Being asked to write a column on the subject of ‘thinking outside the square’ is actually harder than I thought given that, oftentimes, this is an intuitive activity. As a classically trained musician, my focus as a youngster was to absorb customs that had preceded me, especially those that had been perfected by great artists well before my time. Imitation, rules and traditions became the framework of musical life underscored by the need for pushing technical brilliance beyond what had gone before and, of course, devouring as much repertoire as possible. It was only as I grew older I realised that whilst all this training was incredibly important as a foundation on which to build, it was actually the need for thinking outside the square, creating an individual voice, that would allow me to make a career as a performer in real life.

I was first made aware of this by my wonderful teacher, Claude Frank, who only recently passed away in New York. As a teenager I struggled with an invisible concept that he could not explain in words but assured me I would recognise when it came. Two elderly conductors, Maurice Abravanel and Max Rudolf, told...