Pekka Kuusisto predicts: The flamethrower will ignite a violin boom

Finland Eurovision song Flamethrower has brought plenty of mainstream pop music attention to the violin. The visibility of violin playing has strengthened with Finland’s pre-favorite position and Linda Lampeniuksen after receiving an exceptional permission to play the violin in the Eurovision performance as a real vocal soloist Pete Parkkonen roll.

Back in Finland’s Eurovision Song Contest, Lampenius performed as playback, that is, his playing was heard from the background tape. Then he chose a cheap violin for the performance, the tone of which did not matter in that context.

In Eurovision, he plays his expensive Gagliano value violin.

Gagliano was one of the Italian instrument builders of powerful families in the 18th century. Perhaps the most respected violin maker of the family was Nicola Gagliano. His father Alessandro had worked as a young man in Cremona Antonio Stradivarin in the workshop and brought violin building skills from there to his hometown of Naples.

Linda Lampenius’ violin was built in 1781 by Alessandro’s grandson and Nicola’s son Ferdinando Gagliano. Rondo’s 2024 release of the article according to the violin is worth around 200,000 euros. Used by Lampenius spring is known to be from the late 19th century and by a respected French bow maker Joseph Arthur Vigneronin work.

Many viewers have paid attention to Lampenius’ performance, which combines playing with dramatic choreography. The breaking of the strings of the bow in connection with the passionate interpretation has also attracted attention.

A violinist Pekka Kuusisto he too has become known for breaking ropes in the whirlwinds of interpretation and commented on Lampenius’ part in Finland’s Eurovision performance at HS’s request.

“I think I and Patricia Kopatchinskaya on the concert side, we are the first caste of the destroyers of jouhs!” Kuusisto says.

“The problem for me is that I like the kind of tones you get when the string is not tightened terribly. I would at least have a string hand mixed up if the string tension were changed so much during the performance that in quieter places there would be the flexibility of a loose string and in harder driving the muscularity of a tight string. I have at some point thought that those strings can always be found somewhere, let’s rather go like this.”

In recent years, synthetic ropes have become an alternative to traditional horse ropes, which are also more durable.

“It’s practically like fishing line, but it’s made into strings for violinists. And they were advertised a few years ago so that you get your money back if you cut it by playing,” says Pekka Kuusisto.

“But in Eurovision, for example, it wouldn’t work so well because it [katkenneiden jouhien muodostama] the May Day bow on the end of the bow is such a good visual effect!”

Kuusisto also believes that Finland’s Eurovision performance will bring violin playing mainstream visibility for a longer period of time.

“I was just talking about this with my friends and comparing it Britney Spears Toxic-song from twenty years ago. It’s great that the violin plays such a big role in extremely effective, danceable pop music,” says Kuusisto.

“And based on what I’ve watched of modern Eurovision over the years, I wouldn’t be surprised if five songs have a violinist next year.”