The great director

As a film enthusiast with a deep appreciation for both music and resilience, I can’t help but be captivated by the story of Nicola Benedetti. Her life journey is nothing short of inspiring, marked by an unwavering dedication to her craft, a tenacity that belies her youthful appearance, and an unyielding spirit that has overcome numerous obstacles.

Music Matters starts on Saturday at 1pm on Radio 3. Add it to your collection.

Nicola Benedetti has a busy schedule. She recently welcomed a newborn, maintains an intense practice routine, manages tours and recording projects, runs the Benedetti Foundation – a classical music education charity, and now she’s taking on directing the Edinburgh International Festival in August. “I sometimes feel overloaded,” admits the Grammy and Brit Award-winning violinist before the festival commences. “When I first started organizing this month’s events, it seemed like an insurmountable task. As someone who is emotionally invested, this can be advantageous for an artist expressing deep emotions, but avoiding unnecessary anxiety is crucial.”

Founded post-World War II by Rudolf Bing, a renowned Austrian-Jewish refugee and future leader of New York’s Metropolitan Opera, the Edinburgh International Festival showcases music, theater, and dance, bringing together top-tier artists such as Seong-Jin Cho, a talented South Korean pianist, and acclaimed English tenor Ian Bostridge. This year is no exception.

2022 marks Benedetti’s tenure as director, making her both the first woman and the first Scot to hold this position. This year’s festival, according to her, will exude a sense of joy and exploration. While maintaining its adherence to Bing’s original vision of culture arising from the embers of war, she acknowledges that the idea of culture triumphing over conflict may seem implausible in our contemporary era of renewed conflicts. As she eloquently puts it, “Even a Beethoven symphony won’t have an impact when someone is determinedly destructive.”

The great director

The festival has been the platform for young Scots to be introduced to exceptional works and artists since 1947, with the exception of the 37-year-old Benedetti. Born in West Kilbride, Ayrshire to an Italian businessman, Giovanni Benedetti, and his Scottish-Italian wife Francesca, she relocated to England for her studies under the renowned Yehudi Menuhin at the age of ten. Her youth was marked by an impressive series of accomplishments; even by the age of eight, she was already leading the National Youth Orchestra, though not everyone appreciated this prodigious talent.

“People, including my teachers, often suggested I should pursue a career in law or medicine instead of playing the violin,” she recounts. “My mom was frequently discouraged from supporting my musical endeavors because it wasn’t considered important. However, at the age of nine, I felt that nothing in school compared to the complexity of learning the violin. To me, music was far more intricate than all those subjects.”

Teachers would tell me I was wasting my time playing the violin

2004 marked a significant turning point in Benedetti’s life when she won BBC Young Musician at the age of 16. “After that,” she recalls, “I performed more than 100 concerts.” This triumphant period was not without its difficulties, as she admits, “It wasn’t always easy sailing.”

Benedetti, who was honored with the Queen’s Award for Music in 2017, has consistently combined her exceptional talents with tireless advocacy to ensure that young people can partake in the culturally enriching experiences she herself experienced. Battling against the limitations imposed by poverty on many children’s cultural exposure is a challenge. However, she prefers terms like ‘tenacity’ and ‘sensitivity’ to describe her approach. When asked about her plans for this year’s festival, she emphasizes her focus on accessibility, audience development, fostering a culture that values nuance, listening, and open debate.

Essentially, Benedetti emphasizes the profound impact music has on us. He once remarked, “I’ve been in situations where there’s a lot of chatter, but then someone plays a single note, and it’s as if we didn’t need all that conversation. The note carries such force and resonates so deeply. It reaches everyone.”

Few among us have the chance to appreciate that tranquil melody today; life often seems like a cacophony of other people’s chatter, buzzing electronics, and booming music. As she puts it, “We are inundated with an escalating amount and intricacy of stimuli nowadays.” Add to this the fact that fewer individuals receive a rich cultural education, and it becomes quite a challenge to ask someone to pay attention to something for a prolonged period.

As a movie lover, I often ponder over the question – should we safeguard our children from the symphony of sounds that surround us? Will my newborn be raised amidst the clamor of today’s world? These are profound questions that resonate deeply, especially when it comes to parenting. After all, the choices made now will shape the future for our little ones. It’s a matter of making one decision at a time, thoughtfully and responsibly.

Excitedly, I share that at the upcoming festival, I’ll be fortunate enough to witness Benedetti playing Vaughan Williams’s moving “Lark Ascending” on a Stradivarius, the 207-year-old Gariel, valued at over £2 million. Curiously, I inquire if she’s ever accidentally dropped a violin during our chat, and for the first time, her expression changes subtly. “Ever since I was four,” she replies casually, “I’ve been carrying one around. Needless to say, navigating my way with a violin in hand is something I have down pat.”

In a fresh six-part installment of Music Matters airing on Radio 3 from this coming Saturday, Nicola Benedetti delves into the past of the Edinburgh International Festival. This annual event takes place from the 2nd to the 24th of August. For further information, check out eif.co.uk.

2024-08-01 16:34

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