‘The intensity of the solo repertoire is quite phenomenal’ – Nicola Benedetti discusses life as a solo violinist
Nicola Benedetti is one of the world's most recognisable musicians, having made history aged eight when she became the youngest ever leader of the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain.
The violinist performed a stunning preview of Dmitri Shostakovich's monumental Violin Concerto No. 1 on Woman’s Hour to mark the first day of the BBC Proms 2017. Here’s what we learnt about Nicky during her chat with Jenni Murray.
She didn’t immediately fall in love with the violin
“I am left-handed so I desperately wanted to hold the instrument instinctually the other way around. That was a little traumatic – it resulted in crying through my first few lessons!
“I had a wonderful Suzuki [method] violin teacher who got us playing tunes very quickly. That may sound obvious but for the violin there are so many technical things to grasp, [for instance] just how to hold an instrument that’s very unnatural and very uncomfortable.
“I see hundreds of four, five, six-year-olds trying to pick up instruments and it’s a minefield. To have a teacher that so effortlessly guided her students through that very difficult beginning period was a blessing.”
Her sister Stephanie inspired her to start playing...
“I wanted to do everything my sister did. We actually began playing at the same time. I didn’t have any feeling about the violin - I was four or five and I just thought, 'If Steph’s doing it, I’ll do it and that’s fine with me.'”
…and her sister plays the violin for chart-topping band Clean Bandit
“She loves all types of music. She has always had more eclectic exposure through the different types of opportunities she’s had playing the violin. From playing in an orchestra to chamber groups to playing with pop bands – she loves that variety.”
Nicola was catapulted into the spotlight when she won BBC Young Musician of the Year at 16
“The whole music industry in the UK knows of the person that wins the Young Musician of the Year. It’s the same for every winner so the immediate opportunity and exposure is huge. I could suddenly fill two years’ worth with concert engagements.
“I did, maybe, 100 concerts that following year, which looking back now was far too ambitious and too many.
“I sort of muddled my way through the years following that. I started recording with Universal and had an enormous amount of exposure and opportunity.”
…and encourages youngsters to get as much performance experience as possible
“I’m very grateful that I took it on so wholeheartedly and just held on to all of those opportunities because there’s a lot of people in the world that can play phenomenally well; they have incredible expression and technique and strength as a musician, they just don’t get granted those opportunities.
“I say to a lot of young people, if you have the chance to play in front of people, if you have the chance to be out in public and be exposed, do it so that you can manage it; don’t go over the top but take that opportunity because you never know when it might be taken away from you.”
She’s comfortable as a soloist – but can understand why other musicians aren’t
“Different people have different types of interests and different types of personalities. My sister for example, she looks at what I do and she’ll quite happily tell me she’d hate nothing more than to be on her own on stage in the soloist’s spot, and I think many people feel that way.
“They just wouldn’t like to be in that position and they’re happier playing in groups and making music as an ensemble. The intensity of the solo repertoire is quite phenomenal and the pressure of that position also… it’s not for everyone.”
She hates shopping for concert dresses
“It’s horrible! I hate every minute of shopping for concert dresses because the ones that I love the most are the ones that I can’t wear. It takes an enormous amount of effort for me to go out and find a new concert dress that doesn’t get in the way.
“It’s something I do seldom and I wear these dresses to death. They get worn hundreds of times.
“It needs to be so that you’re not aware of anything on your body but the violin and you’re connecting to the music. That has to be the only thing you’re focused on when you’re on stage. You don’t want to be distracted by anything.”
Her father’s not naturally a classical music fan - but has been moved to tears by her performances
“He came to a bout of performances I did of Shostakovich in Scotland.
“It’s always this tension in our family over my dad coming to watch a new piece of music that he hasn’t heard before. He likes Mendelssohn Concerto and maybe Tchaikovsky, but there’s a limit.
“We were convinced because of the more angular, dark nature of Shostakovich that this was not going to be a hit with him, but I’ve never seen a response from him like that.
"He was so moved I think by the sheer intensity and the stamina required by everybody on stage, and by all the listeners, to maintain concentration through such a long, intense piece. He loved it."
