All over the internet, I use the name Friedrich Kuhlau (or just Kuhlau). This is the name of a Germano-Danish composer who was a contemporary of Beethoven. I use it because, unfortunately for me, I share a name with a fairly well-known pop star. So as you can imagine, I prefer not to use my real name when writing about classical music.

My classical music listening began in 1991. A local radio programme played a lot of classical music on Sunday afternoons, and I used to tune in regularly. I bought my first four classical music CDs around the same time: popular pieces by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Tchaikovsky. After hearing these for a few months, I was hooked.

I’ve no idea exactly how many classical music CDs and downloads are in my collection - between 2,500 and 3,000 at a guess - but I keep buying more because I like hearing music that’s new to me, as well as different interpretations of works I’ve already got. It helps me to discover something fresh about music I thought I knew well.