Hot 100 No.2: Nicola Benedetti

Scottish violin virtuoso Nicola Benedetti is no stranger to success in her music career, but she’s just taken on her biggest challenge yet. She tells Kelly Apter about her mission as the new director of Edinburgh International Festival

Since winning the grand finale of BBC Young Musician in 2004, there’s scarcely been a year when Nicola Benedetti wouldn’t automatically qualify for Hot 100 status. So busy is the violinist, touring the world, recording number-one albums and being a passionate advocate for music education, it seemed impossible we could expect anything more from the Irvine-born virtuoso. Then came the surprise announcement that in October 2022, Benedetti would become the first woman and Scottish-born director of Edinburgh International Festival.

Having been approached unexpectedly by the EIF to gauge her interest in applying, Benedetti was grateful for a long recruitment period to give her time to adjust. ‘It happened very organically,’ she says. ‘The process was very thorough and lengthy, which for me was a gift as it gave me plenty of time to really imagine occupying the role, the kind of work it would be and the kind of offering I felt I could bring to what’s already an incredible organisation.’

A quick glance at Benedetti’s off-stage work tells you all you need to know about her priorities for the Festival. Fuelled by a desire to ensure music (and culture generally) is accessible to all, she currently works closely with children’s charity Sistema Scotland, while her own Foundation has given creative opportunities to thousands of people across the world.

‘My mission is to provide the deepest possible experience for the maximum number of people through great art,’ says Benedetti. ‘I believe that if the environment is welcoming, open-hearted and open-armed, and you’re able to communicate clearly the depths of experience it’s possible for anyone to have with those particular presentations, then that’s a wonderful additive to provide for people in the grand mix of what they experience in life. No, it’s not something you’re going to do every night of the week but as a special occasion it can be life-changing on an emotional level and on a fundamental human level.’

When The List asked outgoing EIF director Fergus Linehan what he would write on a note left on the desk for Benedetti, he said ‘there’s more flexibility than you think’: how does she feel about that?

‘Actually some of the aspects of the role that have been most terrifying have been precisely that: the amount of freedom that is there,’ says Benedetti with a laugh. ‘When we have finite parameters, that’s often quite a calming thing for a human being because we like structures within which we have a number of freedoms. But yes, the risk and flexibility is both a source of trepidation and responsibility but also a source of huge enjoyment and excitement in preparing for next year and following years.’