Audi 2012 Annual Report Download - page 124

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Her great-great grandfather was the
Russian writer Leo Tolstoi, whose
surname Viktoria adopted at the
beginning of her career using the
internationally recognized “y.” Her
father is the well-known Swedish jazz
pianist and vibraphonist Erik Kjellberg.
“As a child, I woke up to music in the
morning and fell asleep to it at night.
We sang and played music every day,”
says the 38-year-old. By the time she
was four years old, she was already
determined to become a singer. The
pivotal moment of her career came
at 16. “My father had me sing Billie
Holiday’s “Lover Man.” Then he put on
a version by Ella Fitzgerald and the
song sounded completely dierent!
I was fascinated by how jazz allowed
you to experiment with your voice –
and the decision was taken.”
Born near Stockholm, the musician
released her first album “Smile, Love
and Spice” in 1994 without ever having
had a single singing lesson and gar-
n ered immediate recognition from
renowned Swedish jazz musicians when
she debuted at 20. Two years later,
she even made it to the top of the
Swe d ish charts with the more pop-
oriented album “För Älskad (Too Loved),”
becoming
a star overnight.
She gives the first hint of her Rus-
sian heritage on the album “White
Russian,” Viktoria Tolstoy’s self-
proclaimed favorite. She recorded
it in 1997 for the famous label Blue
Note together with her mentor, the
late jazz-legend Esbjörn Svensson.
“I’ve been preoccupied with my family
background since I was a child. When
I was 13, I went with my family to
visit Leo Tolstoi’s house for the first
time. I’ve been there five times since.
It’s a very special feeling being related
to him,” says the singer. Her great
grandfather, Leo Tolstoi’s son, who
suered from a neurological disorder,
went to Sweden to see a specialist
for treat ment at the end of the 19th
century and fell head over heels in love
with the doctor’s daughter. After they
were married, he stayed on in Sweden.
“A classic love story right out of a
Tolstoi novel,” says Viktoria. To prepare
for the album “My Russian Soul” a few
years ago, she took an intense look
at the music history of Russia – in
her own way, of course. She inter-
preted classics by Rachmanino and
Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” as well as
film soundtracks from modern Russian
composers and even traditional folk
songs – all of them embraced in jazz
arrangements.
Scandinavian vocal
wonder: Viktoria
Tolstoy never had
a singing lesson –
she inherited her
talent from her
father, a famous
Swedish jazz
musician, and got
her stage name
from her great-
great grandfather
Leo Tolstoi.
Viktoria Tolstoy readily admits that
she might have benefited from the
re putation of her famous ancestor.
However, the secret of this Swede’s
success, who has been one of the top
Scandinavian jazz performers for a
long time now, is her rousing perform-
ances. Every minute of her two-hour
appearance at the Audi Forum proved
that the singer is still just as
passionate about her music now as she
was in the beginning. No wonder the
enthralled audience would only
let Viktoria Tolstoy leave the stage
after she had given several encores. «
Viktoria Tolstoy talks about
her love of music and jazz legend
Herbie Hancock.