First published in The Herald on 27 June, 2015
It was near midnight on a cold Orcadian midsummer when I first encountered the violinist Hugo Ticciati. He was playing a solo recital in Kirkwall’s St Magnus Cathedral — a magical setting for concerts, built by 12th century Viking earls in thick-set red sandstone and one of the most miraculous church acoustics in the country. Inside the lights were dimmed low for the late-night performance, but outside the northern summer gloaming still lit the sky and the cathedral’s stained glass panels were glowing. Before the concert I spotted Ticciati standing by the alter, head cocked to one side. He looked as though he was tuning into the atmosphere of the place.