Nicola Benedetti: we reveal the star violinist’s recordings, family and awards
Talented, intelligent, determined, and beautiful – Nicola Benedetti has it all. From her albums and awards to her parents, find out more about the chart-topping violinist below.
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1. When is Nicola Benedetti’s birthday?
The 33-year-old violinist was born on 20 July 1987 in West Kilbride, Scotland. Despite travelling all over the world, Nicola says she hasn't found any country that's more beautiful than Scotland.
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2. Who are Nicola Benedetti's parents?
Nicola was born to an Italian father, Giovanni Benedetti, and a Scottish mother, Francesca Benedetti. Giovanni Benedetti is a retired businessman and one of Scotland's best-known entrepreneurs.
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3. Child prodigy
By the age of nine, Nicola had already passed the eight grades of musical examinations. At the age of 10, she started attending the Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey.
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4. Practice makes perfect
Nicola practises between three and seven and a half hours a day.
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5. Nicola Benedetti's chart-topping albums
Nicola's 2012 album The Silver Violin was the first solo instrumental album in decades not only to top the classical charts but also enter the top 30 pop album charts.
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6. Nicola Benedetti CBE
Nicola was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours list, for her services to music.
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7. Nicola Benedetti's violin
The violin Nicola plays is called the Gariel, made in 1717 by Stradivarius. It's worth an estimated £2m and previously belonged to an ancestor of Princess Diana.
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8. Nicola Benedetti and Wynton Marsalis
Nicola Benedetti has just released the first recording of an extraordinary new violin concerto by jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. The pair have long enjoyed a close friendship and musical relationship, and they both believe in fighting, above all, for one thing: music education.
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9. Nicola Benedetti wins a Grammy
Nicola took home her first Grammy Award in January 2020, winning the Best Classical Instrumental Solo for her recording of Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto and Fiddle Dance Suite.
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10. Nicola Benedetti on music education
Nicola Benedetti says her first love is music and her second love is educating people through the art of music. She is not afraid to express her anger about the provision of music in UK schools: "Decisions have been made, especially in the light of funding cuts, that are, I think, catastrophic to our future as a nation."
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11. Saving the £2million violin
Nicola has said if a fire broke out in her home, she would grab her violin before her cat. "In an ideal world, all three of us would escape unscathed," she says. "But if I had to choose between the cat and the violin the £2million Stradivarius would have to come first."
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12. Nicola Benedetti and Szymanowski
Nicola Benedetti championed the violin concerto from Polish composer Karol Szymanowski, bringing it firmly into public consciousness. She also performed the Korngold violin concerto on her Silver Violin album, creating an almost viral effect among violinists!
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13. Nicola's motto
Nicola's motto is "Enhance your own ability, be the best you can be – but don’t keep that for yourself. Share it, expose it, give it and try to enrich other people with what you have managed to achieve."
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14. Nicola’s sister, Stephanie Benedetti
During school holidays, Nicola and her sister had to work for three hours every morning before they could go out to play. “Think how much more fun that made the afternoons,” says Nicola.
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15. Baroque not rock
Nicola has only been to one rock concert in her life, and said she “couldn't handle it”. Luckily, she feels at home on the classical stage.
