‘But you’re a violinist - why do you compose?’ is a question I’m asked frequently, as if it were somehow unnatural to be both. It might not be common these days, but if we look back in music history virtually every composer was also a performer, and many performers also composed.

Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Brahms, Debussy - they were all performers as well as composers. And those famous violinists who played their works - Spohr, David, Joachim, Ysaÿe and Kreisler, they were all composers as well. It was considered entirely commonplace that the two disciplines should go hand in hand.

So when did this change, and how has it affected the world of classical music? Well it’s worth considering the large percentage of those involved in the music scene 200 years ago who were truly great composers. Given that the classical music arena is at least 20 times as large today - by a conservative estimate - 20 times as many composers of the calibre of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert should exist, not more than one generation apart.

Is that the case? Well I know that we’re told it’s for posterity to decide which composers are the true greats of our day, but I think most of us would agree that in reality we haven’t had 60 composers in that league for the last 50 years. 

I think we could improve this situation by encouraging more of our young players to start composing, not when they’re 18 and entering music college or university, but right from the beginning. While we’re at it, why not inspire them through the fun of improvisation, and encourage them to improvise every day, both alone and together? All of the aforementioned great composers improvised, and while improvising they garnered ideas for their formal composition. I think joining up these disciplines would do our young musicians far greater good than forcing them to play endless scales and etudes with a metronome – something few of the great masters in history ever did.

There is much debate about how to save classical music and I believe that this could be one of the most innovative approaches to pursue. Today for the most part we play in tune enough, together enough; the battle isn’t with technique but with creating exciting and meaningful new content and performances. People only get bored of classical music when it is boring.

Henning Kraggerud’s latest work Equinox, a collaboration with the author Jostein Gaarder, was released by Simax Classics on September 4. It comprises four concertos - Afternoon, Evening, Night, Morning - each including six postludes, making a total of 24 postludes in 24 keys, depicting 24 hours and 24 time zones. The postludes are by turn joyful, mournful and effervescent, taking the listener on a kaleidoscopic tour across the world and time, and journeying musically through the circle of fifths. Available from iTunes and Amazon now.