Schubert quintet

Off last Monday to hear Cuarteto Casals plus Alan Gerhardt give us a Shostakovich quartet plus the Schubert quintet at the Wigmore Hall.

Hougoumont?

Smooth journey to Oxford Circus, only learning on the way about a very large gamed version of the Battle of Waterloo which had taken place in the Kelvin Gallery at the Glasgow University over the weekend just then past. The Battle of Waterloo being something I have taken in some interest in the past - see, for example, reference 4 - I thought to check it out. To find that while both Bing and Google know all about the event advertised at reference 3, neither of them offer any images, never mind videos, of the event itself. All very frustrating.

Cumberland without

Cumberland with

Took our usual picnic in Cavendish Square, wondering about the fate of the equestrian statue missing from the plinth in front of us, seemingly commemorating the Duke of Cumberland of Culloden fame. Inquiring of Bing this evening, I find that the statue was removed in the middle of the 19th century, presumably by way of apology for his behaviour after the battle - so this apologising for ancient history is itself fairly ancient, which I had not known before - but replaced by a soap replica in 2012, with the soap lasting for rather longer than might have been expected. Of which I have no memory at all.

There was also the question that the stones making up the plinth that was there did not seem to have been cut very carefully, with the top left facing slab not being properly lined up with the bottom slab corresponding; perhaps it was carelessly reassembled after spring cleaning at some point. While the plinth not being vertical I believe to be the fault of the photographer.

Cod rustic

Onto the Wigmore Hall to find that the concert had been cancelled due to illness. Which was all very irritating, so we went to console ourselves at the Devonshire Arms around the corner, the pub noticed for being closed at reference 5. Open on this occasion: not serving food, not serving coffee and not taking cash; an unusual combination - but not topped out by allowing smoking. Something of a heritage place, mainly done out in brown wood in the style of the 1950's, in any event of the middle of the last century - but supplemented with some more recent wood, style cod rustic. Staffed by Bulgarians. Wine serviceable and cheap. Not empty - but not busy either; this a pub which was probably full of hearty toffs & toffesses in the glory days of the late 1960's, in the way of the Antelope and the Duke of Wellington, both of Eaton terrace in Belgravia, which I used to patronise occasionally at that time. We thought that perhaps it was on some kind of a short term lease, perhaps a pop-up pub, while the owners sorted out turning it into flats with the council.

Home via the Jubilee line which involved rather a lot of walking. It might have been quicker, certainly more healthy, to walk to Oxford Circus or Green Park.

Once home, I checked my email to find that the Wigmore Hall had sent out the cancellation during the morning and refunded the money during the afternoon. But as it happened, on this day I did not check my email again after breakfast. Perhaps I would have noticed a text, so perhaps I had better check that they know about my telephone number.

The next day, tried the quintet on the gramophone, a version offered by the Weller Quartet on the Decca label. Pressed in France and distributed by Soprason. With Walter Weller running this quartet during the 1960's before going on to be a conductor. Not to be confused with the jazz musician born a little later in Thornton Heath, in south London, near the Pond, near which I used to drink as a third year undergraduate. A Courage house, as I recall. A version which seemed a bit thin, so I thought I might try it with a score.

Bourne Hall acanthus

Not something we have ourselves, but I remembered about the performing arts library, temporarily housed in the library at Bourne Hall and noticed at reference. And yes, they did have scores of the quintet, two in parts for performance and one for armchair consumption, mainly a complete Schubert string quartets, published by Dover back in 1974, bought and then taken out reasonably regularly since, with library stamps to prove it. Paper now rather faded.

On the way out, noticed a large bed of acanthus in the library car park, doing rather well. Odd that I had not noticed it before.

The score

Tried the score later that day, having taken a little wine, and the quintet did seem better, much fuller, that way. Heard the first two movements, taking the score with me for the first half of the first: perhaps the score helps by making one pay attention, by stopping one's attention wandering, which seems so easy at home. A wandering which meant that, in my days in the world of work, when I had work to do at the weekend, which happened from time to time, I preferred to go in to town, to do it there, rather than attempt it at home.

I wonder now how much business the performing arts library is doing. I rather suspect, not very much: nice for the people who have a use for it and who live near enough for it to be worthwhile, but otherwise? An embarrassment of riches for the good people at Surrey Libraries?

Reference 1: http://psmv3.blogspot.com/2017/05/cello.html. The first and only time I seem to have heard Gerhardt.

Reference 2: http://psmv2.blogspot.com/2015/09/cuarteto-casals.html. The first of a number of times we have heard Cuarteto Casals.

Reference 3: http://waterlooreplayed.com/about.html.

Reference 4: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2018/03/still-more-waterloo.html.

Reference 5: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/04/schwizgebel.html.

Reference 6: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/04/austerity.html.