ABOUT

Nicola Benedetti is one of the most sought-after violinists of her generation. Her ability to captivate audiences with her innate musicianship and spirited presence, coupled with her wide appeal as a high-profile advocate for classical music, has made her one of the greatest influential classical artists of today.

Born in the Scottish town of Irvine, of Italian heritage, Nicola began violin lessons at the age of four with Brenda Smith.  In 1997, she entered the Yehudi Menuhin School where she studied with Natasha Boyarskaya.  Upon leaving, she continued her studies with Maciej Rakowski and then Pavel Vernikov.  In 2004, she won “BBC Young Musician,” launching her career as an international concert violinist.

With concerto performances at the heart of her career, Nicola is in much demand with major orchestras across the globe.  Conductors with whom Nicola has worked include Marin Alsop, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jiří Bělohlávek, Karina Canellakis, Iván Fischer, James Gaffigan, Jakub Hrůša, Kirill Karabits, Paavo Järvi, Vladimir Jurowski, Cristian Măcelaru, Zubin Mehta, Andrea Marcon, Gianandrea Noseda, Michael Tilson Thomas, Robin Ticciati, Vasily Petrenko, Donald Runnicles, Thomas Søndergård, Pinchas Zukerman and Jaap van Zweden.

Nicola enjoys working with the highest level of orchestras including collaborations with the London Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, WDR Köln, Orchestre de Paris, Czech Philharmonic, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony and Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

In December 2020, Nicola formed the “Benedetti Baroque Orchestra” which gathers freelance period-instrument players who collectively join together to create the highest level of collaborative and energised musicmaking.  The ensemble has subsequently performed at the Edinburgh International Festival, Aldeburgh Festival and tours are planned to Asia in February and Europe in Summer 2024.

Nicola champions the commissioning of new works which has recently included Mark Simpson’s critically acclaimed Violin Concerto, written for her with the London Symphony Orchestra, and Wynton Marsalis’s Violin Concerto which won a GRAMMY Award for “Best Classical Instrumental Solo” in 2020.  In October 2022, she premiered James MacMillan’s Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

A devoted chamber musician, Nicola collaborates regularly with cellist Leonard Elschenbroich and pianist Alexei Grynyuk, who have been performing as a trio since 2008.  Past performances include Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw, Edinburgh International Festival, Alte Oper, Frankfurt, Ravinia Festival and City Hall, Hong Kong.  The trio has recently toured throughout the UK (June 2021), Europe (March 2022) and North America (March 2023).

Nicola begins her 2023-2024 season with performances of the Marsalis Violin Concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and conductor Karen Kamesek. She will take up a residency with the Philharmonia with performances across the season including Brahms’ Violin Concerto with Cristian Măcelaru, Marsalis’ Violin Concerto with Santtu-Matias Rouvali, and Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy with Pablo Heras Casado. Further engagements include playing/directing the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy with the Orchestre National de France and Cristian Măcelaru, and Simpson’s Violin Concerto with David Afkham and the RSNO, amongst many others.