Joshua Bell has been playing the violin for over 35 years, remarkable considering he just turned 40 last December.

"I was showing interest in music when I was three or four years old—I'd string rubber bands across dresser drawers to make music," Bell, who's headlining a show at the Pabst Theater Tuesday said. "My parents noticed and got me started on the violin."

Every iconic classical musician from Beethoven, Mozart and Tchaikovsky to Bell's contemporary Yo-Yo Ma started to learn to play instruments at similarly young ages. Bell, like each of the men listed above, was often called a "child prodigy."

His talent and increasing notoriety—especially around the age of 14, when he began playing larger shows, including a show at the infamous Carnegie Hall in New York—made having a 'normal' childhood somewhat impossible.

"I was hardly involved in my high school, all of my friends were older and I was always going to the university to study," Bell said. "But in other ways, my childhood was normal. I was into sports, a lot of different things. It wasn't all about the music."

But Bell did recognize at age 12 his life was going to be all about the music. Under the tutelage of the late and immensely admired violinist Josef Gingold, Bell was able to grow as a musician and realize music could be a full-time career. Since his early days at Carnegie Hall, Bell has kept himself busy with recording more than 30 CDs for his label, Sony Classical. His accomplishments and fame has allowed him to transition into film. In 1999, he collaborated with film composer John Corigliano on "The Red Violin," performing the violin solos.

"The music in 'The Red Violin' had such a central role in the film," Bell said. It was a really satisfying experience."

Corigliano won an Academy Award for Best Original Score, and that collaboration led to Bell's recording of his latest album, The Red Violin Concerto.

"I asked Jon to write me a piece I could play in concert. He ended up expanding it into a full, 40-minute violin concerto. It's the final culmination of the movie and the whole experience," Bell said. "I think it's a very important work – separate from the movie and its own sort of entity."

Bell promises his concert at the Pabst will incorporate a wide selection of music that spans centuries. It also will be quite intimate: just a pianist, Bell and his Gibson Stradivarius violin. Bell is the owner of the legendary, 300-year-old violin crafted by Antonio Stradivari, the world-renowned Italian craftsmen.

"It's a very special, rare violin, made in 1713. Any Stradivarius is rare, but this was one of his best," Bell said. "I fell in love with it at first sight. I feel completely connected to it. It takes a certain amount of chemistry to work."

That chemistry will be on display, when the child prodigy turned music superstar takes the stage for a solo recital show on Tues. Tickets start at $39.50.

Visit the Pabst Theater's Web site for more information.