"A true violinist of the 21st century”

One might say that Gilles Apap is from a tradition established by Stéphane Grappelli.

A French violinist like Grappelli, he was in fact born in Algeria. But whereas Grappelli discovered jazz at the age of 20 and gave up orchestral work, Apap is a classically trained violinist whose career includes ten years as concertmaster with the Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra in California.

He began to diversify when he was around the age of 30 and released his first album with the Transylvanian Mountain Boys in 1994. He was interpreting traditional music, and this has since become his trademark. As this has included gypsy styles and jazz, there is the hint of Grappelli. But his work has been much broader - Irish and bluegrass, for instance.

Yehudi Menuhin once described him as “a true violinist of the 21st century”. And he is, his virtuosity having taken in so many different musical styles.