The written word is one of the cornerstones of modern civilisation, and yet if it had been up to the great Greek philosopher Socrates it would have been done away with a long time ago. He believed true learning could only happen through direct dialogue with another human being, through a back and forth of questions and answers, until a topic was examined from all angles. He feared that the written word would result in a superficial ‘fake’ knowledge, with people thinking they understood things merely because they had read the words on a page. Thankfully his student Plato ignored this reservation and put Socrates’ own ideas down in writing, which is why we in the 21st century can still hear what he had to say!

As I see it, recorded music is to the heart what the written word is to the mind. Where the written word is designed to pass on verbal information and knowledge, recorded music has the ability to preserve and pass on the ideas, sounds and feelings of our different musical languages. Unlike sheet music or the written word, recordings enable us to experience the colour, nuance and soul of musical performances from other times...