Vollenweider was born on October 4, 1953 in Zürich as the son of Hans Vollenweider, a composer and organist. Acquainted with many instruments and an autodidact, Andreas Vollenweider discovered the harp in 1975. This instrument – notably his self-modified electro-acoustic harp, would define the signature sound on all of his music albums. During this time Vollenweider also started composing for film, theater and TV.

Eine Art Suite in XIII Teilen, was his first album, released in in Switzerland in 1979. Pieces of this album were performed at a concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1981. This first concert preceded the release of Vollenweider’s second album, Behind The Gardens, Behind The Wall, Under The Tree…, which was released worldwide in autumn of the same year.

His next album, Caverna Magica, was released in 1983. The single Pace Verde (”Green Peace”) was cut from Caverna Magica and released in 1983 as a tribute to environmental and peace movements. In the same year, he received an Edison Award in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, for the Caverna Magica album.
Source : Wikipedia