4:23:19 > 4:23:21MUSIC: "Romance" by Dmitri Shostakovich
4:23:40 > 4:23:42A winner has to be picked,
4:23:42 > 4:23:44and that winner is Nicola Benedetti.
4:23:44 > 4:23:46APPLAUSE
4:24:35 > 4:24:38I think it's going to be one of those places,
4:24:38 > 4:24:40when I leave, I'll be quite heartbroken.
4:24:51 > 4:24:55MUSIC: "Silent Invocation 1" by AR Rahman and Naveen Kumar
4:25:14 > 4:25:18This is my very first time in India.
4:25:22 > 4:25:24And just the beauty, actually,
4:25:24 > 4:25:27has been the thing that's struck me the most.
4:25:27 > 4:25:29It's just a golden opportunity
4:25:29 > 4:25:34for me to experience a culture I know a lot about from afar
4:25:34 > 4:25:37but...um, have not had the chance to experience.
4:25:40 > 4:25:44One of the things that attracted me to the entire prospect,
4:25:44 > 4:25:45right from the beginning,
4:25:45 > 4:25:48was the fact that it's not just to delve in and out -
4:25:48 > 4:25:52it's to really try to get a more broad sense of an exchange,
4:25:52 > 4:25:55of a cultural experience, of playing to young people,
4:25:55 > 4:25:57to older people, to diplomats,
4:25:57 > 4:25:59to people from all walks of life.
4:26:02 > 4:26:08This trip to India has been...three, four years in the planning.
4:26:08 > 4:26:10It's been hard work, it's been an uphill climb,
4:26:10 > 4:26:12but actually arriving here,
4:26:12 > 4:26:15it's been...a kind of revolution.
4:26:15 > 4:26:17The people couldn't have been
4:26:17 > 4:26:19more friendly, more helpful.
4:26:19 > 4:26:21It's been overwhelmingly fantastic.
4:26:21 > 4:26:23I'll go round now and check everyone's got the Mozart.
4:26:28 > 4:26:31MUSIC: "Anitra's Dance" by Edvard Grieg
4:26:49 > 4:26:52This is a very special day, a very important day.
4:26:52 > 4:26:56Um...our concert tonight is being broadcast
4:26:56 > 4:26:58live on Indian radio
4:26:58 > 4:27:00and is being filmed by state television,
4:27:00 > 4:27:02so it's a big deal.
4:27:02 > 4:27:03We feel the pressure
4:27:03 > 4:27:07and the excitement of being able to do something like this in Delhi.
4:27:14 > 4:27:17Getting myself ready - I try to do it as fast as possible
4:27:17 > 4:27:19cos I don't enjoy that process very much.
4:27:19 > 4:27:22I think, after years of playing
4:27:22 > 4:27:24in so many different kinds of environments,
4:27:24 > 4:27:30I...I've basically let go of any set pre-concert ritual,
4:27:30 > 4:27:34because I tended to find that if it didn't work out
4:27:34 > 4:27:39or it didn't happen then my mind would latch on
4:27:39 > 4:27:40to what I didn't manage to do.
4:27:43 > 4:27:44So I basically...
4:27:44 > 4:27:47I need to change, I need to get ready
4:27:47 > 4:27:50and I like to have my violin in my hand
4:27:50 > 4:27:52about half an hour before I play.
4:27:55 > 4:27:57SHE WARMS UP ON VIOLIN
4:28:06 > 4:28:08CHATTER
4:28:09 > 4:28:12(OK, ready to go, Nicola, when you are.)
4:28:14 > 4:28:16APPLAUSE
4:28:57 > 4:29:00I'm so grateful to have the violin that I do.
4:29:00 > 4:29:02It's an incredible Stradivarius.
4:29:04 > 4:29:07But it's a really interesting subject,
4:29:07 > 4:29:10defining your sound versus the sound of the violin.
4:29:12 > 4:29:14There's a famous anecdote of Jascha Heifetz,
4:29:14 > 4:29:16one of the greatest violinists who ever lived.
4:29:16 > 4:29:18Somebody came to him,
4:29:18 > 4:29:20and complimented him on the sound of his violin,
4:29:20 > 4:29:24to which he lifts up the violin and said, "I can't hear anything."
4:29:24 > 4:29:26And, um, it's kind of...
4:29:26 > 4:29:30It's kind of silly but it's really true.
4:29:42 > 4:29:44The violin is a very small instrument
4:29:44 > 4:29:47and it's very difficult to project that fullness of sound
4:29:47 > 4:29:49and fullness of personality
4:29:49 > 4:29:52through a couple of pieces of wood and some strings.
4:29:52 > 4:29:54But that's what Nicola does.
4:29:54 > 4:29:56She has a fantastic instrument, of course,
4:29:56 > 4:29:58but she wouldn't be able to do anything with it
4:29:58 > 4:30:01if she didn't have that depth of personality
4:30:01 > 4:30:05and insight and vision as a great musician.
4:30:06 > 4:30:10What people hear in the first couple of minutes,
4:30:10 > 4:30:14they will hear volume, colour, tone.
4:30:14 > 4:30:17But, after that, they start to basically hear you
4:30:17 > 4:30:19and they start to hear your actual voice,
4:30:19 > 4:30:22they start to hear and pick up something
4:30:22 > 4:30:24about what you have to say to them.
4:30:24 > 4:30:27And that's something that is absolutely yours,
4:30:27 > 4:30:30just as much as your facial features are yours
4:30:30 > 4:30:32and the way you walk is yours.
4:31:00 > 4:31:03APPLAUSE
4:31:12 > 4:31:14I tripped over my dress!
4:31:14 > 4:31:18- Thank you.- That was wonderful. - Oh, thanks.
4:31:18 > 4:31:21- I would like both of you to sign this.- Oh, that makes me feel better.
4:31:21 > 4:31:22- No, no, no.- Yeah.- Thanks.
4:31:24 > 4:31:26Do you want "Nikki" or do you want my full name?
4:31:26 > 4:31:28- Yeah, anything you would like.- OK.
4:31:28 > 4:31:31- I'll put "Nikki Benedetti" then. - Thanks a lot.
4:31:32 > 4:31:34- Thanks a lot.- Kiss.- Thank you.- OK.
4:31:34 > 4:31:36- Kunbo. Please.- No, no.- Kunbo.
4:31:36 > 4:31:39- Sign it!- No!- I only signed it because you said you would sign it.
4:31:39 > 4:31:41- You have to sign it.- OK.- Here.
4:32:06 > 4:32:10If there is one form of art, or performing art,
4:32:10 > 4:32:17which can really transgress every possible ugly, man-made difference,
4:32:17 > 4:32:19it is really music.
4:32:20 > 4:32:23You don't even need language to understand it
4:32:23 > 4:32:27and music, sound, notes have a universal language
4:32:27 > 4:32:30which crosses all barriers.
4:32:33 > 4:32:36It appeals to your mind and heart.
4:32:36 > 4:32:39That's why music is very important, that it should travel,
4:32:39 > 4:32:42and it should bind people together.
4:32:45 > 4:32:47I think music is an extraordinary bond.
4:32:47 > 4:32:51It's like, er...falling in love.
4:32:51 > 4:32:53You know, when you are the same species,
4:32:53 > 4:32:55you don't need the language, you know?
4:32:55 > 4:32:58You sometimes just have to look in somebody's eyes
4:32:58 > 4:33:01and your whole life is handed over to somebody.
4:33:18 > 4:33:24For me, personally, going to play anywhere, I try to be an open book.
4:33:24 > 4:33:26I'm just trying to learn as much as possible,
4:33:26 > 4:33:28trying to listen to as many people as possible,
4:33:28 > 4:33:30ask as many questions as possible
4:33:30 > 4:33:32and just soak in as much about this culture
4:33:32 > 4:33:34and these people as possible.
4:33:57 > 4:34:01'I knew it would be a huge culture shock and change
4:34:01 > 4:34:05'but what you never can really gauge from documentaries you see
4:34:05 > 4:34:09'or material you read is the feeling that the people have
4:34:09 > 4:34:12'and the feeling that the people give you.'
4:34:12 > 4:34:18I was reading about the origins of the music of this worship,
4:34:18 > 4:34:20is-is about the...
4:34:21 > 4:34:27- ..the need to have everybody understanding the Scriptures.- Right.
4:34:27 > 4:34:30And it's therefore taking the form of music.
4:34:30 > 4:34:35They have captured the idea of praying through music.
4:34:39 > 4:34:43HE SINGS IN WORSHIP
4:34:52 > 4:34:56The way in which ragas are organised in northern Indian music
4:34:56 > 4:34:58is by the time of the day.
4:34:58 > 4:35:02So the basic idea in this kind of organising
4:35:02 > 4:35:04is that certain notes evoke certain emotion,
4:35:04 > 4:35:07evoke certain sentimentality and feelings.
4:35:07 > 4:35:12So, for instance, if you have a set of what are called morning ragas,
4:35:12 > 4:35:18which are only sung in the early morning, you know, before sunrise...
4:35:18 > 4:35:21People are very sacrosanct about not singing a certain melody
4:35:21 > 4:35:24at a time when it is not supposed to be.
4:35:25 > 4:35:29- May make you feel sleepy in the morning, or...!- Yes. Yeah.
4:35:29 > 4:35:30Yeah.
4:35:34 > 4:35:37What I knew already, but I've been wakening up to
4:35:37 > 4:35:40even more so since I arrived in India,
4:35:40 > 4:35:43is the notion that our music is...
4:35:43 > 4:35:46is definitely Western classical music,
4:35:46 > 4:35:49and the music here is classical music...
4:35:49 > 4:35:51whereas we would say we have classical music
4:35:51 > 4:35:54and their music is Indian classical music.
4:35:54 > 4:35:57That's always just humbling, and wakes you up again
4:35:57 > 4:36:02to realise that all cultures have unbelievable histories
4:36:02 > 4:36:07and music often tells... a truer, more subtle
4:36:07 > 4:36:12and, therefore, often more accurate story of that history,
4:36:12 > 4:36:15and it's something that carries from generation to generation.
4:36:45 > 4:36:51We just arrived in Mumbai. Such a different feeling instantly.
4:36:51 > 4:36:54Just the temperature and the atmosphere and the smell.
4:37:01 > 4:37:06You can see a...a slum with skyscrapers behind it.
4:37:09 > 4:37:10Look.
4:37:12 > 4:37:17All going in for a swim! Such contrast in this city.
4:37:29 > 4:37:31It's like an entirely different world.
4:37:39 > 4:37:43This is my unbelievably packed... hectic case.
4:37:45 > 4:37:50So, these are... I've got, like, two concert dresses.
4:37:50 > 4:37:55One is black and gold, the one I wore the other night.
4:37:55 > 4:37:58Really, like, simple material and just very comfortable.
4:37:58 > 4:38:01And the other one is practically the same,
4:38:01 > 4:38:03but it's all black with just a little bit of gold.
4:38:03 > 4:38:05I don't like to be wearing things on stage
4:38:05 > 4:38:08that I haven't tried out lots of times and that I don't trust.
4:38:08 > 4:38:12I'd rather just pick, like, three concert dresses
4:38:12 > 4:38:15and just go round and wear them until they're dead.
4:38:15 > 4:38:17I don't even particularly enjoy
4:38:17 > 4:38:19the whole getting dressed up for concerts thing.
4:38:19 > 4:38:22It's not really... It's just... It feels like work clothes.
4:38:24 > 4:38:27- WOMAN: Which it is, I guess. - Which it is work clothes!
4:38:27 > 4:38:30HORNS BEEP
4:38:40 > 4:38:42I think my desire to share classical music
4:38:42 > 4:38:44is just the most natural thing.
4:38:44 > 4:38:47There's nothing fancy or pretentious about it at all.
4:38:47 > 4:38:50It's just literally like you have a plate of great food in front of you
4:38:50 > 4:38:53and you want to share it with the person next to you,
4:38:53 > 4:38:55or you want someone to taste it.
4:39:02 > 4:39:05We have some very, very, very special musicians
4:39:05 > 4:39:09who've come from very far away... to play for you.
4:39:09 > 4:39:12You know from where they've come? They've come from Scotland.
4:39:12 > 4:39:14Do you know where that is?
4:39:14 > 4:39:16- Do you know where London is? - ALL: Yes.
4:39:16 > 4:39:17It's close to London.
4:39:19 > 4:39:22The first piece we are going to play is called Meditation.
4:39:22 > 4:39:27So, we're going to play something very slow and very calm
4:39:27 > 4:39:28and very peaceful,
4:39:28 > 4:39:32so I want you all to relax and maybe even close your eyes,
4:39:32 > 4:39:35if you want, and just allow your imagination
4:39:35 > 4:39:38to think very peaceful thoughts, very calm thoughts.
4:39:38 > 4:39:40OK?
4:39:40 > 4:39:42MUSIC: "Meditations"
4:40:21 > 4:40:23I think, with classical music,
4:40:23 > 4:40:27when you've spent that long getting to know something that great
4:40:27 > 4:40:31and you feel like the heavens have opened for you
4:40:31 > 4:40:34and that something has just taken you into a world of optimism
4:40:34 > 4:40:38that you never knew was there, it's just such a phenomenal feeling.
4:40:38 > 4:40:40I would like to give people the chance
4:40:40 > 4:40:42to feel that about classical music.
4:41:21 > 4:41:24This is the first time we've had something for them,
4:41:24 > 4:41:26like, which was just pure music.
4:41:26 > 4:41:28But something like this was really wonderful,
4:41:28 > 4:41:30because they really got a good exposure
4:41:30 > 4:41:32to different types of instruments,
4:41:32 > 4:41:34which was an experience for me as well.
4:41:34 > 4:41:36Do all of you know what this instrument is called?
4:41:38 > 4:41:42- Anybody know this instrument? - Violin.- Very good.
4:41:42 > 4:41:45They're symbols, like how we learn the English alphabet.
4:41:45 > 4:41:48Like, they are symbols... they are music symbols.
4:41:48 > 4:41:50So, it's like a language. You have to learn it.
4:41:53 > 4:41:56I am sure that, with the children's reaction,
4:41:56 > 4:41:59they said that the music has really touched their lives.
4:41:59 > 4:42:01I think it's going to be a really lifelong experience for them.
4:42:05 > 4:42:08- How do you feel to do this? - I love it very much.
4:42:08 > 4:42:11Because you know your emotions?
4:42:11 > 4:42:12Emotion?
4:42:12 > 4:42:15The music can make you feel all kinds of emotions
4:42:15 > 4:42:18and makes you feel very good.
4:42:18 > 4:42:21'Children, they want to be challenged.
4:42:21 > 4:42:26'If you give children quality experience with great music,
4:42:26 > 4:42:29'it will affect every single part of their life,
4:42:29 > 4:42:32'and that's from their communicative skills, their social skills,
4:42:32 > 4:42:34'their ability to work together,
4:42:34 > 4:42:36'their ability to express themselves.'
4:42:40 > 4:42:44You're so close to them, just get an entirely different connection
4:42:44 > 4:42:46from what it's possible to get
4:42:46 > 4:42:50from playing in an auditorium with thousands of seats.
4:42:50 > 4:42:54So, these small-scale things are just absolutely...
4:42:54 > 4:42:57absolutely vital, both ways, for you and for them.
4:42:59 > 4:43:03This afternoon, we're going to the Mehli Mehta Foundation.
4:43:03 > 4:43:04They're all children
4:43:04 > 4:43:06that are learning to play classical instruments,
4:43:06 > 4:43:08learning to play classical music.
4:43:08 > 4:43:11They'll play for us, we'll teach them, and then we'll play for them.
4:43:11 > 4:43:16So, it's going to be a fairly standard workshop-style event.
4:43:43 > 4:43:48The Mehli Mehta Music Foundation has been named after Mr Mehli Mehta,
4:43:48 > 4:43:50who was a violinist in Mumbai.
4:43:51 > 4:43:53The purpose of the foundation
4:43:53 > 4:43:55and one of the reasons that it was set up,
4:43:55 > 4:43:59and certainly the entire aim of the education programmes,
4:43:59 > 4:44:02is that we have to spread Western classical music
4:44:02 > 4:44:06to young people across the city, across the country
4:44:06 > 4:44:08and, of course, also go to communities
4:44:08 > 4:44:11who may not have access to Western classical music
4:44:11 > 4:44:12and, more importantly,
4:44:12 > 4:44:16hope that this music has a positive impact on their lives.
4:44:16 > 4:44:19CHATTER
4:44:21 > 4:44:25OK! We have a lot of musicians everywhere.
4:44:25 > 4:44:26You all have space?
4:44:29 > 4:44:31OK, shall we start?
4:44:31 > 4:44:34MUSIC: "Canon" by Johann Pachelbel
4:44:44 > 4:44:46OK.
4:44:48 > 4:44:50It sounds very, very beautiful,
4:44:50 > 4:44:53and the sound is very present and very full.
4:44:53 > 4:44:57But if you imagine, this piece is very repetitive, as you know.
4:44:57 > 4:45:00So, we want to feel at the very beginning
4:45:00 > 4:45:02like you have a long way to go.
4:45:02 > 4:45:06So, really just soft... What note do you start on?
4:45:06 > 4:45:08SHE PLAYS SOFTLY
4:45:11 > 4:45:16I'm just trying to make everything more of a...more of a story.
4:45:16 > 4:45:19Throughout the piece, you want people to feel like...
4:45:19 > 4:45:22like sometimes like you're telling them something
4:45:22 > 4:45:24and they're like this, "Wow!"
4:45:24 > 4:45:26And then other times, you're playing something
4:45:26 > 4:45:27and you want them to go like,
4:45:27 > 4:45:30"What? What are you... what are you telling me?"
4:45:30 > 4:45:32You want them to come forward to you
4:45:32 > 4:45:34and to be drawn into your performance.
4:45:35 > 4:45:37OK. Let's try once more.
4:45:37 > 4:45:39THEY PLAY SOFTLY
4:45:39 > 4:45:40And this part of the bow.
4:45:53 > 4:45:56At the end of the bow. Yeah.
4:45:59 > 4:46:00Too slow.
4:46:05 > 4:46:09For Nicola, I think this has been a really exciting tour,
4:46:09 > 4:46:12and it plays into absolutely her strengths
4:46:12 > 4:46:15and her love of educating, reaching out, empowering
4:46:15 > 4:46:18and inspiring young musicians and young players and young people.
4:46:31 > 4:46:35That was wonderful. So much control and such amazing sound.
4:46:37 > 4:46:39Really excellent.
4:46:43 > 4:46:46Their playing was really good, really impressive.
4:46:46 > 4:46:48They've clearly been getting good teaching,
4:46:48 > 4:46:50but they don't have enough teaching,
4:46:50 > 4:46:53and they're having to sort of bring people in from abroad
4:46:53 > 4:46:55in order to give them that exposure and that experience,
4:46:55 > 4:46:57so I guess we're just here
4:46:57 > 4:47:01to pass on as much knowledge as we can in a short space of time,
4:47:01 > 4:47:03but also, it's more of an inspirational visit,
4:47:03 > 4:47:05as they always are when they're short.
4:47:27 > 4:47:30Second half starts with Tchaikovsky, and there's no Grieg.
4:47:33 > 4:47:35BUZZ OF CHATTER
4:47:37 > 4:47:40The idea this morning of this concert
4:47:40 > 4:47:43is really to play to a new audience, a family audience.
4:47:43 > 4:47:45We haven't done this before on the trip,
4:47:45 > 4:47:47so I don't quite know how it's going to go.
4:47:53 > 4:47:56So, now we have a very special treat for you,
4:47:56 > 4:47:58because we have brought
4:47:58 > 4:48:03one of the most amazing violinists in the world to India.
4:48:03 > 4:48:09Her name is Nicola Benedetti. Please welcome her onto the stage.
4:48:09 > 4:48:10APPLAUSE
4:48:13 > 4:48:17When I play, I try not to think!
4:48:17 > 4:48:23That's my ideal state, is just not be thinking at all, and really be...
4:48:25 > 4:48:27..taken by...
4:48:27 > 4:48:31something greater than the intricacies and details of...
4:48:31 > 4:48:33of what you're going through onstage.
4:48:33 > 4:48:37I'm not one for colours or pictures or stories.
4:48:37 > 4:48:41I'm just trying to get to an overwhelming sense of something,
4:48:41 > 4:48:45and it can be a happy feeling, a sad feeling, a depressed feeling,
4:48:45 > 4:48:47or really elated or excited,
4:48:47 > 4:48:52and I think I'm trying to get to that place
4:48:52 > 4:48:53within the story of the music.
4:50:08 > 4:50:10I'm so happy! I am. I...
4:50:10 > 4:50:13I'm, like, your number one Indian fan, you know, but wow!
4:50:13 > 4:50:15I think the concert was amazing.
4:50:15 > 4:50:17I've travelled over 800km to be here,
4:50:17 > 4:50:20because I'm a huge fan of Nicola Benedetti and the orchestra,
4:50:20 > 4:50:22and I'm not disappointed, I will come again.
4:50:22 > 4:50:24I thought it was wonderful. It was really wonderful.
4:50:24 > 4:50:28I have heard symphony live for the very first time.
4:50:28 > 4:50:30- It was a really amazing experience. - Really nice.
4:50:33 > 4:50:36I mean, like, I just touched an angel, you know?
4:50:36 > 4:50:39An angel has touched my life. Wow! On TV!
4:50:58 > 4:51:01There are some places that really stir you up
4:51:01 > 4:51:04and are very evocative and provocative...
4:51:05 > 4:51:09..and I would say that about this entire trip.
4:51:12 > 4:51:14Every time you go to an entirely new culture
4:51:14 > 4:51:18and play classical music, you do take away, I guess,
4:51:18 > 4:51:22a regained sense of trust in what you do
4:51:22 > 4:51:24and the purpose of what you do...
4:51:24 > 4:51:27the fact that it's so enjoyed and loved
4:51:27 > 4:51:29and seemingly relevant to so many different people.
4:51:32 > 4:51:34And I...
4:51:34 > 4:51:38I have yet another little piece to the ongoing puzzle
4:51:38 > 4:51:42of trying to work out your place in the world you live in
4:51:42 > 4:51:44and trying to work out the world you live in.
4:51:44 > 4:51:45Um...
4:51:45 > 4:51:48Maybe not a small piece of the puzzle.
4:51:48 > 4:51:50Maybe this has been quite a big piece of the puzzle.