Hagen

A week or so ago to the Wigmore Hall to hear the Hagen Quartet, to hear them do Schubert (D173), Webern (Op.5 and Op.9) and Haydn (Op.55 No.3).  With the Webern having been substituted for the advertised Berg (Op.3), a substitution which did not greatly bother us, our knowledge of the music of both of these composers being more or less zero. As it turns out, the Hagen Quartet played the Webern Op.5 when we last heard them about a year ago, noticed at reference 1. Perhaps it is a favourite of theirs.

A cold and damp evening, so I went so far as to break out my brown winter scarf. Thought about duffel coat.

Two track cleaning trainsets at Epsom, one on th Victoria Line and one on the Waterloo line. It struck us as an odd time of day to have service traffic running about. And leaves on the line is more of an issue south of Epsom than north.

For once slightly irritated by the price of th wine at Wigmore Hall, reliable though it is. An irritation probably triggered by the unusually slow service. Cock & Lion in the interval.

Into the hall, where we had been relegated to row L from our usual row I, presumably on account of the popularity of the quartet, as I would not have thought that the Webern was a big draw. Flowers rather less symmetric than usual. Viola player with a fancy silver dress and the view of her shoulders so afforded reminded me of being told that a viola was a heavy instrument for a lady - with these shoulders not looking muscular at all - but there must have been hidden depths as I am sure that if I tried holding a viola in the playing position, I would give up after not many minutes at all.

Schubert good, Haydn better, Webern interesting. But this last was not, for me, as dismal as the programme notes would have it. Except in the sense of being rather empty, particularly towards the end, of not being anywhere and not going anywhere.

Returned to a noisy Oxford Circus with loud noises coming from two of the four corners. Plus a talkative gentleman advertising Jesus. Perhaps it was the full moon, visible above. There was a M&S trolley at the top of the stairs down to the tube, but BH was firm about not capturing it. Not that I knew where the likely M&S was: Marble Arch for a big one, Green Park for a little one?

Offered a seat on the train at Vauxhall by a young lady. An offer which I think I accepted. I also noticed that, for the first time, there were plenty of lights on in Vauxhall Tower, the tower said to be mainly owned by absent foreigners with hot money who fancied a bolt hole which was also a good investment. Although they may be disappointed, at least in the short term, if Project Fear has got it even half right. The last thing to catch my eye was an advertisement for the Funding Circle (reference 2), which I have come across about before but never looked into, beyond muddling them up with Newable of Epsom (reference 3). After a quick peek this afternoon, perhaps they both deserve a longer peek.

PS 1: consulting Gmaps, I find that the M&S concerned was probably the one on the south side of Oxford Street between Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road. Maybe a five minutes walk from Oxford Circus? From where one might have pushed onto the 'Tottenham' at Tottenham Court Road? A place I used to have a soft spot for, mainly on account of its ceiling paint job, now, sadly, rebadged as the 'Flying Horse'.

PS 2: telephone defeated by the poor light and the photographically unfriendly type face of the body of the text.

Reference 1: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2017/11/hagen.html.

Reference 2: https://www.fundingcircle.com/uk/.

Reference 3: https://www.newable.co.uk/.

Reference 4: https://psmv2.blogspot.com/2013/11/soweto-gospel-choir.html. The only previous notice of the 'Tottenham' that I can find.