IS THERE anything she cannot do?
Tuesday’s announcement that violinist Nicola Benedetti was to become the new director of the Edinburgh International Festival was quite the surprise. That she would thus become the first woman and the first Scot to do so was maybe less so, given the history of so many cultural institutions in Scotland, but let’s park that for the moment.
Benedetti, 34, is one of the world’s greatest musicians. She is deeply serious about her art and about its worth (in all senses of the word). She is also one of Scotland’s most capable ambassadors. In a post-pandemic, geopolitically uncertain world where future income sources may be under strain her contacts and familiarity may prove a very useful asset for the festival.
Even so, this is an audacious appointment. All the more so, when you realise that she is intending to carry out the job as festival director in tandem with continuing to perform and head up her Benedetti Foundation (albeit, she says, she will scale both back).
The foundation has worked with nearly 30,000 young musicians in more than 100 countries since Benedetti set it up three years ago, ample proof of her capacity for organisation and leadership. Transferrable skills that will serve a festival well, you would think.
Even so, there are some questions that seem worth asking. Benedetti is well-connected and knowledgeable in the field of music, but how does she approach programming the theatre and dance strands of the international festival? Will she move back to Scotland to take up the role? Has she a good team around her?
Perhaps more concerning is the idea that you can be a director of one of the largest arts festivals in the world on a part-time basis. Is there a hope among those who have appointed her that, when she takes up the reins in October, she will realise this and reconsider her other commitments? And if so, how long would Benedetti be able to long stay away from playing music, the thing that she so clearly loves?
I have had the good fortune of meeting Benedetti on a couple of occasions, the first when she was still a teenage prodigy emerging onto the world stage. This gives me no special insight, I know, but she does come across as a deeply impressive human being; capable, strong-minded, clear-thinking, serious about her work, compassionate for others and genuinely engaged with the world. She also has a sly sense of humour.
In short, she is someone you can rely on. The danger is we ask too much of her as a result. Or that she asks too much of herself.
But let’s welcome the audacity of this appointment. The Edinburgh International Festival is at a crossroads. Post-pandemic can it bounce back? How will war in Europe and ongoing concerns about climate change impact on its internationalism?
Benedetti will have to answer all these questions when she starts her role. It will be a challenge. But she’s always liked a challenge.
Is there anything she cannot do? I guess we will find out.
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