Linda Lampenius Biography




Linda Lampenius
extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Linda Brava

Linda Brava performing at Stockholm Pride Festival 2009
Background information
Born February 26, 1970 (1970-02-26) (age 39)
Origin Helsinki, Finland
Genres Classical music, Rock music, Pop music, Folk music, Celtic music
Occupations Musician, Model, Actress, Politician, Rally co-driver, Entrepreneur, Author
Instruments Violin
Years active 1978 – present
Labels Ladybird Productions AB, Rory Johnston Management and Consultancy, Unlimited Music AB

Linda Brava (born Linda Lampenius February 26, 1970, in Helsinki, Finland)1 is a Finnish classical violinist and recording artist.

Brava first came into the public spotlight as a child prodigy on the violin, performing on Finnish TV countless times since the age of eight. Around the same time, she was performing as a soloist of the Helsinki Strings, playing in concerts in London, New York, Tokyo and others. Brava's first solo appearance with a professional orchestra took place at the age of 11, when she performed with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. After years of studying at the Sibelius Academy and playing the 1st violin in the Finnish National Opera Orchestra, she started a full-time career as a soloist in 1996.

In 1997, EMI offered Brava a five-year contract, which she also accepted. Her classical album, Linda Brava, was then released worldwide by the EMI Classics label in 1999. The album got warm reviews in classical music magazines like Gramophone and Classic FM Magazine, which dedicated its cover story for "Linda Brava, Finland's violin sensation".

Brava is foremost a chamber musician and has performed all around Europe, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the Far East and the USA. She has starred music festivals with José Carreras and Kevin Kenner and played with Andrea Griminelli. Brava has also done many solo orchestral appearances in Finland, Sweden and the UK, including with the Stockholm Sinfonietta and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. In 2008, Brava toured Swedish castles with a Prague Symphony Orchestra, formed by musicians from two of the biggest classical orchestras in Prague, including the Prague Philharmonic. Brava has also played with La Scala Orchestra at the Prince's Palace of Monaco for Prince Rainier. She has also played several times for the President of Finland and members of the Swedish Royal Family, including wedding and birthday celebrations such as a birthday concert of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.

In addition to classical, Brava also performs popular music. She has released a pop album and played the lead in Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's contemporary work Metal Philharmonic at the Sydmonton Festival. Brava has also performed with various artists, including Paul Potts, Robert Wells and Mustasch. She also plays the violin on Celine Dion's album Taking Chances. In 2003, she starred her own variety show Fantastix in a Stockholm theatre. The show included Brava's violin playing, acting, dancing and even fire eating.

Brava has also went in for folk and world music. Her album Nordic Light is a collection of folk melodies from Finland and Sweden, also including a medley from Kristina från Duvemåla. In 2007, Brava participated in the Celtic Origins project by Anúna. As a soloist, she performed in the PBS music special seen on over 250 TV stations in North America and in concert halls all around the USA during the two month concert tour. As for the Celtic Origins album, in which Brava performs as a soloist, it was North America's Bestselling World Music CD for five consecutive weeks, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

During the years, Brava has done many media appearances around the world. She has been featured in the cover stories of The Sunday Times, Playboy and Classic FM Magazine among others as well as TV channels like ABC, the BBC, CNBC, E!, FOX, Channel 4 and Rai Uno. She has also done some acting, most notably on Baywatch, the most watched TV show in the world of all time. As for modelling, Brava has worked as the spokesperson of the Björn Borg fashion label and Maurice Lacroix as well as modelled in magazines like Hello!, GQ and Maxim.

In 1996, Brava was elected to the Helsinki City Council for a four-year term, serving also as a board member of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra at the time. Brava has also raced Sports 2000 series cars in Finland, getting her rally licence in 1997. Between 1997 and 2000, Brava had her own Linda Cider, which sold millions of litres per year in Finland and Sweden.

Contents

Background

Brava was born into a Fennoswede family and culture 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 musicals and operettas. Her mother, Ulla Eklund, is a former actress and singer. Both of them worked primarily at the Swedish Theatre, but also on TV and films. Brava grew up in Eira, a wealthy district in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, and in a family country house in Lapinjärvi. She attended Svenska normallyceum and the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.

After leaving Finland in 1997, Brava has resided in Los Angeles, London and, since 2002, Stockholm.12 Brava is married to Martin Cullberg, a Swedish criminal defence lawyer and partner in Leif Silbersky's law firm, and they have one child, daughter Olivia, born on February 26, 2009.3 Brava's parents-in-law are well-known Swedish mental health professionals Johan Cullberg, a psychiatrist, and Marta Cullberg Weston, a psychologist and author.4

Musical career

Classical

Helsinki Strings and Minifiddlers in Musicland

Brava started her music studies as a three-year-old in a musical kindergarten, where she sang and played several instruments. At the age of five, Brava started to play the violin with Hungarian professor Géza Szilvay at the East Helsinki Music Institute. She made such outstanding progress that within three years she was made a member and soloist of the Helsinki Strings, in which she played with players two and even three times her age. Brava started to tour internationally with the orchestra giving concerts all around Europe, the USA, Canada and Japan. By the age of ten, she had already been granted a scholarship by the notable Swedish Cultural Foundation for being such a promising young violinist. At thirteen years of age, Brava became Concertmistress of the Helsinki Strings. As a child prodigy on the violin, she also appeared on Finnish TV countless times as part of the artistic-educational Minifiddlers in Musicland TV series on YLE. During these years, Brava was taught using the Colourstrings method developed by Csaba and Géza Szilvay.1256

Sibelius Academy

Brava was accepted to the world-renowned university level music school Sibelius Academy (qualifies as being among the top music schools in the world) even before earning her Matriculation examination, and she studied at the Academy from 1985 to 1996. During the years, Brava studied the violin, pedagogy and classical singing. She served as Concertmistress of the Sibelius Academy Symphony Orchestra and the Conductor's Symphony Orchestra for seven years, working closely with professors Jorma Panula and Eri Klas along others. Brava also did some broadcast performances for the Finnish Broadcasting Company, and played in Ofelia, a string quartet, which participated in master class with the Amadeus Quartet, and was also chosen to perform at final concert of the master class.17

Lajos Garam, Doctor of Music and former leader of The Sibelius Academy's Department of Soloists, 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".7 Moreover, for respected Finnish conductor Atso Almila "it was self-evident that she was going to be one of the most notable Finnish violinists." 8 Päivyt Meller, who herself has studied with Josef Gingold and is a notable violinist and teacher, 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".7 In a 2007 interview with a Finnish newspaper, Ari Angervo, a well-known violinist and conductor in Finland as well as a teacher at the Sibelius Academy, 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."9

Mauricio Fuks, Eduard Schmieder and Keshet Eilon International Violin Mastercourse

Mauricio Fuks, Professor of Violin at the Jacobs School of Music, invited Brava to study with him in Bloomington, Indiana, after he had heard her in a concert in Paris in summer 1997. Brava agreed and travelled to Bloomington later that same year. 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 a violin."10 Brava has also studied with Eduard Schmieder in Los Angeles and took part in Shlomo Mintz's Keshet Eilon International Violin Mastercourse in Israel.11112

Orchestral violinist

From 1978 to 1996, Brava played in different top Finnish classical orchestras, including the Helsinki Strings, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Finnish National Opera Orchestra, in which she played the 1st violin for three years before embarking on a solo career.2 Already as a teenager, Brava was selected for solo roles in national orchestras touring abroad, including Scandinavia, Great Britain, several other European countries and Japan.113

Soloist

Brava's first public performance as a violin soloist took place with the Helsinki Strings in Finland at the age of seven. Since the age of eight, Brava toured with the orchestra internationally, performing in concerts in e.g. New York, Tokyo and London. The first solo performance with a professional orchestra occurred when she played as a soloist of The Radio Symphony Orchestra of Finland as an eleven-year-old. During the years, when she studied at the Sibelius Academy and played in different orchestras, Brava also played as a soloist from time to time. For example, she opened Sibeliuspäivät (The Sibelius Days, named after Jean Sibelius) in Finland in 1995.1141516

Since her solo career fully started in 1996, Brava has performed as a soloist of several Finnish and Swedish city orchestras as well as the Stockholm Sinfonietta and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.117181920 In summer 2008, Brava went on tour with a Prague Symphony Orchestra, formed by musicians from two of the biggest classical orchestras in Prague, performing in Swedish castles.21 Brava has also played as a soloist of La Scala Orchestra in a classical concert held at the Prince's Palace of Monaco.22 As an orchestral soloist, Brava has performed e.g. Bach's Double Violin Concerto, Beethoven's Triple Concerto, Brahms' Hungarian Dances, Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1, Monti's Czardas, Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5 and Sibelius' Humoresques working with conductors Peter Jablonski, Niklas Willén, Eri Klas, Atso Almila and others.81823242526 "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 about Brava's performance of Ravel's virtuosic Tzigane with the Stockholm Sinfonietta.27

However, Brava is foremost a chamber musician and performs mainly with an accompanist. She has played with pianists like Laura Mikkola, Arto Satukangas and John Lenehan, with whom she recorded her classical album for EMI Classics, but has mostly performed with Swedish pianist Carina E Nilsson and Finnish pianists Timo Koskinen and Folke Gräsbeck. As a chamber musician, Brava has performed all around Europe, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the Far East and the USA.12282930

Brava was offered a record deal by EMI in 1997,3132 and her classical album, Linda Brava, was released worldwide by EMI Classics in 1999.33 The album, made up of lyrical violin classics by Elgar, Fauré, Sibelius, Bach/Gounod, Grieg, Paganini, Massenet and Kreisler, was given positive reviews by classical music magazines like Gramophone, which 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".34 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".2 American Record Guide's critic went on saying that the "interpretations are all very sensible and well paced. Indeed, from the standpoint of structural clarity, this is one of the better Grieg Sonatas I've heard".35 On the other hand, the Evening Standard thought that "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".36 The album made its way on the UK classical chart at number 14, and sold around three thousand copies in Finland during the first months after the release - a remarkable number for a classical recording37 - and Brava became the biggest seller in classical music in Finland.38 With the classical release, Brava toured and played all around Europe and the Far East appearing on various television and radio shows including popular British morning shows BBC Breakfast and This Morning as well as ITV's hit chat show Friday Night's All Wright. The UK's Classic FM aired music from the album daily for several weeks, and it was also noted positively by the BBC Radio 3. During the album release, Brava was seen on the poster on the back of a red double decker bus driving on Oxford Street in London,3940 and Brava's music video for "Ave Maria" can still be seen on Classic FM TV.41 The video is also featured on the first edition of Classic FM [2003] DVD.42

In Sweden, Brava has played classical music not only in classical concerts, but also in popular music concerts. Since 2003, she has taken part in several nationwide tours performing in concert halls, arenas and castles with various artists, including Paul Potts, Robert Wells, Sofia Källgren, LaGaylia, Triple & Touch, Pernilla Wahlgren, Hannah Holgersson and Kalle Moraeus.434445 With Moraeus, a former violinist of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and one of the most sought-after Swedish artists, Brava made her first major concert tours in Sweden in 2004. The outcome was successful as critics raved Brava's 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 Tidningar46 while Göteborgs-Posten told 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".47

Some of the special appearances Brava has done over the years include performances in the UNESCO gala in Paris in 1999,48 the Rhapsody in Rock show in London's Royal Albert Hall in 200349 and the White Turf charity gala in St. Moritz to help contribute funds for Unicef in 200550 as well as a performance at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.951 Brava has also played at Aprilia's final ceremony of a racing season in Noale, Italy52 and for the NATO troops in Kosovo53

Head of state and royal concert appearances

In addition to playing in public concerts, Brava has also performed many times for head of states and royalties. Brava has played for the President of Finland in New York,54 Paris48 and Finland,29 where she has also played at the European Summit event in 1999.37 Since her televised performance for the Swedish Royal Family during the birthday concert of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden in 1999,55 Brava has played several times for members and friends of the Royal Family in Sweden, including birthday and wedding celebrations.5657 In 2007, Brava performed at a Carl Linnaeus jubilee in Lapland and played for the Royal Couple of Sweden and some of the 2007 Nobel Prize winners among others.58 Brava has also played for Prince Rainier of Monaco as well as his son Prince Albert of Monaco in Monte Carlo.59 In 2008, Brava performed at the Castle of Santa Bárbara in Alicante, Spain and played for the guests of the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race, including Prince Carl Philip.60

Pop rock

Linda Lampenius

Brava was asked to play a pop version of Bach's famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor for a television appearance in Finland in autumn 1996. She agreed and was offered a record deal after the televised performance. Brava's first pop single, "Violator"/"Toccata and Fugue", was released shortly afterwards.1 The single got international attention, although, it was only released in Finland. "Pammi lookalike's great on her Bach" stated the Daily Mirror61 and 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".62 Also The Sunday Times reported how Brava "has enjoyed huge success in Scandinavia with an up-tempo version of Bach's Toccata and Fugue".63 Brava's self-titled pop album, Linda Lampenius, was released in 1997, and it hit the Finnish Top Album Chart peaking at number 864 as it was only released in Finland like the single. The album sold gold the following year.2 When playing music from Linda Lampenius in Finland, Brava performed with her own pop rock band The Violators.1

Brava has also done some pop appearances on American television, the BBC and Rai Uno as well as in Globen, Monaco's Sporting Club and the Royal Albert Hall, to name a few.11265 She has also played in the Playboy Mansion on several occasions including the Midsummer Night's Dream Party, Hugh Hefner's birthday celebrations and televised New Year's Eve party.12

"Aquamarine" from Linda Lampenius is featured on the 9th season of Baywatch, in Episode 918, and "Violator" is featured in MGM's Fame L.A.'s Episode 7 on its first and only season. On Fame L.A., Brava also played "The First Nowell" and "Adeste Fideles". She was the special guest star of the shows.

Metal Philharmonic by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber saw Channel 4's documentary about Brava in spring 1997 and was amazed at her ability to play the violin. He then invited Brava to take a lead within Metal Philhamonic, an Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman composition, which Brava performed with a band, orchestra, choir and group of dancers at Lloyd Webber's Sydmonton Festival in summer 1997. Brava also gave a concert of her own at the festival, and the collaboration between Brava and Lloyd Webber marked her an international breakthrough, including the cover story of The Sunday Times' Culture supplement.113666768

Fantastix and Rhapsody in Rock

In 2002, Brava was given a lead role in a variety show called Fantastix, which ran in a Stockholm theatre in 2003. In the show, Brava played the violin, acted, danced and she was also seen on stage as a fire eater.169

Brava has performed many times in the Rhapsody in Rock show, which combines classical and popular music.70 The show has been touring all around the world and seen by hundreds of millions of people since the 1990s. Brava has performed as a soloist of the show at the Royal Albert Hall,49 among other places. She was also one of the soloists of the show's 10th anniversary tour in Sweden in 2008. Aftonbladet, the largest daily newspaper in the Nordic countries, rated Brava, who "awes as usual", as the best artist of the show.71 Brava is featured in Rhapsody in Rock 1998-2008 DVD as a guest violin soloist. Her performance of "Schindler's List" was televised in Vaxholm Castle during the 2008 summer tour in Sweden.

Others

Brava has made many appearances with pop and rock artists, e.g. Mustasch, Takida and Leningrad Cowboys.17273 Brava is featured on Magnus Bäcklund's single "Burn", which hit the Swedish Top Singles Chart peaking at number 4 in 2007.74 She also plays the violin in "Fade Away" on Celine Dion's album Taking Chances released in November 2007, and in Emilia de Poret's single "Pick Me Up", which peaked at number 1 on the Swedish Top Singles Chart in fall 2008.75 On Sofia Källgren's album Cinema Paradiso, released in 2008, Brava plays the violin in "The Prayer".

While living in London, Brava played and recorded with musicians from Page and Plant's touring band and producer Craig Leon. Unreleased recordings from the sessions include perhaps the last recording of Ofra Haza who died soon after.17677

Folk, celtic and jazz

Nordic Light

In 2005, Brava's third album, Nordic Light, which presents Nordic folk melodies, was released with acclaim in the North.7879 The album was re-released in spring 2008 and peaked at number 12 on the Swedish Top Album Chart.80

Celtic Origins

Anúna, an Irish choral group, asked Brava to participate in their upcoming Celtic Origins project in 2006. For the PBS music special, the choir and Brava performed in three concerts held at the Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, USA, in January 2007. Live CD and DVD were also done that time. PBS then aired the show called Anúna: Celtic Origins on over 250 TV stations in the USA in August-December 2007. Following the television special, Anúna and Brava embarked on a 9-week and around 40-city tour in concert halls all around the States. The Celtic Origins stage show was seen in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston, San Francisco, Denver, Detroit, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Charlotte, Nashville, Knoxville, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Toronto, Atlanta, Phoenix and others. Anúna's Celtic Origins CD and DVD releases, in which Brava is also featured in as a special guest violinist, were released during summer and autumn 2007. The album was North America's bestselling World Music CD for weeks according to Nielsen SoundScan, and it was also the bestselling CD in all categories at Borders for the entire month of August.9818283

In a 2007 interview with a Finnish newspaper, Michael McGlynn, the founder and leader of Anúna, said that "Linda seemed to be exactly what the forthcoming Anúna show needs to get more classical delicacy to the performance -- Her playing is beautiful, profound and insightful". Ronan Hardiman, an Irish composer, was also quoted in the article as he has been working with Brava on different projects and stated Brava to be "a splendid classical violinist, a magnificent artist who has an incomprehensible ability to transfer her feelings strongly into the music. She is very creative. It is easy to work with her. In addition, she has charisma the like of which you rarely meet".9

Jazz

Brava has made some public jazz performances during her career. In 1997, she performed at The American-Scandinavian Foundation's gala at the Plaza Hotel in New York and played, along other pieces, "All of Me". The performance made the distinguished audience compare Brava to Stéphane Grappelli.84 The following year, Brava performed in a Los Angeles club called Lucky Seven, playing with Jeff Goldblum, an Academy Award-nominated American actor and jazz pianist, and his band. Among others, Jim Carry and Hugh Hefner were in the audience that night.1 The latest performance was with Irish singer-songwriter Owen Brady in Stampen jazz club in Stockholm in 2007.185

Violins

Brava's instrument is a 1781 Gagliano violin, which is worth around €200,000. It was bought in London in December 1998. Brava has also two other acoustic violins as well as two electric ones, including a white Zeta Strados violin.165

Discography

Albums

Soloist
  • Linda Lampenius (Audiovox Records, 1997) - Finnish Top Album Chart: 8
  • Linda Brava (EMI Classics, 1999) - UK classical chart: 14
  • Nordic Light (Ladybird, 2005/re-released 2008) - Swedish Top Album Chart: 12
Guest

Paul Oxley's Unit

  • The Magic (Sony Music Entertainment Finland, 1996) (violin)

Anúna

  • Celtic Origins (Elevation, 2007) (guest violin soloist) - Nielsen SoundScan: 1

Celine Dion

  • Taking Chances (Sony, 2007) (strings)

Sofia Källgren

  • Cinema Paradiso (One Voice AB, 2008) (guest violin soloist)

Singles

Soloist
  • Violator/Toccata and Fugue in D minor (Audiovox Records, 1996)
  • Ave Maria/Salut d'Amour (EMI Classics, 1999)
Guest

Magnus Bäcklund

  • Burn (UNI, 2007) (featured artist) - Swedish Top Singles Chart: 4

Emilia de Poret

  • Pick Me Up (UNI, 2008) (strings) - Swedish Top Singles Chart: 1

DVDs

Various Artists

  • Classic FM [2003] DVD (BMG Music Programming, 2003) ("Ave Maria" music video)

Anúna

  • Celtic Origins (Elevation, 2007) (guest violin soloist)

Robert Wells

  • Rhapsody in Rock 1998-2008 (Pan Vision, 2008) (guest violin soloist)

Unreleased EMI recordings

Dave Gregory, the former lead guitarist of XTC, recorded various songs with Brava and two other musicians loaned from Page & Plant's touring band for EMI in 1999.</ref>76 The recordings also include perhaps the last recording of Ofra Haza who died soon after.77 The songs, which were produced by Craig Leon, have not been released yet. Tracklisting according to Gregory's website:

  • Frankenstein
  • Inna Gadda Da Vida
  • Violator
  • Let's Get Down
  • Get Real
  • Turkish/Middle Eastern tune
  • Running Up That Hill
  • Aquamarine

Other careers

Modelling

Björn Borg and Maurice Lacroix

Brava was the spokesperson and model of the Björn Borg fashion label in the Nordic countries from 1996 to 1999. She appeared in print ads and on catwalks playing music from her pop album. She also promoted the brand in its London store together with Björn Borg himself.18687

Maurice Lacroix engaged Brava to promote its then new ladies range of Calypso watches in the UK in 2000. Brava appeared in print ads and performed at Lacroix events.18889

Playboy and others

Because of her status as a blond violin sensation in Europe, Brava was offered a contract to become the celebrity cover girl of Playboy magazine. Brava agreed, and the Brahms Bombshell was featured in and on the cover of Playboy's Sex & Music issue of 1998; the first classical artist to be on the cover; the only one along Marilyn Monroe to be on the special cover without any additional headlines. Brava was then chosen to be one of Playboy's "Sexiest Stars of 1998", among such celebrities as Cindy Crawford and Kate Winslet, for the magazine's December issue of 1998. Brava has also been featured on the cover story of other editions of the magazine.1909192

Brava has also modelled for Café, Elle, Esquire, GQ, Hello! and Maxim magazines as well as featured in Details (named her the best newcomer in sex and music categories in 1998) and Vogue, among others.939495961

Acting

Brava's film debut took place in 1970. Her mother played a lead in a notable Finnish film classic, Akseli ja Elina (Akseli and Elina), and Brava portrayed her infant daughter. Brava made her theater debut in a play called Hard Times in the Swedish Theatre at the age of three, and she was also touring with the theater company in Sweden and Norway the following year.1

Brava has also done some acting on Finnish and Swedish television programmes, including Uuno Turhapuro TV series,7 and been a guest actress for one episode each of American TV series Fame L.A. and Baywatch. On Fame L.A., Brava played 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. On Baywatch, she portrayed Ariana, a European violinist in trouble. Originally, Brava had refused to take part in Baywatch, but after months of persuading by Douglas Schwartz she agreed to appear only in one episode. Brava was also offered a chance to appear on Melrose Place, but she was not interested.197

Politics

Brava represented the Swedish People's Party and was elected to the Helsinki City Council for a four-year term in 1996.98 At the time, she also served as a board member of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.99 In 1997, Brava was chosen to be "Finland's Tourist Envoy in Sweden".100

Entrepreneur

Brava has had her own cider, Linda Cider, which sold millions of litres in the Nordic countries between 1997 and 2000. To support the cider sales, she also had her own calendar in Finland for year 1998.1101

Author

Brava's autobiography, Linda, was published by WSOY in Finland in 2003. Some diary entries and a short story of hers have also been published in Finnish newspapers.112

Sports

Race rallying

Brava has driven Sports 2000 series cars and worked as a co-driver in rally in Finland, in addition to having her own go-cart team.1102

Dancing with the Stars

Brava danced classical ballet for a while as a child, and learned ballroom dances when participating in TV4's Let's Dance (the Swedish version of Dancing with the Stars) in 2008. Brava and her dance partner Daniel da Silva won several rounds of the competition, but, after an injury, came 6th out of 12.103104105

Hobbies

Brava has gone in for alpine skiing (naming Madonna di Campiglio, Courchevel and Åre as her favorite skiing resorts),106 boxing, scuba-diving and archery, which she has practised in Israel.1 In 2008, Brava trained Muay Thai at Fairtex Bangplee in Bangkok, and the training center made a PR video with her. The video can be seen on YouTube.107

Performances

During the years, Brava has performed in various sports events. She has played in national basketball, football and ice hockey matches in Finland and Sweden,1 twice in the ATP Senior Tour event at the Royal Albert Hall (the performance was broadcasted by the BBC)87108 and for Formula 1 people in Monaco and Monza.1109 In the Stockholm Globe Arena, Brava has opened up different televised sports events, including some K-1 galas and the 2008 GE Galan.110 Brava has also recorded the official song for the Swedish national ice hockey team during the Ice Hockey World Championships in Prague in 2004.111

Media

As a musician, Brava has been featured in various television and radio channels, including ABC, ABC Classic FM, the BBC, CBS, Channel 4, Classic FM, CNBC, CNN, E!, Fox News Channel, ITV, MTV3, Nelonen, Rai Uno, SR, SVT, TV4, Videomusic and YLE. For example, MTV3 has broadcast a Christmas concert from Hartwall Areena, where Brava performed as a soloist of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Eri Klas, while SVT has aired her performance at a birthday concert of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden in Borgholm, Sweden. Additionally, the BBC has televised Brava's concert appearance with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in the UK. In addition to concert performances, Brava has appeared on Aamu-TV, BBC Breakfast, Big Breakfast, Bingolotto, Eurotrash, Friday Night's All Wright, Good Morning Finland, Inside Edition, This Morning, The O'Reilly Factor and others.1528796112113114

Brava has also been featured in broadsheets, tabloids, magazines and online publications around the world, including Aftonbladet, American Record Guide, Andante.com, AskMen.com, Classic CD, Classic FM Magazine, Dagens Nyheter, Daily Mail, Details, Elle, Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, Evening Standard, Expressen, GQ, Göteborgs-Posten, Hello!, Helsingin Sanomat, Iltalehti, Ilta-Sanomat, the Los Angeles Daily News, Maxim, Muso, New Scientist, the New York Post, Playboy, Svenska Dagbladet, The Daily Telegraph, The European, The Gramophone, The Guardian, The Independent, The Sun, The Sunday Times, The Times, Q and Vogue.1112114 For example, The Times has stated her to be "the gifted Finnish classical violinist",90 who is "brilliant" and "acclaimed by critics",115 while The Sunday Times has said "she plays like Nigel Kennedy".63 Brava has also been called "a striking Finnish blonde with impeccable musical credentials" by the Los Angeles Daily News116 and "Finnish Phenom" by the New York Post.117 Additionally, Hello! magazine has published a 5-page article about the "top Finnish violinist",95 who was billed as the "Brahms Bombshell" by Playboy in its 10-page cover story on Brava and her career in music.91 Classic FM Magazine and The Sun have also carried out cover stories on Brava,2118 who has been called a "virtuoso violinist" by The Guardian119 and The Independent.120 After her collaboration with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Brava became known as the Bach Babe in tabloids in the UK.90 She was also named as the Best Newcomer in Music in 1998 by both the American Details and Elle magazines.97121

Now

Brava has worked on her next albums in Sweden, Ireland and New York, collaborating, among others, with Ronan Hardiman and Jeff Franzel, with whom she has also performed in Sweden.9122 On February 3, 2009 Norman Lebrecht wrote on his weblog Slipped disc that Brava has been recording chamber music in Finland, too.123 At the moment, Brava's next album is due to be released internationally somewhere in 2010, although no specific release dates have been given yet.65

Brava is one of the judges of the first season of X Factor in Finland, filming starting in fall 2009. The show will be on air on MTV3 in spring 2010.124

Brava's management is handled by Maria Olanders, a prominent Swedish manager and former PR employee of Sony BMG Sweden,65 and Rory Johnston, the former VP of Decca Records, currently running her own Rory Johnston Management and Consultancy company, representing Philip Glass along Linda Brava and others.125

References

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External links