Between The Clouds: Charlie Siem
THIS JOURNAL BELONGS TO
DOUGLAS HENRY LEWIS
perpetuating a genre of music that has captivated audiences near and far since nearly the dawning of time.
Charlie Siem has released his latest recording “Between the Clouds,” a 15-track homage to his original childhood inspirations: great masters of the genre such as Kreisler, Sarasate, Paganini, Elgar, and Wieniawski.
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STREAM: CHARLIE SIEM - BETWEEN THE CLOUDS
For Charlie Siem, I was nearly blown away by his engine of operating rhythms, many of which will inspire artists of any kind and beyond.
It is always refreshing to learn about how creative people have accomplished their wildest dreams, yet the most precious portion of speaking with these talents is receiving the opportunity to discover the driving force behind it all.
Although a young Charlie could’ve easily followed in his father’s footsteps of operating in the family business, he states matter-of-factly that it was never any question that he and his three sisters would do anything related to what his father does. He says plainly, “It was great because I can’t imagine having ever been in the shadow of somebody else. It’s so important. I think everyone as an individual has to find, wherever they come from and whatever stable they have to be born into, their own and mark out their own identity or else it’s a sad existence to be picking up the coattails of somebody else.”
I couldn’t agree more.
At just 34 years old, Charlie’s unique body of work is the material that young musicians’ dreams are made of. Having studied at some of the most prestigious institutions of music in the world (London’s Royal College of Music, Eton College, and Cambridge University), Siem has amassed an extensive résumé which includes performing with many of the world’s finest orchestras (The Royal, the Moscow, and the Rotterdam, Philharmonic Orchestras; the Czech and the Oslo National Symphony Orchestras) and conductors (including Charles Dutoit, Edward Gardner, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Sir Roger Norrington, Libor Pesek, and Yuri Simonov). Charlie has even performed for the Queen of Denmark and considers his most valuable possession to be his centuries-old and priceless 1735 Guarneri del Gesu violin, once owned by the King of Prussia.
In addition to direct achievements within his genre, Siem has gained significant momentum within pop culture and fashion, being embraced by the likes of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry and performing onstage with The Who, Bryan Adams, and Jamie Cullen. It comes as no surprise that brands such as Armani, Dior, Dunhill, Hugo Boss, and the late Karl Lagerfeld himself have hand-selected him to collaborate.
Explaining the science behind early accomplishments in his career within music and fashion, Charlie states, “I was just open-minded to experiencing a variety of things and establishing across a broad spectrum. They are all centered around the fact that my core is just being the best violinist that I can be and being the best interpreter of the music that I’m so passionate about. That’s what it all boils down to.”
Charlie’s latest work possesses that exact quality, and after speaking with the musician himself, I was even more impressed to discover the soul-stirring ideologies that he governs himself by.
The inspiration behind his latest album, ‘Between the Clouds’ came from a very comfortable place, as all of the pieces in the album are ones that he’s played since he was a child. He was moved by the sounds of Beethoven which is why he first decided to play and Paganini (whose work is covered on the album) was fundamental to him largely due to the monumental influence that the legendary violinist has had in developing the art of playing the violin. Charlie claims that it was very easy to put it all together with pianist Itamar Golan, and the work represents a real reflection of his relationship with the tradition of violinists and the composer.
As I listened to the album, I couldn’t help but think of the ultimate Parisian afternoon: surrounded by lavish interiors at chic cafés or perhaps sailing away on the River Seine, completely entranced within the Joi de Vivre of life. No matter the century, classical music will always have the unique ability to make one relish in the wonder of humanity’s most sacred manifestation: Art.
In the case of whether or not Charlie’s evolution as a musician originated from nature versus nature, he says “The things that happen in the first few moments of your life condition what happens next. Certain things happened, I was exposed to music and my natural response was to embrace it and continue with it.” He continues, “I think it’s a journey and you’re lucky if you find it early on, something that you can become involved with to such a degree that it lasts a lifetime. Music is something that one has to get involved with early to get to a certain level at a certain point. Maybe I was born to do it.”
What impresses me the most about Charlie is his seemingly unflinching devotion to his craft and piercing knowledge of his ability to transform people’s lives with it.
In current times of uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic, Charlie admits to feeling a bit lost at sea in relation to not being able to perform live. To compensate, he has been orchestrating concerts on Instagram to have something to prepare for and look forward to.