How do you mostly listen to music?
Because I’m on the road so much I tend to listen to music on my iPhone with headphones.
What was the first ever record or CD you bought – and the most recent?
I think it was a recording of the Shostakovich Jazz Suites – I listened to them virtually non-stop when I was younger! The last recording I bought was Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, performed by Christine Schaefer, Pierre Boulez and Ensemble InterContemporain, as I was performing it at a festival recently in the Czech Republic.
If you found yourself with six months free to learn a new instrument, what would it be?
I went through a phase of wanting to play cello when I was about five, and I still absolutely adore the sound of it, so I think it would have to be that.
Did you ever consider a career outside of music?
Not seriously – music is absolutely my life. I love it and can’t really imagine doing anything else. That being said, I have always loved cars and Formula One , so maybe in another life I would be a racing-car driver.
What single thing would improve the format of the classical concert?
I don’t know about improving the format, but I would love to banish the notion that you have to understand classical music in order to appreciate and enjoy it when you are experiencing it for the first time. Music is a living, breathing thing, which can take you on so many journeys and understanding will come the more you listen to it, but being able to get lost in a piece is a wonderful thing. I also think that showing audiences that we are not just austere figures on stage, be it with pre- or post-concert talks or talking from the stage, is hugely important.
If you had to pick one work to introduce someone to the wonders of classical music, what would it be?
I think in some ways that it depends on the personality of whomever it is you are introducing to classical music. Also, there is so much amazing music out there I’m not sure I could pick one piece! Having said that, I have often thought that Shostakovich is a wonderful composer for newcomers to classical music.
Which conductor or performer of the past would you like to have worked with?
The past is so rich with wonderful performers but I would have liked to have worked with Leonid Kogan. I just love his sound. There are so many different colours within, and the nuances that he finds.
What’s the most unusual place you’ve ever performed?
I’ve had the opportunity to play in some really amazing spaces, but one that sticks in the mind was when I did a recital at sea on the Royal Clipper, an incredibly beautiful five-masted sailing ship. The piano was tied down with several ropes, and the sea became so rough I had to take off my heels and perform barefoot!
What’s been your most memorable live music experience as an audience member?
I’ve been fortunate enough to go to many wonderful concerts and have learned many things from them! I do remember being present when one of my favourite violinists, Ida Haendel, gave her Wigmore Hall debut around 15 years ago (having given her Proms debut in 1937!). She is such an extraordinary musician and communicator, and a wonderful person as well.
We’re giving you a time machine: what period, or moment in musical history, would you travel to and why?
I’ve been playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto so much recently and have often thought that I would love to have been present either at its premiere in 1806 (which was not overly successful), or when a 12-year-old [Joseph] Joachim played it, with Mendelssohn conducting, in London in 1844.
Which non-classical musician would you like to work with?
Muse, without a doubt!
