Decca announces new Elgar album release by Nicola Benedetti

N Benedetti Elgar single cover 3000dpi.jpg

DECCA ANNOUNCES NEW ELGAR ALBUM FROM NICOLA BENEDETTI

Worldwide Digital Release on Decca Classics: May 15, 2020

Learn Salut d’Amour with Nicky from April 10 to 19, 2020

LONDON, UK (April 9, 2020) — GRAMMY® Award-winning Nicola Benedetti’s new album on Decca Classics explores music by Britain’s best-loved composer, Edward Elgar. The centerpiece is his vast Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61 coupled with three short works for violin and piano: Salut d’Amour, Sospiri and Chanson de Nuit. The album will be released digitally worldwide on May 15, 2020.

Elgar’s Violin Concerto is considered to be one of the most technically demanding violin concertos and is a marathon for the soloist at just under an hour in length. Premiered in 1910 by Fritz Kreizler, this concerto has a profound effect on those that give it the time it deserves. Benedetti performs the Violin Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.

Pianist Petr Limonov joins Benedetti for three short works for violin and piano. The heartfelt adagio Sospiri was written in the lead up to WWI and was originally intended as a companion piece to Salut d’Amour (Elgar’s first published work in 1888) but what emerged was a more intense piece. Both works were originally written for string orchestra but are performed here in the composer’s own arrangements for violin and piano alongside the charming Chanson de Nuit.

Commenting on the new Elgar album Nicola Benedetti says, ‘The depth of love and fascination I have for this man and his music has made this entire process a dream. He was so out of the ordinary, from his nontraditional training to his understanding of people to his style of expression in music - there is only one Edward Elgar, and I am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to record so much of his music.’

Learn Salut d’Amour with Nicky: April 10-19, 2020

Salut d’Amour is one of Nicola’s earliest musical memories aged six and she was so intensely moved by the piece on first hearing it that she burst into tears. Today Benedetti launches ‘Learn Salut d’Amour with Nicky’ as part of the Foundation’s online series and invites young musicians to learn and perform one of the violin’s most popular pieces. Benedetti will teach Salut d’Amour via YouTube with daily tutorials at 10am UK Time / 5am NY Time for a week from April 10 to 16, 2020. Participants are invited to email their performances of Salut d’Amour to info@benedettifoundation.org or upload on social media using #salutnicky by Thursday April 16, 2020 at 5pm UK Time / 12pm NY Time. A winner will be selected from the entries and their performance will be premiered online on April 19, 2020 at 5pm UK Time / 12pm NY Time, followed by a live Q&A ‘Ask Nicky’.

Nicola Benedetti commented, “During these unprecedented times, the re-creation of community and collectivity is urgently needed and there is no better way than through the arts and music. As part of our ‘With Nicky’ series I am so excited to teach this beautiful piece via social media channels and hope that many, many young violinists will join me to explore it further together and then give a mass virtual performance. I can’t wait!”

Visit www.benedettifoundation.org to access the following information:

  • The sheet music for Salut d’Amour which is available to download

  • Nicola performing Salut d’Amour allowing young musicians to play along

  • Petr Limonov performing only the piano part allowing young musicians to play along

  • Full details on how to submit your performance of Salut d’Amour

Watch the album music video on Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 5pm UK Time / 12pm NY Time on Nicola’s official YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/nicolabenedettiofficial.

Nicola’s performance with Petr Limonov of Salut d’Amour will be released digitally as a single and available online on Friday, April 17, 2020.

Find information on the album release here: nicolabenedetti.lnk.to/elgarww.

Nicola Benedetti: Elgar Violin Concerto

Worldwide Digital Release Date: May 15, 2020

Elgar Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61

  1. Allegro (17.28)

  2. Andante (11.36)

  3. Allegro molto (18.42)

Elgar Sospiri, Op. 70 (04.10)

Elgar Salut d’Amour, Op. 12 (03.09

Elgar Chanson de Nuit, Op. 15, No. 1 (03.41)

Nicola Benedetti, violin

Petr Limonov, piano

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Vladimir Jurowski, conductor

About Nicola Benedetti

  • 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.

  • With concerto performances at the heart of her career, Nicola is in much demand with major orchestras and conductors across the globe and frequently makes appearances in the world’s leading concert halls.

  • Nicola records exclusively for Decca Classics (Universal Music). Her most recent recording features premiere recordings of two works written especially for her by jazz musician Wynton Marsalis: Violin

Concerto in D and Fiddle Dance Suite for Solo Violin, for which she won a GRAMMY for ‘Best Classical Instrumental Solo’. Nicola’s live performance at the 2020 GRAMMY Awards marked the first classical solo violin appearance at the Premiere Ceremony in over ten years.

  • Her past nine recordings on Universal/Deutsche Grammophon include a varied catalog of works from Shostakovich & Glazunov Violin Concertos and Szymanowski Concerto (London Symphony Orchestra/Daniel Harding) to Homecoming; A Scottish Fantasy, which made Nicola the first solo British violinist since the 1990s to enter the Top 20 of the Official U.K. Albums Chart.

  • Nicola Benedetti was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours List, for services to music and was the Winner of the Best Classical Award at The Global Awards 2019.

About Benedetti Foundation

  • The Benedetti Foundation puts on transformative orchestra-based workshops for young people and teachers, that showcase what Music Education at its best can look and feel like.

  • The Benedetti Foundation unites those who believe music is integral to a great education and inspires collective action targeted at increasing its reach and quality.

  • The Foundation does this through uncovering and sharing its best practices and celebrating its greatest advocates, whilst loudly demonstrating a re-energized vision for the future.

  • 50% of the activity carried out by the organization is for teachers. Teaching music well is an enormous responsibility and is hugely challenging.

  • The Benedetti Foundation is fiercely committed to providing meaningful support, extensive information and a sense of uplift, inspiration, and respite to as many teachers as possible as well as to promoting music education practices which encourage both musical and civic betterment.

  • The Benedetti Foundation receives no government money and is currently funded entirely through generous philanthropy.

About London Philharmonic Orchestra

One of the finest orchestras on the international stage, the London Philharmonic Orchestra balances a long and distinguished history with its reputation as one of the UK’s most forward-looking ensembles. As well as its concert performances, the Orchestra also records film soundtracks, releases CDs and downloads on its own label, and reaches thousands of people every year through activities for families, schools and local communities. The London Philharmonic Orchestra was founded by Sir Thomas Beecham in 1932, and has since been headed by many great conductors including Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. In 2017 Vladimir Jurowski celebrated his tenth anniversary as the Orchestra’s Principal Conductor. Edward Gardner is currently Principal Conductor Designate, and will take up the position when Jurowski’s tenure concludes in September 2021. The London Philharmonic Orchestra has performed at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall since it opened in 1951, becoming Resident Orchestra in 1992. As well as its London home, it also has flourishing residencies in Brighton, Eastbourne and Saffron Walden, and each summer plays for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, where it has been Resident Symphony Orchestra for over 50 years. The Orchestra also tours internationally, performing to sell-out audiences worldwide.

About Vladimir Jurowski

One of today’s most sought-after conductors, acclaimed worldwide for his incisive musicianship and adventurous artistic commitment, Vladimir Jurowski was born in Moscow in 1972, and completed the first part of his musical studies at the Music College of the Moscow Conservatory. In 1990 he relocated with his family to Germany, continuing his studies at the Musikhochschule of Dresden and Berlin, studying conducting with Rolf Reuter and vocal coaching with Semion Skigin. In 1995 he made his international debut at the Wexford Festival conducting Rimsky-Korsakov’s May Night, and the same year saw his debut at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden with Nabucco. Vladimir Jurowski enjoys close relationships with the world’s most distinguished artistic institutions, collaborating with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, New York Philharmonic, Chicago and Boston Symphonies, and has also conducted the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras. He is a regular guest at the BBC Proms, Musikfest Berlin, and the Dresden, Lucerne, Schleswig Holstein, Grafenegg and Rostropovich Festivals. Vladimir Jurowski is currently Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

About Petr Limonov

Pupil of Dmitri Alexeev and Maria Joao Pires, Russian-British pianist and conductor Petr Limonov frequently appears on UK and European scene having collaborated, among others, with Nicola Benedetti, Maria Joao Pires, Boris Berezovsky, Laura van der Heijden, Jennifer Pike, Leonard Elschenbroich and Van Kujik Quartet. He has recorded for Decca, Onyx Classics, Chandos and Champs Hill labels. Petr’s notable appearances include La Roque d’Antheron festival, Belgais Center for Arts, Wigmore Hall, iTunes Festival, Cadogan Hall, Kings Place, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Southbank Centre, the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, a recital in The Duke’s Hall for HRH Prince Charles, TV appearances for BBC Proms Extra and broadcasts for BBC Radio 3 and “Culture” TV Channel (Russia). His repertoire stretches from Orlando Gibbons to Arvo Part.