatch
Baywatch
Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, sans the 1990-1991 season, of which it was not in production...
, and she was also asked to star a television talk show as its musical guest host. 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
Douglas Schwartz
Douglas Schwartz is an American television screenwriter and series creator who, along with Michael Berk, worked as a writer on the television series Manimal, and multiple made for television movies...
, 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, serving also as a board member of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Helsinki, Finland...
. In 1997, Brava was titled as Finland's Tourist Envoy in Sweden as she had increased Swedes' interest in Finland.
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. 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.
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.
Over the years, Brava has also published some of her diary entries and short stories in Finnish newspapers. In December 2010, she started blogging on her life and career on the official website of Mama
Mama (magazine)
Mama is a magazine published in Sweden and the Netherlands. It was the fourteenth best selling magazine in Sweden in 2004.-External links:**...
magazine in Sweden.
Sports
Brava got her rally licence in the 1990s, and has since raced Sports 2000
Sports 2000
Sports 2000 is a restricted-rules class of two-seat, rear-engined, open-cockpit, full-bodied sports-prototype racecar used largely in amateur road racing. Sometimes known as S2000 or S2, the class was developed by John Webb, then of the Brands Hatch racing circuit in England, as an affordable form...
series cars and worked as a co-driver in rally competitions in Finland, in addition to having her own kart racing
Kart racing
Kart racing or karting is a variant of open-wheel motorsport with small, open, four-wheeled vehicles called karts, go-karts, or gearbox/shifter karts depending on the design. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits...
team. She has also worked as a commentator for Nordic TV channels during ice hockey and Formula One meets in Europe. As for other sports, Brava has gone in for alpine skiing (naming Madonna di Campiglio
Madonna di Campiglio
Madonna di Campiglio is a village and a ski resort in northeast Italy. It is a frazione of the comune of Pinzolo. The village lies in the Val Rendena at an altitude of 1,522 m...
, Courchevel
Courchevel
Courchevel is the name of a ski resort located in the commune of Saint-Bon-Tarentaise in the French Alps, in the Tarentaise Valley, Savoie, Rhône-Alpes region. It is a part of Les Trois Vallées, the largest linked ski area in the world...
and Åre
Åre
Åre is a locality and one of the leading Scandinavian ski resorts situated in Åre Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden with 1,260 inhabitants in 2005. It is however, not the seat of the municipality, which is Järpen. 25% of the municipal industry is based on tourism, most notably the downhill...
as her favorite skiing resorts), boxing and scuba diving, practicing also archery in Israel. In 2008, Brava trained Muay Thai in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and made a PR video for the Fairtex Bangplee training camp.
Brava has also learnt ballroom dances as she participated in Let's Dance (the Swedish version of Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries...
) 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.
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 celebritiesCelebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
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.
Since 1997, Brava has been featured in numerous TV programmes all around the world. Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's documentary about her has been aired all around Europe and Japan, while the documentary by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
' Inside Edition
Inside Edition
Inside Edition is a thirty-minute American television syndicated news program, first aired on CBS on October 9, 1988. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair, but now more closely resembles a condensed version of breakfast television, exclusively with pre-recorded...
was broadcast in the USA. Brava has also starred in a music special by Rai Uno
Rai Uno
Rai 1 is the primary television station of RAI, the national public service broadcaster, and the most watched television channel in Italy. It was born as Rai Tv from 1954 to 1961, called Programma Nazionale from 1961 to 1979, after called Rete 1 from 1979 to 1982, then called Rai Uno from 1982 to...
, the biggest TV channel in Italy, and the concert was broadcast in 160 countries worldwide, while her solo orchestral appearance with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales was televised for Britain. In 2007, Brava appeared as a violin soloist in Anúna
Anúna
Anúna is an Irish choral group. In 1987 Dublin composer Michael McGlynn founded An Uaithne, a name which describes the three ancient types of Celtic music, Suantraí , Geantraí and Goltraí . One of the group's stated aims is to explore and redefine this music...
's Celtic Origins music special on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, which aired the show on over 250 TV statios across the USA. Brava has also been featured in news programmes on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, including BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast is the morning television news programme simulcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel. It is presented live from BBC Television Centre in White City, West London, and contains a mixture of news, sport, weather, business and feature items...
and The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...
, the most-watched cable news show in the USA. Brava has also been featured in light entertainment shows, including on E! Entertainment. With her classical album release, Brava visited several TV shows in Europe and the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
, performing even for 200 million TV viewers at a time.
As for publications, Brava has been featured in the cover stories of The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, Classic FM Magazine
Classic FM Magazine
The Classic FM Magazine is a magazine published in the United Kingdom each month. It is the printed organ of Classic FM, a British classical commercial radio station. The magazine reviews classical recordings and live performances and often includes tracks from recent releases on its cover disk....
, Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
and many others. Both American Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
and Details
Details (magazine)
Details is an American monthly men's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications, founded in 1982. Though primarily a magazine devoted to fashion and lifestyle, Details also features reports on relevant social and political issues.-History:...
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
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, GQ, Hello!
Hello!
Hello is a weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news and human-interest stories, published in the United Kingdom since 1988. Hello is sister magazine to ¡Hola!, the Spanish weekly magazine launched in Spain in 1944...
, Maxim
Maxim (magazine)
Maxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....
and Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
has stated her to be "the gifted Finnish classical violinist", who is "brilliant" and "acclaimed by critics", while The Sunday Times stated "she plays like Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy is a British born violinist and violist. He made his early career in the classical field, and he has performed and recorded most of the major violin concerti...
". Brava has also been called "a striking Finnish blonde with impeccable musical credentials" by the Los Angeles Daily News
Los Angeles Daily News
The Los Angeles Daily News is the second-largest circulating daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group, a branch of Colorado-based MediaNews Group....
and "Finnish Phenom" by the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
. Additionally, she has been called a "virtuoso violinist" by both The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
. Billed as the Bach Babe in tabloids in the UK, Brava has been featured in the front page article of The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
, while she has also been featured in such British publications as Classic CD, the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
, Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
, The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
and The European.
In 2010, Brava was one of the judges of the 1st season of X Factor
X Factor (Finland)
X Factor is the Finnish version of X Factor, a show originating from the United Kingdom. It is a television music talent show contested by aspiring pop singers drawn from public auditions...
, a singing competition based on Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
's The X Factor
The X Factor (TV series)
The X Factor is a television talent show franchise originating in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for Pop Idol. It is a singing competition, now held in various countries, which pits contestants against each other. These contestants are aspiring pop singers drawn from...
franchise.