Of course, we all have our individual strengths and preferences: Matthew, for example, who also leads the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, is probably a much more natural leader for Berlioz than me, with my more baroque background. So we try to play to our strengths, but we all have to be flexible.

As a leader, my role is in two parts – on stage and off stage. Each of the four leaders doesn’t only lead – one of us might say, ‘Yeah, I’d like to sit in the back for this one’, just to make the point that you can contribute from everywhere that you sit. And also not to lose sight of what’s needed elsewhere in the orchestra, because the needs of a violinist when you sit at the back are completely different from someone who sits at the front. In some ways it’s a diplomatic role, making sure that the conductor
and the players each get what they need.

Sitting as a leader recently with Sir András Schiff playing the five Beethoven piano concertos was an incredible moment because, again, the orchestra really had to work as a unit, with everyone collaborating with the same intensity and energy. That was a wonderful thing. Of course, I’ve got the Hungarian language in common with András, and we have two more Hungarian colleagues in the orchestra. Sitting with him after a concert over a glass of wine and sharing Hungarian jokes…well, it was something I’ll never forget, but I’m not sure I should repeat them in an interview!