The young musician was in town to headline at August’s Deutsche Grammophon Yellow Lounge in Sydney.

So you were working as a clarinettist for the Berlin Philharmonic, then suddenly you got a surprise call from Deutsche Grammophon. Is that right?

Yes, I’ve no idea how they found me! They must have heard me play somewhere. The producer introduced the label – which was completely unnecessary because every musician knows what Deutsche Grammophon is – and invited me for lunch. From the first moment on there was a very good vibe, very good communication. As you can imagine, it was not a very tough decision for me to go with the label.

Was it a big change for you to shift from playing concerts to working in a studio?

One great thing about the experience is that we recorded in the concert hall in Rotterdam, so I didn’t have to adjust to a new atmosphere. And technically speaking it was convenient because we didn’t have to add any reverb or effects to the recording; we could use the natural sound. Also, the orchestra and conductor were pretty amazing.

Yeah, recording with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Rotterdam Philharmonic sounds like a fantasy for a...