Tonight, Nicholas McGegan is conducting the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in Haydn's The Creation, and the affable Englishman is surprised when I talk of buying his albums back in the late 1970s.
"It was such fun back then, nearly 40 years ago," he says, recalling the thrill of performing baroque and classical music in the authentic style of the times.
"London wasn't quite as cutting edge as Amsterdam or Vienna, but playing flute in the first presentation of The Creation on period instruments felt like a premiere. There was a real frisson. I can still remember going to concerts in the 60s and 70s in which all music, from Corelli to Tchaikovsky, was essentially played in the same way."
McGegan is a major force in early music circles, with an extensive CD catalogue. He has recorded 23 of Handel's 40 operas.
This New Zealand tour is McGegan's third visit with the NZSO. "I know so many of the players now," he laughs. "You get to eat with them, have a post-concert drink and then sit at the airport for hours. It's not a shotgun wedding by any means."