‘Will we have royalty in the Royal Box?’ he wants to know. ‘Your father often did.’

‘It may be short notice, but we’ll try for a duke.’

‘Will I have to curtsy?’

‘Cut it out . . .’

We are almost back to boyhood banter, swept along on the crest of his excitement. I gently suggest that he may need to prepare more than one programme, and that an evening of unadulterated violin playing might prove too tiring for most ears. He should consider doing one of the two Mendelssohn trios, which, Dr Steiner used to say, he understood better than any fiddler ever born. A chamber-music first half would spare him the unrelieved glare of critical attention and whet the public’s palate for a violin-piano and violin-solo second half. I can recommend two or three outstanding pianists in the region for him to try out; good cellists are ten a penny.

‘It will take the pressure off you,’ I advise.

‘I’ll give it some thought,’ he concedes.

‘It’s for the best,’ I nudge. He has been through a similar negotiating process before, with my father.

‘Best for me, or best for you?’ he demands.

‘There’s no difference,’ I reply. ‘In the act of presentation, you and I are on the same side. That’s why we have to discuss and agree the programme – your instinct, my experience.’

‘ “A man’s got to do what his manager tells him to,” ’ he quotes, with whimsical irony.

‘Mendelssohn first half, Bach and Besht post-interval?’ I press.

‘Could be.’

Then, just as we reach the van, he sees across the street three bearded Jews dressed in black coats and hats, scurrying to some sacred purpose or other. Manchester has several Jewish districts, north and south, some of them aggressively ultra-orthodox. ‘Do you need to attend evening service?’ I enquire considerately.

He shakes his head, but the éelan ebbs from his voice and the return drive to Tawburn is colourless and quiet. He is going to be under great strain, I warn myself. It will be difficult to strike a balance between his introverted life and the exposure to public acclaim and self-realisation. I am the one who has put him under pressure, and I shall have to watch him unobtrusively every pace of the way. He is going to be a high-maintenance artist, but the results, both artistic and financial, will be worth every effort and expense. The world will rediscover a lost wonder, the violin will be restored to its glory days, and Simmonds will be renowned once more as the premier name for musical talent.