The Violin Player

The Violin Player is the first techno/pop album by classical and pop musician Vanessa-Mae, released in 1995. It is the first album Vanessa-Mae released on the EMI label. The album was produced by Mike Batt, and engineered by Gareth Cousins, who also programmed the synthesisers and beats for the album.

For the 1994 film, see The Violin Player (film).
The Violin Player
Studio album by
Vanessa-Mae
Released1995
Recorded1993–1994
StudioAbbey Road Studios
Whitfield Street Recording Studios (London, England)
Genre
Length42:50
LabelEMI
Producer
Vanessa-Mae chronology
Tchaivoksky & Beethoven Violin Concertos
(1991)		 The Violin Player
(1995)		 The Alternative Record from Vanessa Mae
(1996)
Singles from The Violin Player
  1. "Toccata & Fugue"
    Released: 16 January 1995
  2. "Red Hot"
    Released: 8 May 1995
  3. "Classical Gas"
    Released: 6 November 1995
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Content

The Violin Player features a varied blend of music – covers of classical music (J.S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor), remakes of old favourites (including American composer Mason Williams' "Classical Gas"), original compositions (seven tracks composed by British musician and songwriter Mike Batt), and one original track by Vanessa-Mae herself, co-written with Ian Wherry ("Red Hot").

Singles

Three singles were released from the album: "Toccata and Fugue", which reached number 16 in the UK Singles Chart, "Red Hot", which reached number 37 and "Classical Gas", which reached number 41.[2]

Commercial performance

The Violin Player reached number 11 in the UK Albums Chart in February 1995, and was certified Gold by the BPI in June 1995. It has sold over 1.2 million copies worldwide.[3] The album has been reissued as a multi-channel hybrid SACD by EMI Music Hong Kong.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mike Batt, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Toccata and Fugue in D Minor"Johann Sebastian Bach, arr: Batt7:47
2."Contradanza" 3:49
3."Classical Gas"Mason Williams3:21
4."Theme from Caravans" 5:06
5."Warm Air" 3:38
6."Jazz Will Eat Itself" 3:30
7."Widescreen" 3:58
8."Tequila Mockingbird" 3:26
9."City Theme" 4:32
10."Red Hot"Ian Wherry, Vanessa-Mae3:16
11."Classical Gas" (reggae version; Aswad and Vanessa-Mae (bonus track))  
Total length:46:31

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[4]

Musicians

Production
  • Tracks 1–9 produced and arranged by Mike Batt
  • Tracks 1–9 programmed and arranged by Gareth Cousins
  • Track 10 produced and arranged by Ian Wherry and Vanessa-Mae
  • Track 10 programmed by Ian Wherry; mix engineer: Ben Robbins
  • Mastered by Ray Staff
  • Music typesetting: John Zaradin
  • Photography: John Paul
  • Sleeve by Stuart @ Peacock Marketing Design
  • Recorded and engineered by Gareth Cousins at Abbey Road Studios and Whitfield Street Recording Studios, London

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[17] Platinum 50,000*
Belgium (BEA)[18] Gold 25,000*
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[19] Platinum 54,251[19]
Germany (BVMI)[20] Gold 250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[21] Platinum 25,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[22] Gold 7,500^
Poland (ZPAV)[23] Platinum 100,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[24] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[25] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Gold 100,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[27] Platinum 1,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Erik Crawford. "The Violin Player - Vanessa-Mae | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  2. "VANESSA-MAE | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  3. "Who's selling where". Billboard. 17 February 1996. p. 62. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Des'ree billboard.
  4. The Violin Player (liner notes). Vanessa-Mae. EMI. 1995.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. Steffen Hung (1995-04-30). "Australian charts portal". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  6. Steffen Hung. "Das österreichische Hitparaden- und Musik-Portal". Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  7. Steffen Hung (1997-03-22). "Dutch Charts". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  8. "Musiikkituottajat - Tilastot - Suomen virallinen lista - Artistit". Ifpi.fi. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  9. "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche". Musicline.de. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  10. "Kereső - előadó/Cím szerint - Archívum - MAHASZ - Magyar Hangfelvétel-kiadók Szövetsége". Archived from the original on September 24, 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
  11. "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1996-02-04. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  12. Steffen Hung. "Norwegian charts portal". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  13. Steffen Hung (1996-05-24). "Swedish Charts Portal". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  14. Steffen Hung. "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  15. "VANESSA-MAE | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
  16. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  17. "Austrian album certifications – Vanessa Mae – The Violin Player" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  18. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 1996". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
  19. "Vanessa Mae" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  20. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Vanessa Mae; 'The Violin Player')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  21. "Dutch jazz certifications – Vanessa Mae – The Violin Player" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter The Violin Player in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1996 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  22. "New Zealand album certifications – Vanessa Mae – The Violin Player". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  23. "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 1995 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
  24. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 944. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  25. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Vanessa Mae; 'The Violin Player')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  26. "British album certifications – Vanessa Mae – The Violin Player". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type The Violin Player in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  27. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1997". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
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