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Nicola Benedetti has ‘strong feelings’ on mobile phones at classical concerts
16 August 2024, 17:53 | Updated: 19 August 2024, 08:00
Nicola Benedetti has 'strong feelings' on phones at concerts | Classic FM
The star violinist and festival director told Classic FM about her thoughts on classical concert etiquette and mobile phones.
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Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti has added her voice to the debate over whether or not the use of mobile phones to take photos and videos at classical music concerts should be considered acceptable.
Speaking to Classic FM presenter Ritula Shah during the opening week of the Edinburgh International Festival, the festival director said she had “very mixed feelings... but also very strong feelings” about the issue.
Benedetti shared that a “pet hate” of hers is witnessing venue and concert staff telling concertgoers what to do during performances.
“It can be a very off-putting experience when you’re told off in a place [where] you’ve paid for a ticket and you’ve gone to have a beautiful evening, and you’re getting told what to do and what not to do,” she said, adding that the strict policing of audience members can be even more distracting for those nearby than the offending activity in the first place.
Just three months earlier, in May 2024, a decision by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) to allow audience members to discreetly take photos and videos at its concerts sparked lively debate online, attracting responses from musicians and music lovers far and wide.
One prominent voice in the discussion was organist Anna Lapwood, who has attracted millions of followers across social media from her videos which enthuse and inspire a new generation of music-lovers and organ players.
Describing the CBSO’s decision as ‘exciting’, Lapwood wrote: “I actively encourage my audiences to film/take photos during my concerts... One of my favourite things is getting home and going through all the pictures and videos that people have tagged me in. It’s like a little community forms around that moment in time, and the concert lives on for a while longer.”
For Benedetti, a different kind of community is formed when devices are out of the picture.
“It is so unique to have 2,000 people not on devices, sitting, listening, and paying attention to something collectively,” she told Ritula Shah.
“I think it’s so rare in today’s environment and because of that I would like to experiment more with actually encouraging more of that, and encouraging people before they go into the space to understand that that’s what it is.
“If you’re claustrophobic, or if the thought of being still and concentrating for 45 minutes is not for you, there’s other ways you can appreciate music. Perhaps that environment isn’t for you, but I think that there is a way to prepare people to embrace how unique and special that is.”
Benedetti also points out that the time spent in a concert hall away from your mobile phone is, in the grand scheme of things, not a long time at all.
There are other ways of making a concert setting feel less formal too, Benedetti says. For many of the concerts held at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall throughout the Festival, the stalls have been removed and replaced by bean bags.
“It’s not that people are necessarily getting out their phones every two seconds,” Benedetti says. “But it does give a very different and obviously physically more relaxed environment, and people feel freer and less constrained.
“I think the main aim for the Edinburgh International Festival for us is that we provide a huge myriad, a real diverse range of ways to enjoy the greatest art.”
