Sophie Solomon

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Sophie Solomon
Origin London, United Kingdom
Genre(s) Classical
Years active 2006–present
Label(s) Decca

Sophie Solomon is a British violinist, songwriter and composer (born June 6, 1978) who fuses many different musical influences into her music.

Contents

[edit] Early Life

Solomon began playing the violin at the age of two. At four she met Yehudi Menuhin and was taken to see the great cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. For the first five years she played totally by ear, learning to read music at the age of seven.

Even though the National Children's Orchestra and ProCorda heralded her as one of the most promising violinists of her generation, Sophie "was never completely satisfied by the classical world alone, I felt constrained by the fact that the music was written down and the strict parameters of the repertoire. I felt I had to step outside of that and find my own voice."

Sophie Solomon performing in Cambridge, March 2006
Sophie Solomon performing in Cambridge, March 2006

[edit] Education

She studied at Cheltenham Ladies' College, and later at University College, Oxford (University of Oxford) graduating in 1999 with a First Class degree in Modern History and Russian. She also holds an MSc in Economic History from the London School of Economics.[1]

[edit] Career

During her time at Oxford, Sophie spent a year living in Russia, where she had a residency DJing Ragga jungle music at Kitai Gorod's Propaganda nightclub. [2] Sophie developed a passion for the traditional musics of Eastern Europe especially klezmer and gypsy styles and travelled widely in the region, absorbing new sounds and influences along the way. This led to her becoming a founder member of Oi Va Voi who were described as “one of the most exciting bands in Britain today” by the Daily Telegraph. It was with this band that she rediscovered her love for the violin.

Famed for their live appearances and Solomon's on-stage pyrotechnics, the band's debut album ‘Laughter Through Tears’ received rave reviews, was voted in the top 10 albums of 2004 by the New York Times, and won them two nominations in BBC Radio 3's annual awards for world music.

Solomon's collaboration with Socalled (Josh Dolgin) - Solomon & Socalled's HipHopKhasene - with special guests David Krakauer, Michael Alpert and Frank London, a traditional klezmer wedding hip-hop style received the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik Album of the Year award 2004.

She became increasingly in-demand, lending her violin playing to the likes of Rufus Wainwright, Killing joke and Theodore Bikel. Sophie teaches klezmer music all over the world, most recently at the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London), the Royal Academy of Music and Weimar Conservatoire. [3] She is on the artistic advisory committee of the Genius of the Violin festival, the only such event in the world devoted entirely to the instrument. In February 2006 she appeared alongside Roby Lakatos, Nikolaj Znaider and Mark O'Connor in the Genius of the Violin concert at the Barbican Hall with the London Symphony Orchestra, performing special orchestrations of her own compositions. Martha Wainwright made an appearance as Sophie's special guest at this concert singing Lazarus.[3]

In May 2006 Solomon released her debut solo album, entitled "Poison Sweet Madeira" on Decca Records - an eclectic mix of klezmer, folk and pop and featuring the vocal talents of Richard Hawley, Ralph Fiennes and KT Tunstall. Her regular touring band comprises Ian Watson (accordion), Daniel Glendining (guitar/vocals), Grant Windsor (piano), Ali Friend (bass) and Stevie Pilgrim (drums).[3]

She has appeared and worked with musicians as diverse as Gary Lucas, Bacon & Quarmby, Luke Toms, The Real Tuesday Weld, Nayekhovichi, Alan Bern & Brave Old World, Maurice el Medioni, the London Symphony Orchestra, th'Legendary Shackshakers, Hazmat Modine, Avishai Cohen, Yasmin Levy, Ludovico Einaudi, Marius de Vries, Kipper, Temposhark, Jon Thorne, Smadj, Ben Parker - formerly of Ben & Jason, Beshodrom and Jim E. Sims.

In 2006, Solomon was Musical Arranger on Lindsay Posner's critically acclaimed production of Fiddler on the Roof starring Henry Goodman, which is transferring to the Savoy Theatre on London's West End in May 2007.[4][5]

In early 2007 Sophie premiered Wiesenberg's Suite Concertante for Klezmer and Classical Violins with Dora Schwarzberg & the Yehudi Menuhin School Orchestra.

She is currently working on her second solo disc for Decca. [3]

[edit] Releases

[edit] Contributions

[edit] Awards

  • Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik Album of the Year 2004 - Solomon & Socalled's HipHopkhasene (Piranha) [3]
  • Edison World Music Album of the Year 2004 - Oi Va Voi Laughter Through Tears (Outcaste) [3]

[edit] Poison Sweet Madeira tracklist

  1. "Holy Devil"
  2. "Burnt By The Sun" (with Richard Hawley)
  3. "Poison Sweet Madeira"
  4. "Lazarus" (with KT Tunstall)
  5. "A Light That Never Dies" (with Ralph Fiennes)
  6. "Hazy"
  7. "I Can Only Ask Why"
  8. "Meditation On Dvorak's Slavonic Fantasy"
  9. "Pin Pricks And Gravy Stains"

[edit] Trivia

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ LSE artistic talent
  2. ^ BBC - Radio 3 World on Your Street - Musicians' Stories: Sophie Solomon (1)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Sophie Solomon
  4. ^ Welcome to Sheffield Theatres | Checking Plugin
  5. ^ Journal Communications, Inc
  6. ^ a b c d e allmusic ((( Sophie Solomon > Credits )))
  7. ^ Temposhark-Home
  8. ^ http://www.jewishcommunitycentre.org.uk/spiel.html
  9. ^ Poison Sweet Madeira liner notes