Nicola Benedetti, Elgar Review

Nicola Benedetti was born in Scotland of Italian heritage; Benedetti began violin lessons at the age of five. She attended the Yehudi Menuhin School, where she studied with Natasha Boyarskaya. After leaving the Yehudi Menuhin School, she studied with Maciej Rakowski and then Pavel Vernikov. Benedetti made her debut at the Proms in 2010, and has performed at the Tivoli Festival in Copenhagen and the Echternach Festival in Luxembourg and was a featured artist at the Istanbul Festival in 2011. Benedetti has performed with a long list of orchestras, at festivals and regularly performs in chamber music concerts with her regular trio, both in the UK and further afield. Along with cellist Leonard Elschenbroich and pianist Alexei Grynyuk, she has performed at the Ravinia Festival, LSO St Luke’s, Istanbul Festival, Schloss Elmau, and West Cork Chamber Music Festival. Nicola has also played chamber music at the Verbier Festival, the Moritzburg Festival, the Tuscan Sun Festival in Cortona with Jean Yves Thibaudet, at Lockenhaus and at Prussia Cove. She is known for her variety of repertoire and reaches a broad audience as she has become one of Britain’s most innovative and creative young violinists. Benedetti’s new album fittingly explores the music by Britain’s best-loved composer, Edward Elgar, and is titled, Elgar.

 Positives: Benedetti’s tone, projection, and technical facility are all channeled through her charismatic personality on the violin.

 Bottom Line: Elgar finds the Grammy-award-winning violinist performing the Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61 – considered one of the most technically demanding violin concertos, coupled with three short works for violin and piano: “Salut d’Amour,” “Sospiri,” and “Chanson de Nuit.” Pianist Petr Limonov joins Benedetti for three short works for violin and piano. The London Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Vladimir Jurowski supports the violinist for the Concerto in B minor. Benedetti controls the monstrous passages written by Elgar with muscularity while still maintaining a lyrical quality and fluidity. That makes Benedetti’s playing magical, especially when her personality is just as prevalent in the technical melodies as the flowing lyrical ones. The balanced and interaction between Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Benedetti is sublime. Tackling Elgar’s Violin Concerto takes courage, and it is with much success that Benedetti triumphs through the almost sixty minutes of the composition. The three duet pieces are beautifully played, with “Chanson de Nuit” being the highlight. Limonov and Benedetti have chemistry and breathe life into the music. Benedetti expands, “During these unprecedented times, the re-creation of community and collectivity is urgently needed, and there is no better way than through the arts and music. As part of our’ With Nicky’ series, I am so excited to teach this beautiful piece via social media channels and hope that many, many young violinists will join me to explore it further together and then give a mass virtual performance. I can’t wait!” An outstanding recording of three of Britain’s beloved artists, Edward Elgar, Nicola Benedetti, and of course, the London Philharmonic Orchestra. That’s the short of it!

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