{"id":43317,"date":"2017-03-01T14:33:39","date_gmt":"2017-03-01T19:33:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=43317"},"modified":"2019-01-10T08:31:21","modified_gmt":"2019-01-10T13:31:21","slug":"qa-47-questions-for-nicola-benedetti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2017\/03\/01\/qa-47-questions-for-nicola-benedetti\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A | 47 Questions For Nicola Benedetti"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Nicola
Nicola Benedetti (Photo: Rhys Frampton)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Every so often we pose 60 questions to a local or visiting artist in Toronto who has made our classical music community that much more interesting. They pick and choose. The minimum response is 20 answers. A kind of personality test, if you will.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Born in Scotland, Nicola began violin lessons at the age of five. In 1997, she entered the Yehudi Menuhin School, where she studied with Natasha Boyarskaya.<\/p>\n

Nicola has received eight honorary degrees to date and records exclusively for Decca (Universal Music). The enormous success of Nicola\u2019s most recent recording, Homecoming; A Scottish Fantasy, made Nicola the first solo British violinist since the 1990s to enter the Top 20 of the Official UK Albums Chart.<\/p>\n

She plays the 1717 Gariel Stradivarius.<\/p>\n

Name the musical equivalent to junk food<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

As with junk food, there\u2019s too much of it around to narrow it down. It\u2019s ubiquitous, sadly. And I don\u2019t much care to know the names or details of any of it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Default drink\/cocktail of choice?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Beer post-concert, red wine with food, hot sake in\u00a0Japanese\u00a0restaurants, any cocktail with chili in it<\/span><\/p>\n

Name your favourite concert hall\/venue in Toronto<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve only played in the Roy Thomson Hall \u2014 a beautiful venue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your role models?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Anyone with absolute integrity. They are hard to find, especially\u00a0combined with energy and leadership.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your favourite sound?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

I hear so much music, I look for silence<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your favourite smells?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

The smell that comes with a lot of sun and warmth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your least favourite smells?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Smoke<\/span><\/p>\n

The historical personalities, both good and bad, that fascinate you the most?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Martin Luther King, Einstein, Beethoven<\/span><\/p>\n

The dumbest thing that you\u2019ve ever done to your hair?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

A perm. Terrible idea<\/span><\/p>\n

Your first three record store purchases<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Maxin Vengerov,\u00a0<\/span>the Corrs<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>Jacqueline Du Pre<\/span>\u2019s Dvorak cello concerto<\/span><\/p>\n

If you could board a plane this afternoon, where would it be taking you?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

New York<\/span><\/p>\n

The strangest place you\u2019ve ever been to?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Oh, I wouldn\u2019t like to offend any place. If I found it\u00a0strange it\u2019s\u00a0probably just because I didn\u2019t\u00a0\u2018get\u2019\u00a0it. All a matter of\u00a0perspective\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The three books that you read that made an impact on you in your formative years?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Mandela\u00a0\u2018Walk to Freedom\u2019,\u00a0\u2018Mao\u2019s Last Dancer\u2019, \u00a0\u2018Great Expectations’<\/span><\/p>\n

Whose musical style do you covet?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Covet? I love and wish I could play jazz, but can\u2019t and will never be able to.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where was the last place you traveled to for work or pleasure?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

I\u2019m on a tour of 14 American cities \u2014 I\u2019m currently going from LA to Utah<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is your biggest phobia?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Losing those I love\u00a0the most, and my playing no longer improving.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where did you go to school?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Scotland, then Yehudi Menuhin School \u2014 a music school south of London.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What did you major in as an undergraduate?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

I left school at 15<\/span><\/p>\n

The clich\u00e9 that you overuse?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

I\u2019d have to check with a friend.<\/span><\/p>\n

The strangest talent that you possess?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

No strange talents at all. I\u2019m really regular<\/span><\/p>\n

Shoe of choice?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Chunky boots. I\u2019m currently wearing Timberlands.<\/span><\/p>\n

The different career path that you could have gone on?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Politics, activism, hopefully still something creative but certainly trying to make a difference to people\u2019s lives.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your ancestry?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Scottish Italian, as far as I know<\/span><\/p>\n

Your three favourite films?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

To Kill a Mocking Bird,\u00a0<\/span>Breaking\u00a0the Waves<\/span>, and more because I saw it many times as a teenager than because I think it\u2019s great \u2018Carlito\u2019s Way’.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Television show that you could tolerate re-runs of?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Seinfeld. Love it!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Under what circumstances would you join the army?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

I <\/b>don\u2019t see that\u00a0ever\u00a0happening but anything is possible\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your most regrettable purchase ever?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Most item\u2019s of clothing I\u2019ve bought without my mother or sister present. I\u2019m not really a good shopper.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your major character flaw?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Maybe oversensitivity, and I take things too seriously. I\u2019m working on it though.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The character flaw in others that you can\u2019t abide?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

General meanness, lack of\u00a0generosity\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How do you know when you can trust someone?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

You never know for\u00a0sure. Trust doesn\u2019t work that way – it\u2019s an internal resolution. But people can make it easier or harder for you to trust them by being true to their word.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What was the luckiest moment in your life?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Picking up the violin, being born into a\u00a0loving family. I\u2019ve been\u00a0blessed with a lot of luck and many lucky moments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are you the most proud of?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

I\u2019m most proud of developing as a\u00a0musician, and maintaining kindness and developing an understanding of people.<\/span><\/p>\n

What are you the least proud of?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

If I ever show signs of jealousy or lack of generosity, I\u2019m really disappointed in myself. I get\u00a0disappointed not\u00a0playing well, too. But I am human.<\/span><\/p>\n

The biggest mistake you\u2019ve ever made?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve no\u00a0idea. I\u2019m not that impulsive<\/span><\/p>\n

What is the best thing about your work?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Interfacing with great minds and souls (the composers) on a daily basis.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is the worst thing about your work?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

The irrational feeling of pressure that sometimes surfaces.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The talent that you wish you possessed?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Sing? Maybe?<\/span><\/p>\n

What are you listening to as you answer these questions?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Nothing<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What musical instrument do you secretly long to play?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Cello and trumpet<\/span><\/p>\n

If you had a motto, what would it be?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Be kind, look outside your own perspective with care, and work hard at whatever it is you like doing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Have you ever fired a gun? If so, what were the circumstances?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

No<\/span><\/p>\n

Scariest situation you\u2019ve ever been in?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Being followed. It was nothing though<\/span><\/p>\n

The thing that makes you the happiest?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

A great concert and being in love.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The thing that makes you the angriest?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Watching people choose the path to destruction instead of\u00a0cooperation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Three things of no monetary value that you own and will keep dearly until you die?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

I can\u2019t\u00a0think of one thing\u00a0actually.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your first memory?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

A birthday\u00a0party, waking up in the\u00a0garden with the sun in my eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first three things that you do every morning?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Coffee, another coffee, and another coffee<\/span><\/p>\n

To read more from our Q&A Series, click\u00a0<\/span>HERE<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span>.<\/h3>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Renowned violin virtuoso Nicola Benedetti stops by for a rapid-fire Q&A revealing her favourite TV shows, books, phobias, motto, and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":43321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6439,5009,63,68],"tags":[2400],"yst_prominent_words":[7494,6767,6715,7495,7520,18387,7568,9946,17469,10359,17470,6616,6735,17472,17471,9949,10073,9960,10637,17468],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/03\/Benedetti.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-bgF","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43317"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43317"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57934,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43317\/revisions\/57934"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43317"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=43317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}