The Elias being a quartet whom I had first heard in 2011, at St. Luke's, then in 2012 at Dorking. From time to time subsequently, but not recently. See references 1 and 2.
While Hans Keller, of whom we had not previously heard, turns out to have been an eminent musician and musicologist with a taste for both football and psycho-analysis, this last being entirely proper for someone of Viennese origins. See reference 3. Eminence notwithstanding, we passed on the rest of the day, leaving the field clear for the professionals. And for my afternoon snooze, more or less mandatory these days for evening outings.
The day started with four or five companies of young ladies embarking on something Duke of Edinburgh flavoured on the Common. Much earnest studying of maps.
By the time we reached the station in the evening, it was rather cold and blustery, but fortunately our corner of Cavendish Square was sheltered enough to picnic in comfort. Sundry young people up to something inside the square.
Sold our programme by an usher called Jane Usher, not a surname I recall coming across in the flesh before, although I did once have a colleague called Lusher, alleged to be one form of same. Audience seemed to include lots of learned conversations about music, quite possibly people who, unlike us, had attended the previous events of the day.
The Mozart was very good. We started off by liking the Britten, but lost the plot for the last part. According to Wikipedia: 'the third movement is longer than the other two movements combined. Its title "Chacony" refers back to Purcell, who used that name for the musical form more often called chaconne or passacaglia. It consists of a theme (a nine-bar unit) and 21 variations, divided into four sections by solo cadenzas for the cello, viola and first violin. In a programme note for the premiere, Britten wrote: "The sections may be said to review the theme from (a) harmonic, (b) rhythmic, (c) melodic, and (d) formal aspects"'. Which is as may be - but completely passed us by at the time.
To the Cock & Lion at half time, where the staff were being very polite to a large drunk who was telling them jokes and funny stories.
The Beethoven was very good indeed. Which we were slightly surprised at, the concert being rather longer than usual.
The same electrical violinist busking outside John Lewis as on the previous outing. Not without talent but not what one wanted after a concert.
Train journey home disturbed and our train did not get onto the right track until we reached Raynes Park - the result of a train somewhere town side of Raynes breaking down. Nothing to do with the Stevenage flavoured trouble earlier in the day - although I was reminded of the rarity of my visits to the town, compared with my rail journeys through the town on the way to somewhere else. My last overnight visit being to somewhere called Stevenage Old Town, on the occasion of not very good introduction to a configuration management system, the name of which I cannot now trace, but which was the product of choice of the ICL part of Fujitsu around 2005.
We also had cause to wonder about the birth position of giraffes, which we now know to be front feet first, in what is known in the trade as the Superman position. Also that giraffes have very high blood pressure, more than twice ours, a pressure which is needed to push the blood all the way up the neck from the heart down below.
Reference 1: https://pumpkinstrokemarrow.blogspot.com/search?q=elias.
Reference 2: https://psmv2.blogspot.com/search?q=elias. There has been a change of line up since the publicity shot herein was taken. We now have three ladies and one gentleman.
Reference 3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Keller.
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