| Nicola Benedetti | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Nicola Benedetti |
| Born | 1 July 1987 West Kilbride, North Ayrshire, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Classical |
| Occupations | Violinist |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Deutsche Grammophon Universal Classics and Jazz Decca Records |
| Website | NicolaBenedetti.co.uk |
Nicola Benedetti (born 1 July 1987) is a Scottish violinist.
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Benedetti was born in West Kilbride, North Ayrshire to an Italian father and a Scottish mother.[1] She started to learn the violin at the age of four. By the age of nine, she had already passed the eight grades of musical examinations, 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. [2]
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 (together with Alina Ibragimova). She played in a memorial concert at Westminster Abbey celebrating the life and work of Yehudi Menuhin.
In 1999, Benedetti performed for the anniversary celebrations at Holyrood Palace with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland in the presence of HRH The Prince Edward.
In 2000, Benedetti performed with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Scottish Opera.
She played to the Prince again in 2001 when she performed a concerto with the London Mozart Players at St. James's Palace. Subsequent performances followed with the City of London Sinfonia, as well as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Opera, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, etc.[3]
In August 2002, she won the United Kingdom'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, former leader of the English Chamber Orchestra.[4]
In spring 2003, Benedetti, invited as a soloist by London Symphony Orchestra and produced by Mattel Inc., 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 national television in the U.K. in March 2004.
On 14 December 2009 she paid a visit to St Mary's Music School and gave a mini violin masterclass.
At the age of 16, she won the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition in May 2004, performing Karol Szymanowski's First Violin Concerto, which was not an obvious choice, in the final at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.[5] Because of this brilliant victory, she won the music section of the Top Scot award in December 2005.[6]
At the end of 2004, she agreed to a £1m six-album recordings contract with Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Music Group Classics and Jazz.[7]
Throughout the 2004-2005 season, Benedetti took part in many prestigious engagements, including her solo recital debut at Wigmore Hall, royal events in Holyrood Palace and Windsor Castle for Her Majesty the Queen, and the Opening Ceremony of the new Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh.[8] Further performances included various joint ones with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, London Mozart Players, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, and so on.[9]
In 2005 Benedetti undertook a tour of UK schools in conjunction with the CLIC Sargent Cancer Care for Children Practice-a-thon, which aimed to encourage people of all ages to find pleasure in music and pick up their instruments.[10]
In September 2011, she performed with Andrea Bocelli in the Great Lawn of Central Park, for an audience of 70,000.
| Album | Chart Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Szymanowski/Chausson/Saint-Saens | 1 (2005)[11] |
| Mendelssohn/Mozart/Macmillan | 2 (2006)[12] |
| Fantasie | 1 (2009)[13] |
On 2 June 2005 Benedetti started her debut US tour with a performance for the exclusive Academy of Achievement Summit at New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center, where she played the "Meditation" from Thaïs. She resumed her debut US tour on 1 October 2005, opening the 70th anniversary season of the Midland (Michigan) Symphony Orchestra playing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor, op. 64,[14] followed by recitals at La Jolla's Neurosciences Institute, San Diego, California with the La Jolla Music Society on 5 October 2005, at New York's Merkin Concert Hall of Kaufman Center on 1 November 2005, at the Peace Center Concert Hall, Greenville, South Carolina, with the Greenville Symphony Orchestra on 5 November 2005, and others.
On Saturday, 10 September 2005, Benedetti made her "BBC Prom in the Park" debut with the BBC Concert Orchestra in Hyde Park, London.
Benedetti has played in concerts and recitals at major venues all over the world since her debut. Performances include:
On 27 November 2007, Benedetti was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters by Glasgow Caledonian University. She is one of the youngest recipients of such an award. On 23 November 2011, Benedetti received an honorary by University of Edinburgh.
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