Page 139 - Alison Balsom Quiet City FULL BOOK

Read more: Alison Balsom reveals the top five trumpet concertos

4. Daniel Barenboim – pianist

Hailed by Opera Now as “one of the most versatile cultural figures of our
time”, Argentine-born pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim is among
today’s most in-demand performers on the concert stage. Currently
general music director of the Berlin State Opera and Staatskapelle Berlin,
Barenboim also founded the ground-breaking West-Eastern Divan
Orchestra, which aims to promote mutual understanding between Israeli
and Palestinian musicians. He remains a committed chamber musician,
performing regularly with friends Anne-Sophie Mutter and Yo-Yo Ma.

5. Joshua Bell – violinist

Raised in Indiana, American violinist Joshua Bell has been music director
of one of Britain’s foremost classical ensembles, Academy of St Martin in
the Fields, since 2011. As a soloist he has recorded the great violin
repertoire, and can also be heard on the soundtracks of blockbuster films
including Hans Zimmer’s Angels and Demons. Ever curious about the
future of music, Bell has experimented with virtual experiences, and
famously conducted a social experiment on the subway in 2007.

Joshua Bell on the most difficult concertos
Joshua Bell talks about the most difficult violin concertos
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6. Nicola Benedetti – violinist

Winner of a Grammy Award in 2020 for her recording of Wynton Marsalis’
Violin Concerto, Scottish-Italian violinist Nicola Benedetti is an
unstoppable force for good. Her Benedetti Foundation is changing the
landscape of music education for children in Scotland and beyond,
providing learning opportunities not only to young players but to music
educators, too. One of today’s most thrilling and engaging musicians, she
was also announced as the first woman director of the Edinburgh
International Festival.

Read more: The 25 greatest violinists of all time

Nicola Benedetti performs Loch Lomond at 2014 Commonwealth
Games
Credit: Youtube / Nicola Benedetti
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