Australian pianist curator, producer, writer, and self-described industry sceptic Chris Lloyd is a restless, hungry musician, determined to change the way classical music is performed, received and thought about. Based in London since moving there to complete his Master of Music from the Royal Academy of Music, Lloyd runs the 1781 Collective, a platform “dedicated to supporting independent, non-traditional ensembles and organisations by creating a network that fosters collaboration and exchange”, and Limelight thought him the ideal person to attend Classical:NEXT, the classical music industry’s biggest conference, to report back from the cutting edge of the classical world.

Classical:NEXT 2022. Photo courtesy Classical:NEXT and © Eric van Nieuwland.

Hanover is like the Adelaide of Germany. Smaller than the bigger cities, and cleaner too. It’s fair to say that you wouldn’t have many reasons to visit Hanover outside of a specific event or conference (it bills itself as the ‘Conference Capital of Germany’ at the main station) – which is, in fact, what brings me here this week: to the largest (only) classical music industry innovation conference in the world: Classical:NEXT.

I’m genuinely excited to...