6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Nicola Benedetti brings first solo tour for a decade to Ayrshire
Grammy Award winning violinist Nicola Benedetti will embark on a 14-date tour of the UK and Ireland in October.
Ayrshire musician Nicola Benedetti will bring her first solo tour in over a decade to Ayr.
The Grammy Award winning violinist is set to embark on a 14-date tour of the UK and Ireland in October.
An Evening with Nicola Benedetti and Friends will debut in Basingstoke on October 12 before taking to the stage at Ayr Town Hall on October 31.
Combining solo performances with storytelling, Nicola will share a selection of shorter works - romantic, virtuosic and some Celtic and folk-inspired.
The approach to these concerts will be intimate and personal, with Nicola joined onstage by close colleagues including Brazilian guitarist Plínio Fernandes and accordionist Samuele Telari.
Speaking ahead of the tour, Benedetti said: "It has been over ten years since my last full tour of the UK and having recently come off maternity leave, I am particularly excited to perform in so many beautiful venues, reconnect with audiences I haven't seen in some time and play for and chat to people in a fun and personal setting.
"I will be joined by fantastic musicians including guitarist Plinio Fernandes and accordionist Samuele Telari."
Throughout the two-month tour, Benedetti will visit Basingstoke, Dundee, Dumfries, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Inverness, Glasgow, Ayr, Manchester, Dublin, London, Poole, Belfast and Harrogate.
Repertoire will include Paganini's Caprice Nos 1 and 24; Sarasate's Carmen Fantasie and Navarra, and Wieniawki's Polonaise arranged by Steve Goss; Ponce's Estrellita and Maxwell-Davis' Farewell to Stromness arranged by Paul Campbell; Bloch's Prayer and Debussy's Beau Soir arranged by Simon Parkin, Maria Teresa von Paradis' Sicilienne arranged by Juliette Pochin and Jay Unger's Ashokan Farewell.
This full programme will be released on Nicola Benedetti's next album on Decca Classics to coincide with the tour and will also include new commissions and arrangements of traditional Scottish music by piper Brìghde Chaimbeul.
Born and raised in Ayrshire, Benedetti is Grammy award winning violinist and two-time winner of Best Female Artist at the Classical BRIT Awards.
