WACKY WEDNESDAY | Frank Sinatra's Tchaikovsky Concerto "My Way"

Italian-Uruguayan violinist Aldo Cicchini gets creative, interweaving Frank Sinatra’s classic "My Way" into the cornerstone concerto

"I live in Italy and I made this video during the 3rd or 4th COVID-19 lockdown," Cicchini told The Violin Channel. 

As a violinist in Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale Rai, his knowledge of different music styles comes from his background in guitar playing and singing from a young age. During rehearsals when the violins had a melody, Cicchini would find himself wanting to morph Frank Sinatra into other pieces. 

"The fact is, I didn't feel free to do it during rehearsals because it could be annoying to my colleagues," he explains. "But during the lockdown, I could free that creativity and it felt great.

"I love classical music, but sometimes I find its environment a little bit rigid for me. I have two daughters, ages 2 and 5, and during the various lockdowns in Italy, I understood that the only way I could keep fit was by having fun, keep playing, and releasing the creativity that I often have to repress during work."

Posting mashups of pieces is a form of therapy for him to release stress during tough times. It all began with his video of the Paganini Violin Concerto accompanied by his shoe!