Before I knew better, I assumed that recordings represented the performer's definitive statement on that particular piece. I viewed this pressure of posterity as a rather inhibiting responsibility. But once I started experiencing the process myself, I realised that achieving some kind of perfect realisation of how I felt the music should sound was as unattainable as utopia, and that to attempt to do so actually said more about one's own vanity than one's musical ideals. What may be gained in a constant search for technical improvement can easily be simultaneously lost in musical expression.

One of the joys of performing is that you can suspend the self-critical part of your musicianship that is necessarily so finely attuned during rehearsals. Given that no concert includes the opportunity for corrections, it is liberating to purely engage in the notes you are playing, without having to worry about any of the ones that have just passed. A great performance can cope with the odd musical inaccuracy as it's easily out-swayed by the unique sense of occasion and the physicality of its collective experience. CDs on the other hand, need to withstand repeated listenings, during which mistakes or extra-musical noises are less easily forgiven over time.

If you stumble across a piece of music on the radio, you can normally tell whether it's from a live performance or a CD. But the best recordings combine the intensity and spontaneity of a concert with the aural precision and control of a studio environment and for me that is a balance achieved as much by the recording producer as by the musicians themselves. At its best, this is a genuinely creative partnership - one in which players can throw themselves into the music without fear of making mistakes, and a producer is able to listen to the results with objective and exacting ears, whilst at the same time fully understanding the musical goal that everyone's trying to achieve. I feel exceptionally lucky to have at BIS-Records, someone who does just that. I am completely free to try and make the music sound as unique and spontaneous as any concert performance, confident that not only will any errors be picked up, but also that the most thrilling and musical version will be the one that is ultimately chosen for the final edit.

The debate comparing live and recorded sound is endless. Some argue that CDs are as far removed from the intended musical experience as postcards of a work of art are to their originals hanging in a gallery. Others say that listening to music within the intimacy of their own private space offers an intense and personal experience that no public venue can replicate. As far as I am concerned, they are completely different artistic experiences and to argue for one or the other is like trying to choose between Haydn and Mozart. We are extremely lucky to have the option of both, whether music is our profession, our hobby, our passion, or all three!