‘We are at an important moment in the morality of music,’ says Italian violinist Fabio Biondi

Fabio Biondi does not want you to visit Dubai Opera on Tuesday to hear him play – but rather, to hear what he is playing. This distinction is greater than you might think.

“We are at an important moment in the morality of music – in the past five years I see a vulgarity,” says the Italian violinist

“When you see the publicity, what is important is to be beautiful or strange. We’re not a rock performance. We are not auteurs – we make an interpretation, we serve the music with our capacity.

“Today, I constantly see musicians using the music to show their talent. This is completely wrong. We must not forget that the music is first, the composer is first – and then we follow.”

Rob Garratt, The National - 8 October 2016