About Me
It would be hard to imagine a more apt coincidence of genealogy than that responsible for Nicola Benedettis family name. The violinist, born in Ayrshire in July 1987, has proved at just about every step of her musical and personal development to be richly blessed, by name and by nature. She set her hands on a violin for the first time as a four-year-old Suzuki class member, an experience that reduced the Scottish infant to tears. Nicolas distress proved short-lived, however. Tears of uncertainty swiftly gave way to a passion for playing that propelled her through the eight furlong markers of graded musical examinations by her ninth birthday and onwards in September 1997 to a place at the Menuhin School, an idyllic haven for gifted young musicians set in rural Surrey.
Hard graft and innate ability impressed Nicolas teachers, securing her a solo performance in the Schools annual Wigmore Hall concert at the end of her first year and the chance to perform in London and Paris as soloist in Bachs Concerto in D minor for two violins and orchestra. She collaborated with her classmates, directed by a conductor long since elected to the status of violin legend. Yehudi Menuhin spotted young Benedettis potential from the podium and offered her the chance to perform Bach A minor at Birminghams Symphony Hall under his direction. Unexpectedly, and very sadly, Lord Menuhin passed away a month prior to the concert in March 1999. In place of the planned performance, Nicola appeared alongside Priya Mitchell, Vadim Repin and Sarah Chang as soloists in a concert celebrating his life and work, with Jan Pascal Tortelier conducting. Nicola also had the honour of playing the slow movement of the Bach Double Violin Concerto, with violinist Alina Ibragimova, in Westminster Abbey for Lord Menuhins memorial service.
Throughout the following year, Nicola performed with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Scottish Opera among others. Her early professional development received further impetus in 2002 from an unconventional direction, at least in terms of the course usually charted by talented young musicians, when she won Britains Brilliant Prodigy Competition broadcast nationwide by Carlton Television. Shortly afterwards Nicola decided to leave the Menuhin School. The 15-year old eventually persuaded her parents and teachers that it was a risk worth taking, underlining the point with a series of concert bookings and a new phase of private study with Maciej Rakowski, former leader of the English Chamber Orchestra.
Benedettis maturity and intelligence, instantly recognisable to anyone who meets her, complement her technical and musical accomplishments as a violinist. The package of personal attributes and artistic skills returned handsome rewards in May 2004 when Nicola won the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. She followed her instincts, under the guidance of her Polish-born teacher, and performed Szymanowskis First Violin Concerto. Although not an obvious choice for the nationally televised final, her searching, eloquent and ultimately captivating reading captured the minds and hearts of the judges and audiences. The performance showed Nicola to be well in advance of her years as an artist, one of those rare young soloists able to press technical assurance to the service of musical expression. There was more of the same when she played for the opening of the new Scottish Parliament buildings in Edinburgh five months later, and again at the end of 2004 when she set down the first in a series of recordings under contract to Universal Classics & Jazz.
Looking back on her debut recording, released on the Deutsche Grammophon label in April 2005, Nicola recalls that her prize-winning Szymanowski interpretation, already deep in the bloodstream, was a natural choice for the album; likewise, Chaussons Poème, the Havanaise by Saint-Saëns, and a trio of contemplative miniatures by Massenet, Brahms and John Tavener, the latter written for and first performed by Nicola. The business of recording delivered invaluable, not to mention multiple, lessons, as did the chance to work with the London Symphony Orchestra and its principal guest conductor Daniel Harding. It was an honour for me to work with such experienced musicians. I enjoyed myself and learnt so much, even though the world of recording is a very different one from performing and takes some getting used to, she remembers.
Szymanowskis First Violin Concerto, where the solo violin engages with the orchestra as a partner, at times dominant, at others subordinate, offers a stern test of a young players imagination and ability to react to changing musical moods. Above all, the piece stands or falls on the degree of intimacy the soloist is able to extract from the score. Thats something I seem to connect with now, explains Nicola. But Ive worked very hard to bring out the intimate side of my playing, especially since Ive been studying with Maciej Rakowski. Full-throttle, passionate, quite youthful energy come naturally to me. To create that intimate stillness and feeling of inner strength is a huge challenge. Its an aspect of solo playing I feel can be such a feature, but you do not often hear being explored or prioritised very much.
Nicola speaks of her empathy with past generations of violinists and their widely shared commitment to what she describes as the singing line. To me, a wonderful performance or recording is one where you are brought into the mind and heart of the performer through subtle elements of their personality and are able to appreciate both performer and composition in their most natural and honest state. I think audiences appreciate it so much. Its a very difficult thing as a performer to be able to express yourself and your personality without getting in the way of what the composer intended.
I wanted to play arrangements of Schubert songs on my new disc to really zone in on a certain aspect of violin playing. The link between the violin and the voice is something I have always wanted to explore and what better way to present it than through Schubert songs? The huge array of technical and virtuosic possibilities available to the violin is often highlighted as its most exciting feature. But to me, its just as valid to present the intimate, singing, soulful side of this instrument.
When it came to choosing the concerto focal point for her second album, Nicola was guided by the example of past heroes, Menuhin among them. Mendelssohns Violin Concerto can stand any amount of subtle, poetic and, above all, lyrical playing, as proved by a stack of legendary recordings. Its obviously a very Romantic concerto in its character, she observes. Even the second subject in the first movement, wears its heart on its sleeve. And yet the overall style has the poise of a Classical composition. I had to work hard to find the balance between those two characters, but that mix is there deep inside of me.
Mendelssohns work of expressive lights and shades appealed to Benedettis natural inclinations, its interplay of refined melody and contrasting emotions serving to measure her artistic development as an 18-year-old musician. I thought long and hard about doing it, she says. I would not like to be unhappy listening to myself playing the concertos opening, which is almost ridiculously gorgeous music. The question was, could I play the first theme as I would want it to be heard. Many things I do now are still instinctive, because my knowledge is obviously limited by my experience as an 18-year old. I think that has worked in my favour with the Mendelssohn. This is definitely a piece that I hope to record again in future and then judge how my approach has evolved, although I am truly happy with this recording.
With the Academy of St Martins in the Fields as her accompanists, under the seasoned leadership of Kenneth Sillito and the baton of composer-conductor James MacMillan, Benedetti says she could not have wished for a better musical environment in which to unfold her Mendelssohn interpretation. It was a huge thrill for me to play with them. Im a great admirer of Kens playing and always have been. It was just slightly intimidating to hear such incredible sounds coming from right under my ear! The support from the orchestra was wonderful.
She adds that this experience, coupled with other concert and recording milestones, has delivered immediate and lasting effects on her understanding as a performer. Im constantly thinking about how certain performances and the experience of recording affect me, whether the priority for me is where those experiences lead over the next few years or whether the direct result from a performance in terms of instant audience reaction is the most important thing. The answer generally falls in favour of the long-term effect of what I take from performing and recording. The lasting legacy to me of what Ive done over the past year or so, including this new recording, comes from the musicians Ive worked with and from the experience of performing great music. I come off stage and ask, So, what did I learn from that? And what can I practise as a result? The real challenge is to organise my life, career or whatever you want to call it so that theres a balance of performing and learning.
Nicola observes that defining musical moments are not always associated with the most prestigious or high-profile events. Its hard to explain. Of course, the BBC Young Musician of the Year, playing at the BBC Prom in the Park, and working with new orchestras, such as the Philharmonia and LSO, were all exciting landmarks, and I have very good memories of those. But the things that stand out in my mind, because they have made me the most excited and happy, could just as easily be from a recital playing to two hundred people in a small town. All it takes is playing a couple of phrases to create an atmosphere or sound that Ive never achieved before to make those sort of concerts extra special. Thats what I really strive to do in performance as it inspires me to keep searching for that sound or texture again and then to develop it.
The satisfaction and freedom she draws from playing clearly matter to Nicola Benedetti, who speaks eloquently of her desire to broaden and deepen her repertoire and extend the emotional dimension of making music. She cites the example of César Francks Sonata for violin and piano, which formed the core of her United States debut recital tour last autumn and again this spring for prestigious concerts at the Bennett-Gordon Hall in Ravinia, Chicago and Floridas Kravis Center. Nicola, unsure that she was emotionally ready for the works demands, explains that she got to grips with Francks score by imagining the depth of maturity available to a much older player.
The first few times I performed that piece, she recalls, I was absolutely shattered when I came off stage! Id forced that other character out of myself, trying to understand this unbelievably powerful piece. Works like the Franck Sonata and the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto have pushed me to another level, helping me get more out of my playing than I felt ready to give. Im growing more confident in my instincts and, as I get older, am finding out what I can do and what I want to do as I develop.
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