Song without dance

Last week to the Wigmore, mainly to hear Dvořák's piano quintet, Op.81, something of a favourite, heard many times now. Probably around a dozen over the last twenty years or so if I went to the bother of actually counting. See, for example, reference 1. Ensemble 360 plus Roderick Williams.

Engineering works on the left (as you go onto the London platforms), strike on the right, but there turned out to be a half hourly service right. More or less empty when we boarded but busy by Vauxhall, as were the Vauxhall concourse areas. For what we failed to find out, although we wondered about the fireworks, some way off at Battersea Park. We also, for once in a while, got a ticket inspector.

Our bench outside the north west corner of Cavendish Square was available for our picnic, which we prefer to the Beckstein Room, at least until it gets a bit colder than it was on this occasion. Seems a bit slummy taking one's sandwiches into a concert hall. Fine, to eat theirs, not so fine to eat one's own.

In the hall, rather summery looking flowers, despite the season, involving two shades of pink. BH suspected that dye had been used to get one of them. Hall about one third fill, the least full we had ever experienced. Perhaps the phrase 'London première' had put people off.

The Suk piano quartet, Op.1, was fine. The exuberant work of a precocious 17 year old.

Howard Skempton was present for this London premiere of his 'Man and Bat', a setting of a poem by D.H. Lawrence, composed for Williams and backed by string quartet, plus double bass, plus piano. I rather liked it and I thought that the music captured the petulant tone of the poem rather well. But BH was not very keen at all - she agreed about capturing the tone, but it was a tone she did not like, having struggled to read any Lawrence at all in the course of her studies. While I, who did few studies in that department, still read Lawrence and have started to read about him. See, for example, reference 2. Must turn up the 'Tickets, Please!' story again, a story with a very funny start but which ends with more petulance. A story which I was prompted to read by something in some newspaper or other, a something which I have now forgot.

I thought the piano quintet started rather loud and fast, but that was probably the transition from Skempton, despite the interval between them. But all was well after a while and I ended up entirely satisfied with the performance.

Satisfaction which included a couple of glasses of perfectly decent white from the bar downstairs. Except that, for once, I was rather irritated by the price, quite a lot more than, say, the Cock & Lion just down the road.

Another ticket inspector on the way home. We speculated about the striking guards moonlighting as inspectors on zero-hours contracts on the trains being run by strike-breaking guards.

Another good haul from Raynes Park, to be reported on in due course.

Lots of noisy young people at Epsom. One more or less comatose young drunk being hauled off by friends and family.

PS: poor definition of snap probably the result of it being taken in electric light without the benefit of a flash - with the flash on this telephone giving everything an unpleasing yellow tint - so I tend not to use it. I suppose I could have got rid of my shadow with a bit more effort.

Reference 1: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2017/06/smith-square.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2016/09/lawrences.html.

Reference 3: http://www.skempton.info/4681.html. The composer.

Reference 4: http://ensemble360.co.uk/. The ensemble.