As an inevitable consequence of studying piano at the Conservatoire came a period of entering competitions. Guy was highly successful – first prize at the 1992 Pretoria-unisa competition, for example – but not enthusiastic about competing. “We have an expression in French, “bête à concours” – a competition piano-basher – and I was much more interested in playing other music and meeting other people. So even though I won a couple of competitions, I don’t think this was an important thing in my development. It meant a bit of money and one or two concerts.

“The most decisive competition I ever did was the one I didn’t win – it was Leeds, 1993. I went out in the semi-final. But at the same time a lot of important artists took a keen interest in me: Murray Perahia, Simon Rattle, Radu Lupu, Fou Ts’ong. They heard me on the radio and thought I should have won, though I don’t know if that is true. Somehow, though the competition itself didn’t help me, the context did. I made an impression.

“Perhaps the launch of my career took longer than if I had won the first prize, but this helped me to develop more. And nowadays I have the results of that.”

Fou Ts’ong encouraged Guy to become resident at the International Foundation at Como, where he encountered musicians of the intellectual and pianistic calibre of Leon Fleisher, Charles Rosen and Karl Ulrich Schnabel. In 1995, Guy accepted an invitation from a Radio France producer to make a broadcast from the summer festival at La Roque d’Anthéron, in Provence. This led to his appearing regularly at the festival, making his first recordings (for Harmonia Mundi) – and marrying the Radio France producer, Anne-Marie Réby!