Kuss quartet

Last week to the Wigmore Hall, the first time for a few weeks, to hear the Kuss Quartet do Beethoven Op.135 and Op.131, with Mantovani's String Quartet No.6 'Beetoveniana' in between, a UK première. With the one and only time I had heard the Kuss Quartet before being noticed at reference 3.

The programme

A mild evening after what had seemed a cold morning. The moon seemed very high at 1745. Which was OK, but it appeared to be pointing at a sun west and up, rather than west and down, where it obviously was. Yet another puzzle.

Trains to Waterloo were back on track, with the one I caught being quite quiet, apart from a group of young people clearly setting out on a beano of some sort. One of them was very lightly dressed for a winter's evening. I envied her circulation, more than a match for mine these days.

A harder count

Rather nearer to me, a young man across the aisle was snuffling and wheezing in an unhealthy way. But didn't seem to understand the concepts of handkerchief and nose blowing. All a bit off-putting with unpleasant viruses on the rampage.

Distraction in the form of another count, which I made 43 on just one attempt, but a rather harder count on this SouthWestern train than that noticed on a Southern train at reference 2. Not clear why these slats should be harder than those holes; perhaps they were, relatively speaking, closer together.

Out at Oxford Circus, to find the bench at the north west corner of Cavendish Square was free, the one by the motorcycle stand, so I was able to take my picnic with warf in private. Which I rather prefer to the pensioners' canteen ambience which sometimes seems to fill the Bechstein Room.

The hall itself reasonably full, at least in the front half where I was sitting. Also with a fine view of a young man with a very 1950's parting, partings not being things one see's in male hair very often these days. FIL used to have them, held in place with Brylcreem or some such, while I never have. Don't even own a comb. But this one looked to be the work of a serious hairdresser.

The violin slot on the stage was occupied by what looked like a rather elaborate wheel chair. It turned out that the first violinist had broken her leg in some unpleasant way while out walking in the snow during New Year just past. She could get about on crutches, but seemed to need her leg held up by the wheelchair for playing purposes - which I would have thought made for a rather uncomfortable playing position, but she managed very well. Wheel chair presumably supplied by one of the medical supply emporia in the area, but they didn't get a puff. Two of the four used paper, including the first violinist, while the other two used foot operated computers.

Having been away for a few weeks, sampling other venues, I had forgotten how good the acoustics are at the Wigmore Hall. Tremendous quality of sound, including a lot of new sounds - considering that I thought I knew both the Beethoven's quite well. Was it just the playing or did the quartet use some cunning new tuning? And the cello was properly balanced with the first violin, unlike the rather less experienced Barbican Quartet noticed at reference 4.

The Mantovani was a tribute to Beethoven's string quartets, taking the form of what seemed to be accelerated quotes from all of them, strung together on a sort of whine or drone. A bit of fun, but perhaps more fun for a more serious musician than I.

The fourth movement of Op.18 No.3 by way of an encore, a quartet I do not think that I have heard before.

All very good indeed. Fuelled by a spot of Jameson from the Cock & Lion in the interval - although that may have accounted for a fall off in concentration afterwards. Or it might have been having two late quartets in the same concert.

Out and onto Waterloo where I made a start with a train to Woking. In which the passengers included two gentlemen whom I took to be a pair of hard core masons, sporting floppy bow ties, masonic stripes and briefcases for their apparatus. First conspicuous masons I have noticed for a while.

Changed at Earlsfield where the moon was even higher, but now pointing in the right direction. I only managed two paltry ones at the aeroplane game, despite reasonable viewing conditions, with just a scatter of low cloud.

A couple in front of me in the train, with the young man being a complete jerk. Not violent or obscene, but slightly drunk (I think) and completely irritating - and I felt moved to move to the other end of the carriage. Where I wondered how long ago it was since I could get a heel on the seat on which I was sitting, a stunt which two different young people had pulled off in the course of the evening.

With the last incident of the evening being my mobile phone bursting into oriental characters, white on black. Fortunately cleared by getting back up to the main menu.

A sample of Radio Times advertisements of 1958

Another Mantovani

PS 1: the next morning BH told me that Mantovani was a staple on BBC Light Programme during her childhood, much favoured by her mother. And inspection of the BBC web site confirms. Not least because they appear to offer a complete online archive of the 'Radio Times', from which the snaps above are taken, and in which Mantovani and his band appear at 1200 sharp. Wikipedia suggests that he was the father of the present Mantovani. And reference 1 suggests that the band lives on.

PS 2: the blogger software seems to be messing about with fonts. All a bit unpredictable. One more unwanted change to bottom out.

Reference 1: https://themantovaniorchestra.com/.

Reference 2: http://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/12/belcea.html.

Reference 3: http://psmv3.blogspot.com/2018/06/kuss.html.

Reference 4: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/02/dorking-two.html.

Reference 5: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/02/astrolabe.html. Moved to action on the moon business a few days later.