Careful With That Axe, Janine

Sydney Morning Herald

Wednesday March 8, 2006

Emily Dunn

This Dutch virtuoso won't be parted from her Stradivarius, writes Emily Dunn.

Even acclaimed classical musicians have a few skeletons in the closet.

Dutch violinist Janine Jansen, who has played the violin since she was six and performed her first concert at the age of 10, confesses an adolescent penchant for heavy metal.

"In high school I was a big Gunsn'Roses fan," says Jansen, who adds jazz music and Sting to her listening repertoire. "Classical musicians don't just listen to classical music."

But on stage, Jansen remains dedicated to the classics.

In Australia this week for the first time, she will play three concerts at the Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, performing Mozart's Violin Concerto Number 5.

While the 28-year-old enjoys pin-up celebrity status in her home country and in Europe, where she has appeared with many of the world's most prestigious orchestras including the London Philharmonic, her name is not yet known in Australia outside classical music circles.

Her trump card is her instrument, an Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1727, "Barrere", on extended loan through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

She had the luxury of choosing the instrument from a selection of Italian violins 51/2 years ago.

"This one felt like we had a connection," she says. "Every violin has a totally different sound and character, this is the sound I hear in my head."

Jansen takes the instrument everywhere; from playing impromptu performances at the Broadway Piano Bar in Vienna with her boyfriend, fellow violinist Julian Rachlin, to placing it in the overhead compartment of an aeroplane.

When travelling, she arrives a few days before the performance, not only so she can adjust, but for the violin, sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity.

"I can't imagine having another instrument," Jansen says. "Some other violinists say that and they fall in love with another one or they play lots of different ones, but for now I feel I will have this [violin] as long as I keep playing."

The Stradivarius is just one of Jansen's passions. Despite gaining recognition through her orchestral performances, she is an advocate of chamber music; her second album, a recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, was recorded with an eight-person chamber group and each December she organises an international festival of chamber music in the Netherlands.

She is equally passionate about promoting classical music to a wider audience, freeing it from a "stuffy" reputation.

"The technical part of classical music is not so interesting for me, that is something that you concentrate on when you practise for hours, then you let go. The most important part of performing is spontaneity and emotion," she says.

"I want to open the door and show people that classical music is not always stuffy and elite."

Jansen performs at the Opera House tonight, Thursday and Friday.

© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald

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