Linda Brava
Linda Brava (born Linda Lampenius, b. February 26, 1970) is a Finnish violinist.
Background
Linda was born into a family and culture in which music forms a vital part of life. Her father is a famous theatre director, singer and also a composer of musicals and operetta. Her mother is a singer and actress as well. Linda grew up at the backstage of Svenska Teatern, and did her theatre debut at the age of three. When she was four, she took part of the Svenska Teatern's tour in Sweden and Norway and was attending the musical kindergarden. A year later, musically gifted Linda was playing the violin instead of the piano under the famous Hungarian Géza Szilvay who invented the Colour Strings Method, which is now used as a teaching method in Royal College of Music as well.
Musical Career
Classical Music
At the age of eight, Linda beacame a member and soloist - later also a concertmaster - of the prestigious Helsinki Juniorstrings, which has often been called as 'the world's best youth orchestra'. Linda was playing along with players two and even three times her age. The orchestra toured all over the world visiting the US., Canada and Japan - among many other countries. Linda's personal debut was when she was playing as a soloist with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra as an eleven-yeard-old girl.
Linda studied at the renowed Sibelius Academy with Nachum Erlich and at Bloomington's Indiana University School of Music under Maurizio Fuks, successor to Josef Gingold.
First, Linda embarked on a solid career as an orchestral violinist playing with the best orchestras in Finland: Tapiola Sinfonietta, Helsinki Philharmonic and finally Finnish National Opera's Orchestra. At the same time, Linda was also a leader of the Sibelius Academy's Conductor Class Orchestra and Concert Orchestra.
In 1996, Linda decided to start a career as a full-time soloist, and has ever since played chamber music and made solo orchestral appearances all over the world. She has played with many respected pianists such as Laura Mikkola and John Lenehan, and with many Finnish City Orchestras, Stockholm Sinfonietta, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and La Scala Orchestra. Linda's acclaimed debut classical album was released world-wide in 1999 by EMI Classics, which was her record label between 1998 and 2002. Linda's music video for Ave Maria can be seen on Classic FM's TV.
Linda has performed for the president Martti Ahtisaari, the Royal Family of Sweden, the Princes of Monaco and for many senators of the United States as well as in the EU's top-meeting. She is still playing her classical repertoire mostly with a pianist and also possibly with a harpist.
Linda's instrument is 1781 Galliano violin.
Pop & Rock Music
Linda had played classical music for 21 years before she was asked to play something like Bach/Vanessa-Mae's Toccata and Fugue, and so Linda did. In 1997, Linda released a pop album selling gold in Scandinavia. Linda played music from her first album on the catwalks while modeling and in many different PR and musical events both in Finland and Sweden. Linda got lots of attention across the Europe and soon she was heading to Great-Britan.
In 1997, Linda had the great and unforgettable honour to play a solopart in Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's Metal Philharmonic at Sydmonton Festival. Linda also gave a concert of her own at the festival, and more headlines - like wise the front page of The Sun and the cover of The Sunday Times' cultural enclosure - were dedicated for her.
Linda has also played and performed pop and rock music in Stockholm's Globen, Helsinki's Hartwall Areena, London's Royal Albert Hall and Monaco's Sporting Club like wise in Playboy Mansion and in some tv-shows in the United States.
Linda's song called Aquamarine was featured in an edisode of Baywatch and her other song called Violator was heard in an edisode of Fame L.A. Linda made also music videos for both of the songs.
Linda moved to Stockholm in 2002, and spent a year performing in the Fantastix Show, where she got a lead role. In 2003, Linda was also seen on the Rhapsody in Rock Show performing in Sweden, Finland and in London's Royal Albert Hall. She also did KFOR Chronicle for NATO in Kosovo playing mostly pop and rock material.
Charlie Jones and Chris Blackwell from the on-tour band of Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Robert Plant with XTC's former guitarist Dave Gregory and producer Craig Leon have written and produced many rock pieces for Linda, but for now, those have not been published just yet.
Folk Music
Linda started to play folk music with Sweden's top folk musicians - above all with Kalle Moraeus - in 2003. Since then, she has made two large concert tours across the country, and managed to convince critics and listeners that she has an intuitive feel for Nordic folk music. Her latest album, which presents the finest songs in Nordic folk tradition - has been truly a critical success. Now Linda is concentrating to this genre of music, but still playing pop and rock and her biggest love of all time: classical music. She is nowdays also a member of a new band called Grace.
Albums & DVD
- Linda Lampenius - Audiovox Records - 1997
- Linda Brava - EMI Classics - 1999
- Nordic Light - Ladybird - 2005
- Classic FM [2003] DVD - BMG Music Programming - 2003
Other Careers
Acting
Linda has made many tv-performances as an actress in the North and in the US. Her most notable acts are her roles in Fame L.A and Baywatch.
Modelling
Linda was the model and face for Bjorn Borg's range of underwear and bathing suits 1996-1998. She was seen in printed adds and on the catwalks playing music from her first CD. Linda has also been a model for Lacroix watches in England performing in their PR events and being seen in their print adds.
On of the most notable modeling jobs for Linda was her appearance on the cover of the world's greatest and best-selling men's magazine Playboy. Linda was Playboy's celebrity-covergirl in the magazine´s Sex & Music issue of 1998. Linda was also one of the Sex Stars of 1998 chosen by Playboy.
Linda has also modelled for GQ and Hello! magazines.
Linda Cider
Linda lend her name and image to a brand of Finnish cider, which sold millions of litres between 1997 and 2000.
Politics
Linda was elected to the Helsinki City Council in the end of the 2000th century. She was also chosen to be Finland's Tourist Envoy in Sweden.
Linda & Media
Publications
The international media has published endless amount of articles of Linda. She has graced the covers of many periodicals from Playboy Magazine to Classic FM Magazine.
The Times, The New York Times and The Sunday Times have all reported on Linda's musical career. The cover of The Sunday Times's cultural encloser was dedicated for her, and she has also been featured in New Scientist's editorial.
Classical music magazines have raved her talent and not by the least The Gramophone. Q-Magazine and Muso have also written about her.
Playboy Magazine made a ten-page article, Details named her the best newcomer in music- and sex-categories and GQ and Maxim have both interviewed her. Also women's magazine have wanted to write about Linda. Hello! have published a five-page article and British and Swedish Elles have also made wide articles about her when not forgetting about Vogue.
In Finland, Linda has been a household name for over a decade. All got started, when she made a musical appearance on a televised Finnish Academy Award Show in 1996. No tabloid was quite complete without her. Althought, Linda is an acclaimed violinist with impressive musical accomplishments, she has always drawn more attention with her private life than with her music. Rumors on her breast implants, marriage plans, break ups, eating disorders, and her broken little finger have captured most of the attention since day one. Today, the Finnish yellow press has already many other celebrities to write and gossip about, so the attention around Linda is now more in balance.
Tv
Linda has made many tv-performances as a musician performing in various enterntainmentshows and visiting several talk shows in nearly every European country, Asia and the US. She has also been interviewed by many televison channels (NBC, CNN, ABC, FOX TV, ITV, Rai Uno, Channel 4, BBC etc). Some of Linda's musical performances have also been telecasted over the years and, for example, her pop/rock show in Royal Albert Hall in 1997 was broadcasted by BBC.
Quote
"Regardless of the endless hours of practising and giving up a "normal" childhood, I can't say that I'd regret a single moment. Music has taken me around the world and it has abled me to experience many different countries and their cultures --- I'm happy and very grateful that I've had the privilege to experience the richness of harmonies and colours and the joy of creating music together, when playing in different orchestras since the age of 8 --- Classical music is my love and gives me shivers"
Linda Brava