Sunday, June 24, 2018 Barbican Hall, London Reviewed by Guy Holloway @ Classical Sourc There is nothing like a sold-out Shostakovich concert, and a queue for returns comprising both the young and the old, to restore one’s faith that we are au fond a healthy society. First up was the First Violin Concerto which, following […]

The Herald Scotland, Academy of Ancient Music, Queens Hall Edinburgh  Keith Bruce Queen’s Hall ★★★★★ ‘the most exquisite playing I have heard from her.’ WHEN violinist Nicola Benedetti joined the RSNO for its dates in Florida last year, it was straight from a US tour with the Venice Baroque Orchestra, and a transition for the […]

The Times, Academy of Ancient Music, Queens Hall Edinburgh  Queen’s Hall ★★★★★ ‘Nicola Benedetti is on such sensational form at present that she could play the Midlothian Yellow Pages and still mesmerise a crowd.’ With due respect to Simon Rattle et al, I will be amazed if the music programme at this year’s Edinburgh International […]

★★★★★ BENEDETTI ELSCHENBROICH GRYNYUK TRIO (MUSICA VIVA) Acclaimed soloists join forces for a program of musical brilliance and passion. by Ben Wilkie on November 6, 2018 FacebookTwitterEmail|55 Melbourne Recital Centre November 3, 2018 To open Musica Viva’s final concert series for 2018, the Benedetti Elschenbroich Grynyuk Trio explored Richard Strauss’ bellowing, brooding Cello Sonata in F Major, […]

by Janet Thomson A substantial Suite from Tchaikovsky’s Ballet Sleeping Beauty followed: from the urgent Introduction, through the characterful woodwind of the Lilac Fairy, the grand Adagio, the colourfully descriptive Puss-in-Boots, to the famous Panorama, done full justice, and  finally the well-known, vertiginous Waltz. Described as a big sister to all in Sistema Scotland, the […]

Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti has been awarded a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for services to music in the 2019 New Year Honours list. The honour is one class below a damehood/knighthood. Benedetti has worked with organisations such as Sistema Scotland and the Nordoff Robbins music therapy charity, and has […]

By Terry Blain   Is there a more daunting challenge for concert violinists than the Chaconne from Bach’s Partita in D minor? Probably not. Its 12-plus minutes of unaccompanied playing leave the soloist with nowhere to hide, and there are slippery slopes to fall off at practically every corner. The Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti made […]

Usher Hall, Edinburgh Keith Bruce ***** THESE may have been the premiere Scottish performances of the concerto that Wynton Marsalis has written for violinist Nicola Benedetti, but she had already given the home audience a taste of it by way of a little blues encore, and the piece has undergone substantial revision since she played […]

THERE’S a growing trend for soloists to also direct when playing with smaller scale chamber ensembles, and why not? After all, Mozart did. Leading this performance of two of his violin concertos, Nicola Benedetti was able to enjoy a closer and more intimate rapport with the orchestra. In the Violin Concerto No.3 in G there […]

Playing with such energy, such synergy and such general camaraderie at the start of a tour must surely pave the way for even greater things to come. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra with Nicola Benedetti kicked off their European tour at Birmingham Town Hall, ahead of performances in Denmark, Switzerland and Germany. Opening with Mozart’s Third […]