0:00:05 > 0:00:09Nicola Benedetti is one of the most sought-after classical violinists
0:00:09 > 0:00:10of her generation.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13She regularly performs with the greatest orchestras in the world.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19Wynton Marsalis is one of the biggest stars in jazz,
0:00:19 > 0:00:23A trumpet virtuoso and composer with nine Grammy Awards
0:00:23 > 0:00:25and a Pulitzer Prize to his name.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31They're working together on a concerto
0:00:31 > 0:00:33which Wynton will write for Nicky,
0:00:33 > 0:00:36and which she will premiere with the London Symphony Orchestra.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40It's going to be embarrassing.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46These two very different artists share a common goal.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49They both believe that great music can transcend rigid categories
0:00:49 > 0:00:51like jazz or classical.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55But the next nine months will put that belief to the test.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59Yes, this whole thing so far has been much more time-consuming
0:00:59 > 0:01:02- than I expected.- It's already late.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05So, I mean, it's not going to be on time.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07Wynton has been a mentor to Nicky
0:01:07 > 0:01:10since she found stardom in her late teens.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13The winner of the 2004 Young Musician Of The Year is
0:01:13 > 0:01:15- Nicola Benedetti! - APPLAUSE
0:01:15 > 0:01:19But they have never collaborated like this before.
0:01:19 > 0:01:20I can't do this, I'm sorry.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26With intimate access behind the scenes,
0:01:26 > 0:01:30we follow these two intensely driven individuals as they try to create
0:01:30 > 0:01:35a concerto that can unite the different musical traditions
0:01:35 > 0:01:37that have defined them.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39I love jazz music and I love the orchestra.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41Now, I think the two can come together.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43I may not be able to do it,
0:01:43 > 0:01:46but somebody can do it.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58It's January 2015,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01and Nicola Benedetti has arrived in New York to work with
0:02:01 > 0:02:04Wynton Marsalis on his violin concerto for the first time.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07Two days ago,
0:02:07 > 0:02:11I received, like, the first printed...
0:02:11 > 0:02:14copy of some music from Wynton.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18Before that, the only thing I had was, like, things like this...
0:02:18 > 0:02:21and which are impossible to read.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23And, actually, this is very neat.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27This is much more neat than the first couple of photographs
0:02:27 > 0:02:28that I was sent, but...
0:02:28 > 0:02:31um...it is still, like...
0:02:31 > 0:02:34You know, it's not the most practical thing to read off.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36SHE PLAYS
0:02:39 > 0:02:42One of the cornerstones of the classical repertoire,
0:02:42 > 0:02:46the concerto is a piece written for a soloist and an orchestra.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49Many of the greatest violinists in history have inspired concertos,
0:02:49 > 0:02:53like those by Mendelssohn, Brahms and Sibelius.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56Every single violin concerto out there, almost all of them,
0:02:56 > 0:03:01was written with a violinist saying to the composer, "That's too hard,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04"that's too easy, you should add this, you should take away that."
0:03:04 > 0:03:08He keeps saying he wants it to be something that I am really
0:03:08 > 0:03:12enthusiastic about playing. So he wants to write it for me,
0:03:12 > 0:03:13something that I love to play,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17rather than just, like, here is his masterpiece composition,
0:03:17 > 0:03:19you'd better like it, kind of thing.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24So he's really been sort of sending me a lot of things,
0:03:24 > 0:03:26like thematic material,
0:03:26 > 0:03:30and then also the sort of more technically demanding things,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33just asking, "Does this work? Do you like this?
0:03:33 > 0:03:36"Is this the kind of thing that suits you?"
0:03:36 > 0:03:39So I've been receiving, like, little bits of information,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42drips and drabs like that, but nothing that, you know,
0:03:42 > 0:03:44has been a kind of whole structure.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53But if every concerto is a dialogue between soloist and orchestra,
0:03:53 > 0:03:55Wynton and Nicky want this one to be a dialogue
0:03:55 > 0:03:58between two very different types of music as well.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02But whatever ambitions they have for the piece,
0:04:02 > 0:04:04they have to start somewhere.
0:04:04 > 0:04:09I think it's best if we just go through the different moods first.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12But doesn't mean I can play it, though. I can't... I mean, I can't play it.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14I practised it this morning.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18I'm sorry, there's no "it". There's just... There's just notes.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22I just want to make sure that have caught the mood that you want in the different sections.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26So with this line, it has everything that you wanted in it?
0:04:26 > 0:04:29- So first it's like... - HE PLAYS A FEW NOTES
0:04:29 > 0:04:30Like, you just...
0:04:33 > 0:04:36And it's, like... It builds up.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41This is where you get to the kind of psychological part
0:04:41 > 0:04:44that we're going to develop later.
0:04:44 > 0:04:45Then you come away from it.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48Now you get to the soulful part.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55So just those first bars, you have the encapsulations of the different
0:04:55 > 0:04:58moods that we're going to do.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00NICKY PLAYS
0:05:16 > 0:05:20It's really amazing to meet a person this much younger than me
0:05:20 > 0:05:23and who's that engaged with their culture, and that serious.
0:05:23 > 0:05:24Listen, it's very rare.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30For me, writing a piece is very personal.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32I almost get obsessed with my work, day and night,
0:05:32 > 0:05:34and have certain type of pressures.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37I only want to write it for her to like it.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39So we're just holding the chord.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53For Wynton, this piece would be an expression
0:05:53 > 0:05:57of some of his most deeply held beliefs about music.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01In his mind, music is always part of a shared human inheritance.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07The greatest body of literature in the West is music.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10All respect to Shakespeare and Dante and all the greats.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14That body of music is... Whew! That's a powerful library.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18'I don't separate music so much into styles.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21'Classical music is such a great library that I always liked.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24'And I never liked it against jazz.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28'I'm a jazz musician - my father was a jazz musician, I always loved jazz.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32'And not just one person is creative, or one group of people,
0:06:32 > 0:06:34'we're all creative. We can achieve great things if we're willing to
0:06:34 > 0:06:36'struggle with each other
0:06:36 > 0:06:40'and go through the dialogue and arguments and things and come back together.'
0:06:46 > 0:06:50'So we're just starting. I'm finished sketching the first movement, her part,
0:06:50 > 0:06:53'which is going to change. I sent her one sketch, she said it's too simple.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56'So I said, "OK." Normally, I get people complain it's too hard.'
0:06:56 > 0:06:58How did she say it...?
0:06:58 > 0:07:03She said, "None of this is anything that I could not play after looking at it for 20 minutes."
0:07:03 > 0:07:06So, OK, you know, we'll see.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25Like many modern concertos, Wynton's will have four movements.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29As spring arrives, Nicky receives the second movement.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33She no longer has a problem with the music being too easy.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36NICKY PLAYS
0:07:38 > 0:07:40SHE GRUNTS IN FRUSTRATION
0:07:40 > 0:07:42Oh, my goodness, have I got what I asked for,
0:07:42 > 0:07:47which was music that's hard to play!
0:07:47 > 0:07:49I'm just, like, looking at these notes, going,
0:07:49 > 0:07:51"Why would I have insisted on that?
0:07:51 > 0:07:53"Why would I want to make my life so difficult?"
0:07:53 > 0:07:58I must have practised this page for, like,
0:07:58 > 0:08:00I don't know, five hours in a row?
0:08:00 > 0:08:03And I still sounded terrible playing it.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13Part of the point of any concerto is to be a showcase for the talents of the soloist.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17The second movement is full of incredibly fast
0:08:17 > 0:08:19and virtuosic playing.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21But the notes themselves aren't the only reason it's going to
0:08:21 > 0:08:23be hard for Nicky to play.
0:08:26 > 0:08:27It's particularly difficult
0:08:27 > 0:08:30with music that you have never heard before,
0:08:30 > 0:08:32that you've never seen before
0:08:32 > 0:08:36and that there are no reference points for.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38You're starting from a completely different position
0:08:38 > 0:08:41to what you would if you were to open a Shostakovich violin concerto,
0:08:41 > 0:08:43and you have so much context.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46You know the sound of Shostakovich, you know his language,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49and you've sort of grown up with the...
0:08:49 > 0:08:52with the idea and the sense of how that sounds and how it's meant to sound.
0:08:52 > 0:08:57This is... This is so...
0:08:57 > 0:09:00alien in so many ways.
0:09:00 > 0:09:06It's going to rely on me so deeply understanding and feeling each sound
0:09:06 > 0:09:08and colour and expression.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11Unless you internalise them and you really live with it for a while
0:09:11 > 0:09:13and try to...
0:09:13 > 0:09:15try to...
0:09:15 > 0:09:17let it become a part of your fibre,
0:09:17 > 0:09:21it sounds very much like an imitation.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30We are definitely over the honeymoon phase.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Definitely.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34And, like, all the little...
0:09:36 > 0:09:40..potential issues and cracks and challenges are...
0:09:42 > 0:09:45..not on their way to surfacing, they are here.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47They're definitely here.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49THEY PLAY JAZZ
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Part of what will make Wynton's music so challenging for both Nicky
0:09:57 > 0:10:00and the orchestra to play is that it revolves around a type of sound
0:10:00 > 0:10:03and feeling that rarely features in the classical canon.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06I love jazz music.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09It has a certain type of humour and optimism,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12it has Anglo-Celtic music as the foundation of the harmonies
0:10:12 > 0:10:14and the melodies.
0:10:14 > 0:10:15There's African rhythm.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19Afro-American rhythm and feeling.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21And it's rooted in the blues.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30If you play 99% of your time in something
0:10:30 > 0:10:32that's not blues idiom music,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35it takes a great investment to make a blues idiom statement.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37It's hard.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Nicky's great investment in taking on this piece is about more
0:10:45 > 0:10:48than learning and understanding the blues.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51Her part will encompass African rhythms, burlesque passages,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54gospel inflections and traces of Celtic folk.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58Classical violinists don't often play any of these things,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01let alone all of them, in one concerto.
0:11:06 > 0:11:07OK, that's short.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09De-de de-de-AH-da.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12It's a combination of a jig and an African 6/8.
0:11:12 > 0:11:13'I always loved the fiddle,
0:11:13 > 0:11:17'trying to figure how to make the instrument do the things
0:11:17 > 0:11:19'that I can bring to it that are different.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22'I have to filter through my own sensibility of jazz,
0:11:22 > 0:11:25'and make the orchestra groove, make it play the feeling of the blues,
0:11:25 > 0:11:29'to change the emotions and colours the way we do it in jazz,
0:11:29 > 0:11:30'because we are improvising.'
0:11:31 > 0:11:33De-de... Just like you're playing a jig.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37HE CONTINUES DEMONSTRATING RHYTHM
0:11:37 > 0:11:40So it's one, two, three, four.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42So we're going from one-two-three, one-two-three, one-two-three.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44HE DEMONSTRATES
0:11:44 > 0:11:47'For some reason, there's a desire to dismiss things that are dance-like,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49'or tuneful, or grooving.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51'And many times it's dismissed by those who can't groove,
0:11:51 > 0:11:54'those who don't understand the power of a groove.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57'The presence of a groove doesn't mean a lack of emotional depth
0:11:57 > 0:11:59'or psychological complexity.'
0:11:59 > 0:12:01HE DEMONSTRATES
0:12:01 > 0:12:04- Yeah, but am I...? - You can do it. It's a drum, too.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06It's a very percussive instrument.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09I mean, you've written, "Sing out." Is it...? Is it like...?
0:12:09 > 0:12:10- It's loud.- OK.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13It's like when the piano plays...
0:12:13 > 0:12:15HE PLAYS EMPHATICALLY
0:12:17 > 0:12:20But then it became... It became like what singers
0:12:20 > 0:12:24in the '50s would play... in the churches, like...
0:12:24 > 0:12:26MORE EMPHATIC
0:12:29 > 0:12:32# And the Lord knows
0:12:32 > 0:12:35# That you will find...# You know what I mean? It's just...
0:12:35 > 0:12:41# DE-de-de-de-de-de DE-de-de-de-de-de. #
0:12:48 > 0:12:50OK, that's the first time I just about played it!
0:12:50 > 0:12:52I'm trying to finish her part.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55And I'm... Of course I'm late.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Every time she plays it, I hope it changes.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00There's going to be an end to that.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06Especially... Especially with anything...
0:13:06 > 0:13:08Especially with anything fast.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12Like, the plan is, when I go home after this trip,
0:13:12 > 0:13:17is that all the fast stuff basically stays as it is, because I just...
0:13:17 > 0:13:22- I'm not going to be... I'm actually not going to be able to learn it in time otherwise.- Just make up stuff.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24I can't do that. I'm incapable.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26It's just fast, you can do it.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28- I can't.- When you start playing, you'll see it.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31I will stop. I'll just stop, in the concert.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Don't. Just start playing 16th notes.
0:13:34 > 0:13:35Don't.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56Six months into their collaboration,
0:13:56 > 0:13:59it is clear to Nicky that flexibility and openness
0:13:59 > 0:14:02to change are fundamental to Wynton's approach to composition.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04But this doesn't always sit well
0:14:04 > 0:14:07with her rigorous classical training.
0:14:07 > 0:14:13I sent some little clips to Wynton of the things that I was working on.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15And if he hears something that is not sitting right
0:14:15 > 0:14:17or that doesn't sound that good,
0:14:17 > 0:14:19his instinct is just to want to change the notes,
0:14:19 > 0:14:21all the time. Just change it.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25The whole point of the last trip that I took to New York was, like,
0:14:25 > 0:14:29to have the notes finalised and they're not going to change now.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35Nicky's difficulty with changing notes is partly a practical one.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38It's only when she's been able to solve the complex puzzle of where
0:14:38 > 0:14:39to place her fingers and her bow
0:14:39 > 0:14:42that she can start the real work of finding and creating her own voice
0:14:42 > 0:14:44within the piece.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52No matter how much I try to explain to him how long the process takes to
0:14:52 > 0:14:57really solidify the music into your fingers and into your muscle memory,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00the worst thing that he can do is just change the notes all the time.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Which is what he keeps doing.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09In terms of the hours put in
0:15:09 > 0:15:13to actually developing your interpretation of something,
0:15:13 > 0:15:17there's definitely something about how you're tying yourself to
0:15:17 > 0:15:21those notes and how you're working out what you're going to say through them.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25And that's something that happens if you spend 50 hours doing that
0:15:25 > 0:15:30that couldn't possibly happen if you just pick it up and play it.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36But for Nicky, the hours she needs to spend on the new piece
0:15:36 > 0:15:39will have to be found whilst constantly playing concerts
0:15:39 > 0:15:42and doing music education work all over the world.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Wynton must finalise Nicky's part and write the entire
0:15:45 > 0:15:48orchestra score while playing a similar number of gigs
0:15:48 > 0:15:52and simultaneously being responsible for a major cultural institution -
0:15:52 > 0:15:53Jazz at Lincoln Center.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58I'm playing a Brahms violin concerto,
0:15:58 > 0:16:01a Korngold and Glazunov violin concerto.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03Quite a lot of chamber music repertoires - Schubert,
0:16:03 > 0:16:05a lot of Vivaldi pieces.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08Obviously this monster of a piece.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15I wonder how many concertos have been composed on the road like this.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17I don't know too much is done like this.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19It's unorthodox.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23If you want unusual results, you have to do something unusual.
0:16:24 > 0:16:29Yes, this whole thing so far has been much more time-consuming than I expected.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32Often if feels like you're just being sort of pulled and pushed
0:16:32 > 0:16:34in so many different directions.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40I know Nicky's part is going to be great.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44She thinks I'm not respectful enough of all the work that she has to do, but she's going to do that.
0:16:47 > 0:16:53I'll be particularly happy when my part is not only written but it's going to stay as it is.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57- 'Right.'- You know, I have eight versions of the second movement
0:16:57 > 0:16:58and each time I print a new version,
0:16:58 > 0:17:02I have to put in every single bowing and fingering again.
0:17:02 > 0:17:03'That's why you should have played trumpet.'
0:17:03 > 0:17:05SHE LAUGHS
0:17:07 > 0:17:10I've barely spoken to Wynton the last couple of weeks.
0:17:10 > 0:17:15And he just sounds like someone who hasn't slept at all.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18I mean, I barely recognised his voice.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24If I don't have this music finished...
0:17:24 > 0:17:27I don't know what's going to happen with the wave I'm on.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30So I'd better make sure I ride this wave out.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37After months of communicating by e-mail and phone,
0:17:37 > 0:17:41Nicky and Wynton are finally able to get together in London.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45All four movements of Nicky's part are now written, but she still needs
0:17:45 > 0:17:49Wynton's help to explain the emotions and meaning behind it.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53All the thematic material and everything is in this.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57Doesn't necessarily help me play the rest of the notes.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01But it helps me understand the meaning behind them.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04OK. Um...
0:18:04 > 0:18:08It's like you remembering something that's unbelievably...
0:18:08 > 0:18:11It's not even sweet, it's far beyond that.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20The first movement is night-time.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22This is right before you go to sleep.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24You're going to have a dream.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31You sing somebody a lullaby or a bedtime story.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Then it goes to the groove.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52This has a real build-up,
0:18:52 > 0:18:55it's like you're going to a destination that's kind of high-minded.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58You're looking up here. You came from the blues, now you're going up here.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12And when you get to this point now, it goes back to that pastoral feel.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16HE HUMS MELODY
0:19:42 > 0:19:44- Then you say... - HE HUMS
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Now, when you get to that, that's when you're almost asleep.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53I mean, like, your thoughts that you have right before you go to sleep.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59- HE HUMS - Like... Like angels, they're just flitting around.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12So you see that... For this beginning section to be successful,
0:20:12 > 0:20:14all of that has to be in it.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25At this point, that much information is just great.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27It changes everything about how I feel, about how I play,
0:20:27 > 0:20:31about how I feel in relation to the other parts, the tempos, the sound, everything.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34It only builds depth into the piece.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43VIOLIN MUSIC FADES INTO JAZZ DRUMMING
0:20:51 > 0:20:55His unrelenting tour schedule brings Wynton and his team to France,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58to play the Jazz In Marciac Festival.
0:20:58 > 0:21:04The first important deadline for the concerto is fast approaching.
0:21:04 > 0:21:05RAGTIME JAZZ
0:21:07 > 0:21:10A full draft of the score is nearly complete.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13The race is on to put in all the finishing touches,
0:21:13 > 0:21:16as in two weeks' time, an orchestra has been lined up to rehearse it
0:21:16 > 0:21:19for them, in Chautauqua, in upstate New York.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22This will be the first and only time they get to hear the concerto before
0:21:22 > 0:21:24its premiere in London.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28- Are you going to be on time for Chautauqua?- Define "on time".
0:21:28 > 0:21:33It's already late. So, I mean, it's not going to be on time.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35Every day, there is always 25 things.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37Are you going to have time for a rest after all this?
0:21:37 > 0:21:40There's no rest. This is the rest.
0:21:40 > 0:21:41This actually is the rest.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45I get to play with Walter and Vic and everybody, that's the rest.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48MODERN JAZZ
0:21:56 > 0:21:59For Wynton, scoring for an entire orchestra
0:21:59 > 0:22:01allows him to express himself on a scale
0:22:01 > 0:22:03that exists nowhere else in music.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06But it's not without its challenges.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08If you come on the road with a band...
0:22:08 > 0:22:10We've been blowin' with each other for 20 years, 15 years.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13It's no problem communicating with each other.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16We talk all the time. "Play this music like this."
0:22:16 > 0:22:20And it's not said in arrogance, it's just we have a method, a way of working on stuff.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23It is democratic, we understand what our objective...
0:22:23 > 0:22:26or our perspective, and we are willing to...
0:22:26 > 0:22:28But then again, that's 15 people.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31Could I conceive of 70 people doing it?
0:22:33 > 0:22:36They COULD do it, it's hard to conceive of it.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39BLUESY JAZZ
0:22:41 > 0:22:42Unlike some composers,
0:22:42 > 0:22:47Wynton writes every note by hand for every single part of the orchestra.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51The only person helping him with this is his copyist, Jonathan Kelly,
0:22:51 > 0:22:55who must transcribe his handwriting into readable scores.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58The whole idea of composing music for a symphony,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01you're taking a thought
0:23:01 > 0:23:05and then making a visual representation of thought.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09So you're going from thought to visual representation,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13to another person looking at it and interpreting your visual
0:23:13 > 0:23:16representation of your thought.
0:23:16 > 0:23:21And then hoping that all 100 of them...um...
0:23:21 > 0:23:25kind of...kind of...hear
0:23:25 > 0:23:28or see the thought in similar fashion.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31It's almost impossible, if you really think about it.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36Back in London, with the first rehearsal looming,
0:23:36 > 0:23:38Nicky must deepen her own understanding
0:23:38 > 0:23:41of what all the other arrangements will be playing.
0:23:41 > 0:23:46Yesterday, I received this from Jonathan, who's in France.
0:23:46 > 0:23:47These are the new parts.
0:23:47 > 0:23:52So this is the chance I have to actually see what the flutes are playing,
0:23:52 > 0:23:56piccolo, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horns, trumpets, trombones, tuba,
0:23:56 > 0:24:01timpani, three percussionists, harp, violin one, violin two, viola,
0:24:01 > 0:24:03cello and bass.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05My biggest fear would be that...
0:24:07 > 0:24:11..something changes at the last minute, I don't have enough time to adjust,
0:24:11 > 0:24:15and I somehow come unstuck with the orchestra and conductor.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17It's perfectly possible.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21It can happen in pieces that we all know really well and we've played
0:24:21 > 0:24:23a million times. It can happen.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25But with a piece that's brand-new
0:24:25 > 0:24:29and so many changes happening all the time,
0:24:29 > 0:24:33I think the chances of that happening are significantly higher.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42All the work so far has been leading up to this moment.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44Nicky and Wynton are heading to Chautauqua,
0:24:44 > 0:24:47where they're going to hear the concerto for the first time.
0:24:47 > 0:24:53The car ride up is the last chance for Nicky to try to understand the orchestra's part.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55Who's playing that? Tuba?
0:24:55 > 0:24:59Tuba. But one bass playing a heavy pizzicato.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03And is this... # Um-ba um-ba... #
0:25:03 > 0:25:07No, it's just a straight eight. # Ba um-ba um-ba...#
0:25:07 > 0:25:08Tuba.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11Tu...ba.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16In Chautauqua, there will be two rehearsals and a performance
0:25:16 > 0:25:20of the current draft of Wynton's unfinished concerto.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23- INTERVIEWER:- When this piece gets in front of an audience,
0:25:23 > 0:25:25what's at stake for you guys then?
0:25:25 > 0:25:27I want people to like it.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29You know, I stayed up all...
0:25:29 > 0:25:33For the last two months, I've been up at four, five o'clock in the morning,
0:25:33 > 0:25:35after going to bed at two,
0:25:35 > 0:25:39then working all day doing gigs and being on the road and being...
0:25:39 > 0:25:41spoken to indelicately.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43THEY LAUGH
0:25:43 > 0:25:44That's...
0:25:44 > 0:25:46That was the worst... I mean, that's it.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49We've put the time and the work into it.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53She was practising all... She practised 14 hours yesterday.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55I really care.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59I'm not going to lie about that at all.
0:25:59 > 0:26:00Some people just...
0:26:00 > 0:26:03will not be honest about that or they really don't.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05I really care.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15Chautauqua is a long way from the Barbican or Carnegie Hall,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18but every summer, this small lakeside holiday community
0:26:18 > 0:26:21plays host to a distinguished orchestra. For Nicky and Wynton,
0:26:21 > 0:26:23their offer to workshop the concerto
0:26:23 > 0:26:25was worth going out of their way for.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27ORCHESTRA TUNES UP
0:26:29 > 0:26:32When dealing with an orchestra of any kind,
0:26:32 > 0:26:34rehearsal time is at a premium.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Regardless of how difficult they find the piece,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39there will only be two three-hour sessions to work on it.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45- All right, I'll keep at it, then. - Yes, sure.- The percussion...
0:26:45 > 0:26:48And Jonathan is still making Wynton's changes
0:26:48 > 0:26:50right up to the wire.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54We delivered the music to the musicians just a few days ago.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56Now, an hour before rehearsal,
0:26:56 > 0:27:01I have to go to them and say, "OK, well, we're actually going to change this one section."
0:27:01 > 0:27:03Instead of printing out a brand-new set of parts,
0:27:03 > 0:27:09you paste in a few measures and put it into the original part.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11ORCHESTRA TUNES UP
0:27:13 > 0:27:15The guest conductor is Cristi Macelaru.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27Let's hear this. There's nothing like hearing music for the first time.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30So we'll start at the beginning and make our way through there.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33I know there are many questions, but...
0:27:33 > 0:27:37but Mr Marsalis is right here and he will answer everything.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44'It's hard being a composer. It's a very difficult thing.'
0:27:44 > 0:27:47You create something that is only alive when someone else
0:27:47 > 0:27:49believes in it, when someone else does it.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55VIOLIN PLAYS
0:28:03 > 0:28:06Most composers, in my experience,
0:28:06 > 0:28:10when they hear something they wrote for the first time, they're shocked.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14You know? And sometimes at the very beginning, the first reaction is,
0:28:14 > 0:28:16"Oh, my God, this is completely not what I expected,"
0:28:16 > 0:28:18and they don't like it, you know,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21because they've lived with the music inside their head and it's become
0:28:21 > 0:28:26such a personal thing that it's hard to let it go.
0:28:40 > 0:28:45Wynton is indeed shocked by what he hears in the first few minutes.
0:28:45 > 0:28:50OK. I know I'm a little slow. I know... I'm... Sorry, Wynton.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54OK. Shall we try this? This is 199. Thank you so much for your patience.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58- There's a lot she did that... - OK.- There's a lot I need to...
0:28:59 > 0:29:03The first half seemed too dry, the second half seemed too much.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17The first rehearsal is never perfect,
0:29:17 > 0:29:19but for Jonathan and Wynton, there were far more issues
0:29:19 > 0:29:21with the piece than they had expected.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28This here is terrible. It's just a groove, though.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32You know what I want to do? Give this part to one bassist.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35I have to make sure that this is right, what I'm saying.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38I'm trying to figure out why this harmony doesn't sound right.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42I think I heard a lot that I would like to change.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44We make the changes we can make. Some of them we can't make.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46But it's not going to change a lot,
0:29:46 > 0:29:49but there's just some things I want to change.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52That first play-through was a shock to you at first?
0:29:52 > 0:29:55That first 15 minutes was irresolute for me.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57It was, whoo...
0:29:57 > 0:29:59I start looking at it, like, "What?"
0:29:59 > 0:30:01I can't tell what...
0:30:02 > 0:30:05..whether what I wrote is inept or, you know,
0:30:05 > 0:30:09just for everybody to get used to the language.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12And this... You have to be patient.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19- What are your expectations for tomorrow?- I expect it'll improve.
0:30:20 > 0:30:21I hope it does.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26You know, that's basically what it is.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35ORCHESTRA TUNES UP
0:30:35 > 0:30:39None of the musicians know the music, nobody was playing the right dynamics.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41We've loads of wrong notes.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43Some in the part, some just people playing the wrong notes.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46You have, like, even just 15 mistakes like that
0:30:46 > 0:30:51within the first five minutes of a piece and it sounds like a completely different piece.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53ORCHESTRA PLAYS
0:30:55 > 0:30:59With no further rehearsals planned until the piece arrives at the LSO,
0:30:59 > 0:31:03Wynton has only three remaining hours with an orchestra in front of him
0:31:03 > 0:31:06to establish what is and isn't working.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12It needs to be slower. The whole thing should be grooving, more than being virtuosity -
0:31:12 > 0:31:16it's more groove. You want to tell him about the violin?
0:31:17 > 0:31:20- Yeah.- Can the first play 8va
0:31:20 > 0:31:23on the pick-up to 74 for that four-bar phrase?
0:31:23 > 0:31:24Five or whatever it is?
0:31:26 > 0:31:28ORCHESTRA PLAYS
0:31:32 > 0:31:37Maestro, can we take the timpani out from measure 157 to 165?
0:31:37 > 0:31:41- Maestro?- Yes, sir.- Would you do the same thing at measure 25?
0:31:41 > 0:31:44That's the one point that has to be really clear, what she's playing.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46- Maestro?- Yes, please?
0:31:46 > 0:31:50Can we take the cymbal part out from measure 133 to 138?
0:31:50 > 0:31:52Just leave the tambourine.
0:31:52 > 0:31:54And also the horns from the same, please.
0:31:54 > 0:31:56Is this getting closer to what you had in mind?
0:31:56 > 0:31:58Just the feeling is not right.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01We know the melody and the bass are confused.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03- Give us one more chance.- It's not...
0:32:03 > 0:32:06It's something that's globally wrong.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23So there's probably six or seven places in the piece
0:32:23 > 0:32:28that have kind of monumental changes that you don't have time
0:32:28 > 0:32:31to fix, communicate, practise,
0:32:31 > 0:32:35so...that'll just have to happen after.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39- INTERVIEWER:- And by definition they'll be unpractised when this gets to the LSO?
0:32:39 > 0:32:40Yeah.
0:32:40 > 0:32:45Yeah, the LSO will be looking at a brand-new set of parts.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51It's obvious the concerto is far from ready.
0:32:51 > 0:32:53Whether they know it's a test run or not,
0:32:53 > 0:32:56the idea of playing it to any audience right now is more than
0:32:56 > 0:32:58a little unsettling for Nicky.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01Usually after rehearsal, I would have a really proper debrief
0:33:01 > 0:33:05just with myself, and I haven't had the space to do that,
0:33:05 > 0:33:09on all the things that, like, I did wrong...
0:33:09 > 0:33:11of which there were many.
0:33:11 > 0:33:13So I'm just going...
0:33:13 > 0:33:16I've got, like, half an hour.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25The question is... I can't believe I'm going to play this.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28- Yeah, you're going to play. - That's going to be embarrassing.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31- This...- It won't be. - OK, I'm just going to...
0:33:31 > 0:33:33I'm not going to play that tonight.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35I'm just going to play there.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38You can play that, too.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40Ohhh...
0:33:40 > 0:33:41OK.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47- If for some reason I don't get... What should I do?- It doesn't matter.
0:33:47 > 0:33:49If I just end up there and play that, that's OK?
0:33:52 > 0:33:54- Just feel it. Yeah. - You'd rather I...?
0:33:54 > 0:33:56Concentrate on playing, don't concentrate on that.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59Don't worry about that, OK? That's not in a place.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02Don't start thinking about going from there to there.
0:34:02 > 0:34:03- It's going to be...- It's not.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05The amount of just...
0:34:07 > 0:34:09..notes that are not just wrong, they're going to be in-between...
0:34:09 > 0:34:12No-one will know that they're wrong.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14- No, I know, OK.- I wrote them, and - I- won't know.- OK.
0:34:14 > 0:34:15- Don't worry about it.- OK.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17ORCHESTRA TUNES UP
0:34:22 > 0:34:23Yes.
0:34:25 > 0:34:27- Ready?- I suddenly feel slightly sick.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29CONDUCTOR LAUGHS
0:34:29 > 0:34:33Maybe not only slightly, maybe quite sick.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37OK, look, whatever happens, you know...
0:34:37 > 0:34:39I'll start whistling your part if there's a problem.
0:34:39 > 0:34:41- Don't worry about it.- You are...
0:34:44 > 0:34:46APPLAUSE
0:35:27 > 0:35:31CONCERTO CONTINUES
0:36:32 > 0:36:36After repeatedly listening to the recording of the Chautauqua performance,
0:36:36 > 0:36:40Nicky's mind is now focused on the audibility of her part.
0:36:40 > 0:36:42So we're just... We're just going through the part,
0:36:42 > 0:36:44analysing all the things we didn't think worked,
0:36:44 > 0:36:49- especially the balance issues. Um... - INTERVIEWER:- What's the balance issue? Explain that.
0:36:49 > 0:36:53Balance issues, basically, when Wynton's over-scored the orchestra,
0:36:53 > 0:36:56used too much brass and percussion.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59When they play, they cover me, so just trying to reduce them
0:36:59 > 0:37:01so that you can definitely hear me.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05In many cases, a violin concerto might have a 30- to 40-piece orchestra
0:37:05 > 0:37:07playing behind the soloist.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10Wynton's concerto calls for around 80 players.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14Nicky's virtuosity will mean nothing if the orchestra drowns her out.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17I'm sure you couldn't hear that in the hall.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19- You can hear it.- Do you remember that specifically?
0:37:19 > 0:37:22Everything you couldn't hear I've marked in the score
0:37:22 > 0:37:24and said you cannot hear it.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27- What about that?- What was the problem with that?
0:37:27 > 0:37:29If you had to analyse it.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37- First, the...- Well, the first problem is that you can't hear me,
0:37:37 > 0:37:39that's the first problem.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41INDISTINCT
0:37:41 > 0:37:42That's always the first problem.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44- But the question is why? - I'm what?
0:37:44 > 0:37:48I'm saying why is it that you think you can't hear the part?
0:37:48 > 0:37:51If you look at the part and analyse it.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53If we just listen to it.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57What would be your analysation of the problem?
0:37:57 > 0:38:01Because I'm playing with a lot of people that are playing forte.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05Who's playing...? Who of the people that are playing are playing forte
0:38:05 > 0:38:06would be in your way?
0:38:07 > 0:38:11The bassoons? The oboe's an octave below you or something?
0:38:13 > 0:38:16- Look at who's playing.- I'm looking.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19In their middle reg... They're not in strong registers for that.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22So what do you suggest?
0:38:22 > 0:38:25Everything I'm saying is based on the fact that you've marked that
0:38:25 > 0:38:28you couldn't hear me, it's not just my, like...
0:38:28 > 0:38:31When we listen to the tape, why do you think you couldn't be heard?
0:38:31 > 0:38:36Just listen to the tape and think about it.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39Even the percussion, like, always seems like it
0:38:39 > 0:38:41does take up quite a lot of noise.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43Maybe it could just start less.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45- PENCIL SCRIBBLES - You can hear that.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47That's not going to be a problem.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50I can't do this. I'm sorry.
0:38:50 > 0:38:51CHAIR SCRAPES
0:38:56 > 0:38:58It'll be heard now.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00- THUMP - Taking out the whole thing?
0:39:00 > 0:39:02You can be heard when nothing is there.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04What's there is still...
0:39:04 > 0:39:10- is going to go bom-bom-bom... - HE CONTINUES
0:39:10 > 0:39:12And you hear the violin.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18She thinks that I'm mad taking it out, but I'm not.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20I don't mind taking it out.
0:39:23 > 0:39:24We'll work it out.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28That's what collaboration is.
0:39:29 > 0:39:31You have to work it out.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34It'll work out.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52It is so difficult to have those conversations
0:39:52 > 0:39:55where you're trying to say to somebody you think it's great,
0:39:55 > 0:39:58but maybe it's just not this or not that, and...
0:39:58 > 0:40:00Oh, I hate it.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04I have so much work to do between now and the actual concert.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20After two more months of changes and rewrites,
0:40:20 > 0:40:24Wynton's concerto has been delivered to the London Symphony Orchestra.
0:40:24 > 0:40:31The time has come for Nicky to rehearse and play the premiere.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33NICKY PLAYS VIOLIN
0:40:36 > 0:40:40This time, the guest conductor is James Gaffigan.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44Yeah.
0:40:44 > 0:40:46Do you think we will, in the time that we have,
0:40:46 > 0:40:50- at least get to play through the last movement today?- We'll feel it.
0:40:50 > 0:40:52I think the bulk of the time should be spent on the first
0:40:52 > 0:40:54and then showing them the ending of the piece.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57You know, they should see what's happening there.
0:40:57 > 0:40:58- Yeah.- So...
0:40:58 > 0:41:03- It'll be fun. Great. I'm going to go up there and just see how they're setting it up.- OK.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07I have two parts of my personality.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11I have the very black and white, logistical part of my personality,
0:41:11 > 0:41:14of what's going to work, what's not going to work.
0:41:14 > 0:41:18And when I look at a score like that, I see problems right away.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22But I think in the case of doing a world premiere,
0:41:22 > 0:41:26there's going to be a lot of shocking things one will hear.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28Wrong notes, wrong rhythms.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30Some are the musician's fault, some are the composer's fault,
0:41:30 > 0:41:33some are the copyist's fault.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36Some are the soloist's fault, some are the conductor's fault.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38We are all guilty at one point or another.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45And it just takes time.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47It never happens right away.
0:41:51 > 0:41:53- INTERVIEWER:- Are you ready for this? - I'm really nervous.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55I'm, like, slightly panicking.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58I'm not panicking, just...really nervous.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07I react quite strongly to the rehearsal process with the orchestra
0:42:07 > 0:42:13and it's something I do build up to and I expect something from myself
0:42:13 > 0:42:15and from the collaboration.
0:42:15 > 0:42:20And there's something about it that is, like...
0:42:20 > 0:42:22You know, you're just diving into it -
0:42:22 > 0:42:26I mean, literally like diving into the unknown.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29CONCERTO PLAYS
0:42:38 > 0:42:41This tempo, I was just...
0:42:41 > 0:42:44- Fine.- They were just... You know, so many things going slightly wrong.
0:42:44 > 0:42:47- This tempo, I think, could be much slower.- 7/8 slower.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53- Much more like...- Ah!
0:42:53 > 0:42:55- This is more like... - The softer all of this is,
0:42:55 > 0:42:57- and very clear and comical, this place.- Yeah.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01Yeah. Yeah, let's make sure. OK.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04'I'm really not feeling so positive just now
0:43:04 > 0:43:08'because I just feel like it was sort of a bit messy.'
0:43:08 > 0:43:13Everything was loud. A lot of the time, I couldn't hear myself.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15I couldn't hear any clarity in my part.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18I couldn't hear clarity in the orchestra,
0:43:18 > 0:43:20but they're also just a loud orchestra
0:43:20 > 0:43:23and they're an orchestra that can create this unbelievable
0:43:23 > 0:43:25overview and expansiveness.
0:43:25 > 0:43:27But for this, so much of the time,
0:43:27 > 0:43:30we just need, like, really cold clarity.
0:43:30 > 0:43:36It's such a...completely new landscape to these musicians.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39And to Nicky and I, actually.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41Although things make sense in the score, it's like...
0:43:41 > 0:43:45When it's happening in front of you, you realise, whoa,
0:43:45 > 0:43:47this is going to be difficult.
0:43:47 > 0:43:48I couldn't really get a feel for
0:43:48 > 0:43:52how much everybody was feeling the piece or not.
0:43:52 > 0:43:54Just feels like a blur,
0:43:54 > 0:43:57just like a blur of just, like, wading our way through
0:43:57 > 0:44:01and it feels like quite a panicked sort of environment as well.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03It doesn't feel...very calm
0:44:03 > 0:44:05and it doesn't feel like it has much clarity,
0:44:05 > 0:44:07so I just don't feel great.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10And, of course, I immediately blame everything on myself.
0:44:10 > 0:44:16Like, my sound is small, my sound is not carrying enough,
0:44:16 > 0:44:19it's not leading enough, blah blah blah.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23But I've spoken to, like, the people who are with me that are here
0:44:23 > 0:44:25and they're saying it's not the case, it's just that...
0:44:25 > 0:44:28There's just too much chaos going on and they just have to be brought
0:44:28 > 0:44:32right down and everything has to be cleaned up and clarified.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36'It's hard to write for a violinist and 100 people.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39'It's a bit strange, when you think about it,
0:44:39 > 0:44:42'but this has become the norm to have 80 to 100 people on stage
0:44:42 > 0:44:44'and one violinist as a soloist.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47'What's the use of doing all this work, of doing all this gymnastics,
0:44:47 > 0:44:50'when no-one's going to hear you?'
0:44:50 > 0:44:52But it doesn't mean the soloist should play louder.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55It means the orchestra needs to play in a more transparent way.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58Personally, I feel like things like the second movement,
0:44:58 > 0:45:00the first run of the second movement
0:45:00 > 0:45:03in Chautauqua was clearer than it was today.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05That's how I feel.
0:45:05 > 0:45:08Anyway, it's fine. Everything is fine.
0:45:15 > 0:45:16SHE EXHALES
0:45:19 > 0:45:22I just don't do well when I think I'm playing badly.
0:45:22 > 0:45:24I'm just always very...
0:45:26 > 0:45:31Um... I feel very, you know, low, when I think that.
0:45:34 > 0:45:36OK!
0:45:52 > 0:45:55The day of the performance has finally arrived.
0:45:55 > 0:45:59The rehearsal process has left Nicky wondering if she's prepared or not.
0:46:04 > 0:46:06- 'Hello?'- Hi, it's Nicola Benedetti.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09- BEEP - 'The LSO?'- Yes.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11DOOR CLICKS
0:46:36 > 0:46:40'I'm not going to be able to be at the premiere.'
0:46:40 > 0:46:42That's right in our fall season.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44And it kills me that I can't be there.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46I want to be there, even if it's just for moral support.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49It's nothing... I mean, I'm not playing.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51And Nicky is going to play great.
0:46:51 > 0:46:53She knows the piece. She is serious about it.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55I'm not worried at all.
0:46:58 > 0:47:00Wynton, he's going to be a nervous wreck,
0:47:00 > 0:47:02and all he's relying on is me...
0:47:02 > 0:47:06sending him messages about, "Yeah, it sounds good," or...
0:47:06 > 0:47:10Actually, the interesting thing about Wynton is that if I write to him and I say,
0:47:10 > 0:47:12"Hey, here's an issue at bar 73,
0:47:12 > 0:47:15"I think that the French horns are too loud,
0:47:15 > 0:47:19"maybe we can pull them back," there's no problem, he'll respond.
0:47:19 > 0:47:21Any time you tell him that everything sounds good,
0:47:21 > 0:47:23he thinks I'm lying to him
0:47:23 > 0:47:26because I'm just trying to protect myself from doing more work!
0:47:26 > 0:47:27Which isn't true.
0:47:29 > 0:47:31In the Barbican Hall,
0:47:31 > 0:47:35an audience of London's classical music elite starts to assemble.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47I think if I would be there, I would really be nervous for her.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49A soloist is by themselves.
0:47:49 > 0:47:51A band, you are a family.
0:47:51 > 0:47:53It's a big difference.
0:47:53 > 0:47:55The life she is living, that's a hard life.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58There's a lot of pressure playing these very difficult pieces.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01You've got to be on a certain level of perfection.
0:48:01 > 0:48:05You're sitting in front of all those people, playing your instrument. It's always the dynamic.
0:48:05 > 0:48:08She has a lot of pressure on her.
0:48:13 > 0:48:18There's something about the life of walking on stage, playing this thing
0:48:18 > 0:48:19from memory, everybody so silent.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22It's like there can be something...
0:48:22 > 0:48:26There can be a lot of tension in the profession of doing that.
0:48:31 > 0:48:32There's no real predicting
0:48:32 > 0:48:37what you're going to feel and what's suddenly going to, like, surface.
0:48:37 > 0:48:39It'll take you by surprise,
0:48:39 > 0:48:41but that's part of the risk that you take.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51I hope that they have the opportunity to love her artistry
0:48:51 > 0:48:56and her musicianship. I want people to enjoy things.
0:48:56 > 0:48:58And I offer things to people when I'm doing it,
0:48:58 > 0:49:02because if I'm not going to offer it to you, I don't need you...
0:49:02 > 0:49:05I can keep it. Like, I don't...
0:49:07 > 0:49:09You know, I'm offering it.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12And I'll take the risk that you'll hurt my feelings.
0:49:12 > 0:49:14This is the life... the life we live.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16We try new things, we try to do things.
0:49:16 > 0:49:18- Let's do it.- Right.
0:49:18 > 0:49:20INDISTINCT
0:49:20 > 0:49:22HE CLAPS
0:49:22 > 0:49:24APPLAUSE
0:49:35 > 0:49:39I could never imagine writing a piece of music like this
0:49:39 > 0:49:40and letting it go.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44It must be a strange feeling, you know.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47You have a child and the child is yours.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50It's clearly yours, it has...
0:49:50 > 0:49:55everything from you, you know, the DNA, all these beautiful things.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58But then one day, that child's going to go out in the world.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02And that child's going to change and that child is going to grow.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:57:16 > 0:57:19The crowd give the premiere a standing ovation.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22- It was great. How do you feel? - INDISTINCT REPLY
0:57:22 > 0:57:27And even the famously hard to please LSO is impressed.
0:57:27 > 0:57:32I think this is a very exciting new piece and I think
0:57:32 > 0:57:36it's a great addition to the violin concerto repertoire.
0:57:36 > 0:57:40And I'm sure it will last the test of time.
0:57:43 > 0:57:44But for both Nicky and Wynton,
0:57:44 > 0:57:48the story of the concerto is only just beginning.
0:57:48 > 0:57:50I have this piece and it has been written
0:57:50 > 0:57:52and it's going to change with me
0:57:52 > 0:57:56and it's going to change in ways that I don't even know yet,
0:57:56 > 0:58:00and that's one of the most fulfilling and beautiful journeys
0:58:00 > 0:58:02that you have with a piece of music.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07I did not play remotely perfectly, but I was, I think,
0:58:07 > 0:58:11very relaxed and just gave it everything, and people just...
0:58:11 > 0:58:12The piece was...
0:58:12 > 0:58:14was...great.
0:58:14 > 0:58:17I don't know what else to say. And people loved it.