Nicola Benedetti

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For the Italian modern pentathlete, see Nicola Benedetti (pentathlete).

Nicola Benedetti
CBE
Benedetti at the EXPO festivals event at The Hub, Edinburgh, 2023
Benedetti at the EXPO festivals event at The Hub, Edinburgh, 2023
Background information
Born (1987-07-20) 20 July 1987 (age 36)
Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland
GenresClassical
Occupation(s)Violinist
Years active2005–present
LabelsDeutsche Grammophon
Universal Classics and Jazz
Decca Records
Websitewww.nicolabenedetti.co.uk

Nicola Joy Nadia Benedetti CBE (born 20 July 1987) is an Italian-Scottish classical solo violinist and festival director. Her ability was recognised when she was a child, including the award of BBC Young Musician of the Year when she was 16. She works with orchestras in Europe and America as well as with Alexei Grynyuk, her regular pianist. Since 2012, she has played the Gariel Stradivarius violin. In 2019, she founded the music education charity The Benedetti Foundation and became the first woman to lead[1] the Edinburgh International Festival when she was made Festival Director on 1 October 2022.[2]

Early life and education[edit]

Benedetti was born in West Kilbride, North Ayrshire, Scotland, to an Italian father and an Italian-Scottish mother.[3] She started to play the violin at the age of four with lessons from Brenda Smith. At eight, she became the leader of the National Children's Orchestra of Great Britain.[4] By the age of nine, she had already passed the eight grades of musical examinations while attending the independent Wellington School, Ayr,[5] and, in September 1997, began to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School for young musicians under Lord Menuhin and Natasha Boyarskaya in rural Surrey, England.[citation needed]

At the end of her first year (1998), she played solo in the school's annual concert at Wigmore Hall, and performed in London and Paris as a soloist in Bach's Double Violin Concerto with Alina Ibragimova. She played in a memorial concert at Westminster Abbey celebrating the life and work of Yehudi Menuhin.

In 2000, she competed in the Menuhin Competition as a junior competitor.

Nicola has an older sister, Stephanie, who is also a violinist and a member of the pop group Clean Bandit.

Early public performances[edit]

In 1999, Benedetti performed for the anniversary celebrations at Holyrood Palace with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. In 2000, Benedetti performed with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Scottish Opera.

Subsequent performances followed with the City of London Sinfonia, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Opera, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, etc.[6]

In August 2002, she won the UK's Brilliant Prodigy Competition, broadcast by Carlton Television. She left the Menuhin School shortly after and, at the age of 15, began studying privately with Maciej Rakowski, the former leader of the English Chamber Orchestra.[7]

In spring 2003, Benedetti, invited as a soloist by the London Symphony Orchestra, participated in the recording of the DVD titled Barbie of Swan Lake at Abbey Road Studios. In October 2003, as the extra feature on this DVD, "Playing With Passion" was filmed and released by Mattel. BBC Scotland, using this DVD, created a documentary on Benedetti, which was broadcast on television in the UK in March 2004.

BBC Young Musician of the Year[edit]

In May 2004, at the age of 16, Benedetti won the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition, performing Karol Szymanowski's First Violin Concerto in the final at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.[6][8] As a result of gaining the award, she came first in the music section of the Top Scot award in December 2005.[9] Despite winning the competition, The Times reported that Benedetti was snubbed by Jack McConnell, the then First Minister of Scotland, who thought that there was insufficient public interest to merit a personal message of congratulations.[10] Following a public and political outcry, McConnell bowed to the pressure and telephoned Benedetti to acknowledge her success.[11]

Since 2012[edit]

In September 2012, she performed at the Last Night of the Proms, playing Violin Concerto No. 1 by Max Bruch.[12] That same year, Benedetti was lent the 1717 "Gariel" Stradivarius by London banker and London Symphony Orchestra Board member Jonathan Moulds.[13]

Apart from solo performances, Benedetti performs in a trio with the German cellist Leonard Elschenbroich and the British-Ukrainian pianist Alexei Grynyuk.[14]

Artistic recognition[edit]

Benedetti was chosen as the subject for the winner of the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2021, Calum Stevenson, and this portrait now hangs in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.[15][16]

Honours and awards[edit]

Benedetti in August 2022 while being received by the First Minister of Scotland

Benedetti was awarded honorary doctorates from Glasgow Caledonian University in November 2007 and from Heriot-Watt University in 2010;[17] she was also awarded honorary degrees from the University of Edinburgh in November 2011[18] and from the University of Leicester in July 2013.[19] She was awarded an honorary degree from the University of York[20] in August 2020.

She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 New Year's Honours "For services to Music and to charity",[21][22] and was elected an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in March 2017.[23] In 2015, she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.[24]

In May 2017, she was presented with the Queen's Medal for Music, the youngest of the twelve people to receive the award since it was established in 2005.[25]

She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours, "For services to Music".[26] In 2019 she was also given the annual Royal Medal award by the Royal Society of Edinburgh for improving the lives of deprived Scottish children through Sistema Scotland and the Big Noise Orchestras.[27]

In 2020, she won the Grammy for best classical instrumental solo for Marsalis: Violin Concerto; Fiddle Dance Suite.[28][29]

She was awarded the 2021 ISM Distinguished Musician Award.[30]

In 2022, she was appointed honorary president of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS).[31]

She received the 2023 Edinburgh Award, which is given to individuals who have made an important contribution to the city and brought it to national and international attention. The award was given in recognition of her work as director of the Edinburgh Festival.[32]

Personal life[edit]

Benedetti was in a relationship with German cellist Leonard Elschenbroich, whom she met at the Yehudi Menuhin School of Music. Although that relationship has ended, they continue to perform together and are good friends.[33]

In March of 2024, Benedetti announced that she was pregnant with her first child.[34]

Discography[edit]

Albums[edit]

Title Details Peak chart positions
UK UK Classical
Szymanowski: Violin Concerto No. 1 — 1[35]
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto
Includes Mozart's Adagio for Violin and Orchestra, Schubert's Serenade and Ave Maria, and James MacMillan's From Ayrshire.
  • Released: 15 May 2006
  • Label: Deutsche Grammophon
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 — 2[36][37]
Vaughan Williams and Tavener — —
Fantasie
"The Lark Ascending" and other popular selections
  • Released: 7 September 2009
  • Label: Decca Records
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 — 1[38][39][40]
Tchaikovsky & Bruch: Violin Concertos
  • Released: 8 October 2010
  • Label: Deutsche Grammophon
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 — —
Italia
  • Released: 20 February 2011
  • Label: Decca Records
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 — —
The Silver Violin
  • Released: 24 August 2012
  • Label: Decca Records
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 32 —
My First Decade
  • Released: 20 September 2013
  • Label: Decca Records
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 — —
Homecoming – A Scottish Fantasy
  • Released: 4 July 2014
  • Label: Decca Records
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 19 1
Marsalis: Violin Concerto; Fiddle Dance Suite
  • Released: 12 July 2019 [41]
  • Label: Decca Records
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 — —
Elgar Violin Concerto
  • Released: 7 August 2020
  • Label: Decca Records
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
 — —

References[edit]

  1. ^ Carrell, Severin; Khomami, Nadia (1 March 2022). "Nicola Benedetti becomes first woman and first Scot to lead Edinburgh international festival". Guardian Media Group. The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Nicola Benedetti to become our next festival director".
  3. ^ "Nicola Benedetti". Scotland is the Place. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  4. ^ Nicola Benedetti, interviewed during BBC Radio 3 broadcast of 2012 BBC Proms (5 August 2012)
  5. ^ "Violinist Nicola Benedetti Named BBC Young Musician of the Year". Classical Source. 5 May 2004. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  6. ^ a b "2004 Nicola Benedetti – Violin". BBC Young Musician of the Year. Archived from the original on 6 December 2006.
  7. ^ Jessica Werb (26 October 2006). "Benedetti makes music, not stardom, priority". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  8. ^ "Violinist, 16, wins musical title". BBC News. 2 May 2004. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  9. ^ "Rankin the toast of Scotland as fans sing his praises". Living Scotsman. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  10. ^ Macleod, Angus (5 May 2004). "McConnell hits wrong note over award". The Times. Times Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  11. ^ Macleod, Angus (6 May 2004). "McConnell bows to pressure over young musician". The Times. Times Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Prom 76: Last Night of the Proms – review". The Guardian. 9 September 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  13. ^ Razaq, Rashid (13 March 2012). "Banker lent me £6.3m Stradivarius after he heard me playing". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  14. ^ "BBC Radio Three Lunchtime Concert". London Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  15. ^ Wilson, Benji (15 December 2021). "Portrait Artist of the Year, review: Barry Humphries was the very model of wit in this vibrant finale". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  16. ^ "Sky Portrait Artist of the Year: Young Bonnybridge graduate is first Scot to take title". www.falkirkherald.co.uk. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  17. ^ "Honorary Graduates 2010" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2016.
  18. ^ "Violinist Nicola Benedetti debuts in Rome". Italian Journal. 13. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  19. ^ "Honorary Graduates". Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  20. ^ "Nicola Benedetti – Studying at York, University of York". 26 August 2020. Archived from the original on 26 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  21. ^ "No. 60367". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 28 December 2012. p. 15.
  22. ^ "Violinist Nicola Benedetti receives Order of the British Empire". Classic FM. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  23. ^ "RSE Welcomes 60 New Fellows" (Press release). Royal Society of Edinburgh. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  24. ^ "BBC 100 Women 2015: Who is on the list?". BBC News. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  25. ^ Davis, Lizzie (23 May 2017). "Nicola Benedetti awarded Queen's Medal for Music". Classic FM. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  26. ^ "No. 62507". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 29 December 2018. p. N1.
  27. ^ "Royal Medals". Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  28. ^ "Benedetti wins best solo award at Grammys". BBC News. 27 January 2020.
  29. ^ "Nicola Benedetti". GRAMMY.com. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  30. ^ "ISM honours Nicola Benedetti CBE with 'Distinguished Musician Award'". Independent Society of Musicians. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  31. ^ Kennedy, Kara (30 June 2022). "Yet another string added to Benedetti's bow with RCS president role". The Herald. Glasgow. p. 3. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  32. ^ "Benedetti selected to receive 2023 city award". The Herald. Glasgow. 17 October 2023. p. 3.
  33. ^ "Benedetti: I've never stopped loving my former boyfriend". HeraldScotland. Glasgow. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  34. ^ Kendix, Max (9 April 2024). "Nicola Benedetti reveals she is expecting her first child". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  35. ^ "Violinist Benedetti, 18, to perform in La Jolla". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  36. ^ Will Pavia (3 April 2007). "Sting adds another string to his bow as Sir Paul takes a bold stride into the world of classics". The Times. Archived from the original on 6 April 2007.
  37. ^ Cornwell, Tim (10 May 2006). "Nicola Benedetti: from prodigy to professional". The Scotsman.
  38. ^ "Nicola Hits The Top Spot With New Album". Daily Record. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  39. ^ "Various: Fantasie | CD review". The Guardian. 5 September 2009. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023.
  40. ^ The Independent review
  41. ^ "Nicola Benedetti Announces New Album With Wynton Marsalis". uDiscover Music. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nicola_Benedetti&oldid=1218253865#Albums"