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Janine Jansen

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Janine Jansen is a Dutch violinist and violist. She was born on 7 January 1978 in Soest, into a musical family. Her father Jan plays organ, harpsichord and piano and was organist of St Martin's Cathedral in Utrecht from 1987 to 2011. Her mother was a classical singer and her brother David is a harpsichordist and cellist. In 1991 and 1993 she took part in the Menuhin Competition for juniors, and in 1991 she reached the final. She is married to the Swedish conductor Daniel Blendulf and lives in Utrecht.

Music and breakthrough

In 2001 she played Brahms's Violin Concerto as a soloist with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. In 2005 she opened the BBC Proms. She chose her own path by recording with only five solo strings instead of an orchestra, with her brother as cellist and her father as continuo player. At live concerts she received standing ovations, for example at the concert with the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2006 in the Waldbühne in Berlin. She played famous violins, such as the 1727 Stradivarius Barrere and the 1727 Baron Deurbroucq, and later the Rivaz, Baron Gutmann of 1707.

Influence

She began her own chamber music festival in Utrecht and has been a member of Spectrum Concerts Berlin since 1998. In 2003 she won the Dutch Music Prize, and in 2009 the Instrumentalist Award of the Royal Philharmonic Society in Great Britain. Jansen showed that a Dutch violinist could conquer the international concert stages, and brought classical music to a large audience with a personal, intimate style of playing.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to her recording of Brahms's Violin Concerto and notice the opening of the violin: how long does she sustain the tone, and how does she adapt the colour when the orchestra enters?

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists