Page 73 - Virtual Benedetti Sessions Coverage Book

Benedetti has at least one reminder of happier times to look forward to. It’s the release next
week of her recording of Elgar’s Violin Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra

conducted by Vladimir Jurowski. If it’s anything like the live performance she gave in London

last year — blowing away the work’s supposed “elegiac” feel with a characterisation of

tremendous energy and propulsion — it will be a welcome tonic to her legion of fans round the

world.

It won’t compensate, however, for all the live performances she won’t now give in 2020. Is she

feeling bereft about the cancellations? “Actually, no,” she replies. “You have to remember that I
haven’t stopped rehearsing, performing, travelling or being under some sort of imminent

pressure since I was 15. I don’t think that kind of life is something you necessarily crave if it’s

suddenly taken away.”

So 2020 could be a chance to recharge batteries? “Could have been,” she says, laughing. “Yes, I

could have done some serious self-care if I hadn’t taken on this ridiculous online project. But I

can’t change the sort of person I am.”

Details of how to apply for the Virtual Benedetti Sessions are on benedettifoundation.org.
Benedetti’s new Elgar album is released on May 15 on Decca for digital download and

streaming

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