One of the most sought-after violinists of her generation, Nicola has been showered with awards and accolades, including a grammy, a classical Brit award, and an MBE and then a CBE. She has played in some of the most prestigious venues across the world, including The Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, and Westminster Abbey, and has released 11 albums.

Today, well as playing concerts, Nicola is on a mission to share the joy of classical music and to challenge the idea of it being an elitist career path with her Benedetti Foundation, which went from strength to strength during lockdown thanks to virtual sessions.

In this episode, Nicola and I talk about her extraordinary career but also the woman who has navigated that experience and how she has kept such a cool head in the face of her success. She’s refreshingly candid - and I especially loved her admissions that she arrived at music boarding school without some of the classical music knowledge of her peers and that owning a Stradivarius is the source of both joy but a little bit of nervousness about how enormously precious it is.

On beauty, Nicola is also an open book, and she relays stories in this episode about how her mum’s more avant grade style didn’t quite work for her in classical music circles, why she sticks to two beauty brands, and how perfume just doesn’t do it for her.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Get the future of podcasts.