When I was nine, I was sent to the music school [at the Toulon Conservatory] by my mother, who thought it was part of a good education. In France, it was usual at that time to start with solfège (music theory). The harp teacher [Vassilia Briano] had opened up a class and she didn’t have enough pupils. She was teaching music theory, and so I met her and I liked her so much that I decided I wanted to start to play the harp. So, you could say it was more of a love story with the harp teacher first, and then the instrument.

Xavier de Maistre. Photo © Nikolaj Lund

I fell for the harp fairly quickly because it was an instrument I was good at, so it gave me the motivation to always study more. It has seven pedals and 47 strings, so you need very good hand coordination in order not to get lost, especially when you play by memory. I had fast fingers; I was able to focus and to concentrate – pretty much the same qualities you need for the piano.

The harp...