Nicola Benedetti, Edinburgh review: 'gloriously sensitive'
Backed by an intimate ensemble of accordion, cello and guitar, Nicola Benedetti tackled a wide range of music at this impressive Usher Hall concert, writes David Kettle
An Evening with Nicola Benedetti, Usher Hall, Edinburgh ★★★★
It’s hard to know how to describe the music in Nicola Benedetti’s promotional tour for her new CD, Violin Café, which kicked off at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall. Salon music? Virtuoso fiddle fireworks? Even the odd bit of jazzy exotica, and a hefty dose of Scottish trad? Putting a name to the eclectic mixture hardly mattered, however, when performances were as gloriously sensitive, rich and heartfelt as this. Benedetti hoped the audience would feel closer to the music and to the performers after the concert, she explained in her own lengthy programme note. With her intimate ensemble of accordion, cello and guitar, plus herself (mostly) centre-stage – as well as such deeply sincere playing from all four musicians – that was virtually assured.
Yes, there was fire and vigour – in a bracing, rip-roaring Wieniawski Polonaise, and an incandescent Sarasate Navarra, delivered with striking similarity jointly by Benedetti and young Japanese violinist Yume Fujise, another serious talent. Benedetti’s hair-raising closer – Sarasate’s formidable Carmen Fantasy – was every bit as overwhelming as the composer no doubt intended, but it was considered and immaculately articulated, too, in Benedetti’s eloquent reading.
READ MORE: Harben Kay, Edinburgh review: 'full on'
Even more impressive, though, were the concert’s quieter, more reflective moments – an exquisite Ponce Estrellita, for example, with guitarist Plínio Fernandes and accordionist Samuele Telari dovetailing deliciously in its aching harmonies, or the sumptuous early Beau soir by Debussy, pensive and deeply felt.
A trio of trad arrangements by Brìghde Chaimbeul moved from the solemn intensity of A’Choille Ghruamach to the sprightly rhythms of the Hacky Honey Reel, and the quartet was enlarged with the fearsome focus and intensity of smallpiper Fin Moore.
It might have been hard to pin down what brought all this diverse repertoire together, save Benedetti’s own creative personality and winning conviction, which shone through everything she played with an almost naive authenticity – whether sentimental or sophisticated, schmaltzy or sober.
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