1953 - Andreas Vollenweider is born in Zurich on 4th October 1953. Through his father Hans Vollenweider, who ranks among the leading organists in Europe, Andreas Vollenweider comes into contact with music at an early age. Andreas Vollenweider is a confirmed autodidact. In the search for “his” instrument he becomes familiar with a large number of different instruments. In a stormy apprenticeship Vollenweider has the opportunity to gather experience as a musician and composer in countless musical projects.

1975 - Andreas Vollenweider discovers the harp. He develops his own technique and modifies the instrument to suit his own needs. In addition, Andreas Vollenweider composes music for numerous film, theatre and television productions.

1979/80 - Vollenweider releases his first solo album, A Form of Suite in XIII Parts. This work meets with a very loud and positive echo. It is regarded as the actual starting point for the later “Vollenweider sound”.

It is the first time that Vollenweider's harp-playing is to the fore.

1981 - Andreas Vollenweider & Friends perform their first concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival, to great acclaim. In autumn the album Behind the Gardens -- Behind the Wall -- Under the Tree (SK 37793) is released, which has critics and listeners alike in raptures: A new sound starts to spread its way around the world.

1982 - The album Caverna Magica (SK 37827) is released.

1983 - Vollenweider tours throughout Europe. In the autumn the maxi-single Pace Verde is released, and Andreas Vollenweider produces an independent video documenting his commitment to environmental protection and the peace movement. Vollenweider receives the Edison Award in Amsterdam for his innovative sound.

1984 - Release of the album White Winds (SK 39963). Andreas Vollenweider's name first appears in the American charts. Vollenweider is given a rousing reception on his first American tour.

1985 - Vollenweider gives a completely sold-out tour that includes such major auditoriums as Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. The tour continues in Europe, where it is equally successful.

1986 - Andreas Vollenweider releases the album Down to the Moon (SK 42255). Andreas Vollenweider & Friends again meet with an enthusiastic response from audiences in the United States, Canada, and 13 European countries.

1987 - The tour ends with major successes in Japan and Australia. At the same time Andreas Vollenweider becomes the first Swiss musician to be awarded a Grammy, which he receives for the album Down to the Moon.

1989 - Dancing with the Lion is released. To accompany this Andreas Vollenweider produces the videos "Pearls & Tears" and "Dancing with the Lion". Both videos receive major awards in the United States. The new album is also presented live in the United States and Europe by Andreas Vollenweider and his friends.

1990 - The autumn sees the release of the double album Trilogy, which brings together Behind the Gardens..., Caverna Magica and White Winds, the majority of A Form of Suite... and Pace Verde. Dream Garden (Traumgarten ), an album made together with his father Hans Vollenweider, is released in Switzerland. The production bears the subtitle Father and Son Improvise.

1991 - Andreas Vollenweider completes his album Book of Roses. Together with musicians from all over the world and with, of course, his closest associates, he relates a new and exciting story as an multi-instrumentalist. Following the completion of this complex production, Vollenweider retreats for a number of months to gather energy for new activities.

1992 - Andreas Vollenweider performs at an open-air benefit concert in Moscow's Red Square, organised to aid the children of Chernobyl. In Monaco Vollenweider receives the World Music Award.

1993 - The Swiss artist begins recording for his new album. With Eolian Minstrel Andreas Vollenweider presents his first-ever album with songs in English. Andreas Vollenweider blends his own voice and that of the American singer Eliza Gilkyson with his typical harp sounds. Alongside a number of guest musicians, a number of old friends, including Carly Simon, also make appearances. In November Andreas Vollenweider and his friends tour throughout western and eastern Europe with the new album.

1994 - Vollenweider tours in the United States and Europe. Andreas Vollenweider returns to the stage of the Montreux Jazz Festival after 15 years. Luciano Pavarotti invites Andreas Vollenweider and his musicians to perform at the Pavarotti International Show in Modena, Italy, in September, which is broadcast live on RAI UNO. Andreas Vollenweider performs his own music and accompanies Bryan Adams on his major hit "Please Forgive Me" and Luciano Pavarotti on "Ave Maria". As a memento of the evening, the live album Pavarotti & Friends 2 is released in May of 1995 and becomes a long-running chart topper. In the same year Vollenweider produces the long-awaited double album with the title Andreas Vollenweider & Friends -- Live 1982-1994, which is released at the end of October. The album features twelve years of live performances of music from the early projects to the Eolian Minstrel.

1995 - Andreas Vollenweider pus together a new group that specialises in spontaneous improvisation. A concert tour takes him to Poland, to well-known venues in major cities, as well as smaller courtyards in old castles. The concert held in the Warsaw Palace of Congress is sold out twice. The tour is accompanied by great media interest. Television and radio broadcast the concerts live. The tour is followed by concerts at major open-air venues in Europe. Then Andreas Vollenweider & Friends perform two concerts a day at New York's legendary Blue Note club for a period of six days. Following the American tour they perform for the first time ever in Latin America. Between tours Andreas Vollenweider commences work on his new album. Kryptos is recorded, featuring music for a major symphony orchestra with guest virtuosos from all over the world and from widely different cultures.

1996 - In February Andreas Vollenweider and his friends perform a world premiere with the RAI Orchestra at the San Remo Festival in Italy. The festival is broadcast live by RAI UNO to millions of viewers throughout Europe.

In April Andreas Vollenweider gives his first extraordinary concert with a symphony orchestra in Zürich's Tonhalle. In December Andreas Vollenweider bumps into an old acquaintance at the Frankfurt Airport. The Italian rock star Zucchero invites Andreas Vollenweider to perform with him as a guest at six concerts in Italy. Andreas is enthusiastic about the idea immediately. One week later he accompanies Zucchero at sold-out concerts on the songs "Diamonds" and "Mente e Rosmarino", also playing a harp solo.

A special experience for the two is the concert to open the skiing season on Kronplatz in Brunico in South Tyrol, where Zucchero and Andreas Vollenweider perform at 2500 metres above sea level and at temperatures of minus 8°C.

1997 - In the spring Kryptos (SK 60237), his most complex work to date, is released bearing the subtitle A Symphonic Adventure. Andreas Vollenweider prepares for further tours. Together with the Solis String Quartet from Naples and Walter Keiser he plays at an exclusive gala in Warsaw's Royal Palace and at various festivals in Europe. In October Andreas plays his first solo concert in many years at the Festival de Musica Visual in Lanzarotte, on the Canary Islands.

1998 - At the beginning of the year Andreas Vollenweider performs solo in the Warsaw Opera House in Poland. During the summer he writes the music to “Wolkenstein” -- a symphonic mind movie. This complex work is first performed in the Fraumünster Church in Zurich as part of the celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of the canton of Zürich. Vollenweider's friends Walter Keiser, Christoph Stiefel and Matthias Ziegler are involved, along with an expanded Zürich Chamber Orchestra under the baton of André Bellmontas. Film and sound recordings are made of the premiere and the following 8 concerts. This production is to be released at a later date. On 15th September Kryptos is released in the United States. In October Andreas Vollenweider embarks on a solo tour of the United States, performing in no less than 24 cities from the east coast to the west coast in 31 days.

1999 - At the beginning of October Andreas Vollenweider performs at the tenth Festival de Musica Visual in Lanzarotte, Spain. Particularly impressive is the venue -- in the crater of a volcano. On 18th October the album Cosmopoly (SK 89096) is released. In a kaleidoscopic, amusing and pensive journey around the world, the listener encounters such exceptional musicians as Bobby McFerrin, Milton Nascimento, Ray Anderson, Djivan Gasparyan, Carly Simon, Abdullah Ibrahim, and Carlos Núñez.

That the music of Andreas Vollenweider unites the hearts of people from so many different nations, religions, ages and educational backgrounds is not only demonstrated by the sold-out concerts and the eight million albums that have been sold world-wide, but above all by the many personal letters which he receives from all the four corners of the earth.

Andreas Vollenweider's new CD production Cosmopoly (SK 89096)

Vollenweider's latest, multi-faceted CD Cosmopoly is an exciting co-operation between top international musicians. After the "major", almost symphonic works of his recent CDs, this time it is the somewhat "minor" catchy melodies (“hook-lines”) which serve as the starting point for the most diverse of musical adventures. And these journeys are truly adventurous in a positive sense, with Andreas Vollenweider virtually taking us around the whole globe, allowing us to meet with many extraordinary international musicians.

The musical encounters make this production a truly special experience. On occasions the musicians gather to perform a melody by Andreas Vollenweider; on other occasions there are spontaneous musical interactions without a set theme or melody. And Andreas Vollenweider proves himself to be a true cosmopolitan, effortlessly communicating with his partners in widely different musical languages.

That the dialogues are creative and inspired is ensured by the presence of some top-calibre musical partners:

The American vocal virtuoso Bobby McFerrin, who, like Andreas Vollenweider himself, is at home in all genres, from jazz through to classical music.

The star singer and poet from Brazil Milton Nascimento, who spontaneously wrote some lyrics to a melody from Andreas Vollenweider -- and interpreted the song in his own inimitable manner.

The South African master pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, whose mixture of jazz and the music of the "townships" has won him international acclaim.

The American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, who has been an enthusiastic promoter of this music from the very outset. In her lyrics she includes quotes from James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake.

The great Djivan Gasparyan, a master of the Armenian national instrument, the duduk, a form of oboe made of the root-wood of the apricot tree.

The original Neapolitan Solis String Quartet with their special, authentic sound. The group has already accompanied Vollenweider on a number of concert tours.

The Galician whistle and bagpipe player Carlos Núñez, who, with his younger-generation energy, shows that being a "citizen of the world" has nothing to do with age.

A musical "west-east poetry collection" is a song which Andreas Vollenweider wrote for a Chinese orchestra. The orchestra is conducted by the dulcimer virtuoso Pingxin Xü.

Cosmopoly also includes tracks with other top musicians: the American trombonist Ray Anderson, for instance; the Basque accordion virtuoso Kepa Junkera; the American singer and fiddle player Mindy Jostyn; and Vollenweider's long-time musical associates Walter Keiser and Christoph Stiefel.

Together with these musicians Vollenweider has created some fantastic compositions -- little jewels, full of transparency and filigreed spontaneity.