Very large dog on the train, complete with large collar and a substantial chain, with 3cm steel links. Which did not stop some gent. plonking himself down in front of it and engaging the owner in a long doggy conversation, quite loud. But to be fair, the gent. in question did seem to know about how to handle dogs, with this particular very big dog being very happy with all the attention.
The Belcea Quartet turned out to be a multi-national affair, one Rumanian, one Pole and two French. The Rumanian first violin turned out in a bright red evening dress, not terribly well fitted. The rest of them turned out in red trimmed jackets which BH described as Beatle shirts. She was not at all impressed. Furthermore, the second violin did not know how to sit during his intervals and tended to fidget which was irritating. Unlike the demure young page turner for the Brahms, who did know how to sit. I wondered both about her long sight and about the folds of the red evening dress, associating from there to reference 1.
The Beethoven. Op.18 No.6 was very good. I am coming to like it almost as much as its cousin Op.18 No.4.
The Larcher was interesting, perhaps a little long. It would be a plus rather than a minus if it turned up on another programme, but I don't think I will be buying the CD (the concert was being recorded, presumably for the well-regarded Wigmore Live label). The Larcher music looked as if it might have been written out by hand and included some large coloured spots, presumably some kind of colour code for the executants.
BH was unable to finish her interval ice-cream using the little plastic shovel provided, in the time available, rather to her annoyance. Maybe next time we will take our own, rather more substantial. spoon.
Brahms Piano Op.34 Quintet as good as ever, although it took me about half of the first movement to change gear from the Beethoven, to get on board, as it were. But rather squashed by the encore, the slow movement from Dvořák's piano quintet, a piece which I have come to like better than the Brahms. So the encore was good in itself, but perhaps not the right thing to play after the Brahms. Encores should be light and fluffy and not steal the thunder of the progammed events.
Out to a very quiet Oxford Circus, although for some reason the train we caught at Earlsfield, after taking waiting-time refreshment there, was very crowded. Including a very smartly made-up young lady in a hijab. Her smart and dignified appearance was an interesting contrast to the rather sweaty appearance of the young whitey ladies nearby.
Further entertainment provided by debate about the difference between a plait and a pigtail. Honours even, despite my not realising that pigtails did indeed have something to do with pigs (via chewing tobacco).
This morning I check out the carefully constructed but carelessly maintained website for the Belcea's. It seems that the way they work is to learn three or four pieces, then flog them for all they are worth around the music halls of western Europe. Our particular programme might have been special, but all three pieces had been done lots of times in the recent past, including the same accompanist (Till Fellner) for the Brahms. The schedule looked rather like that you get for a comedian or small theatre company in this country. One day here, one day there, some days a day of rest. Huge amount of travelling, life out of a suitcase in a succession of hotels.
PS 1: the image of the programme is a bit faded. Apart from the cheap scanner having a flat bad, the new telephone would have done a much better job. But then, the new telephone was not bundled up with the desktop.
PS 2: OneNote failing to synchronise this morning. Notes from more than a week ago missing on the desktop. Can't put that down to the power failure just reported.
PS 3: amused by a young man in the 'Half Way House' (at Earlsfield) explaining to a second young man that it did not bother him that a third young man was snogging his girl friend as he, the third young man, was gay and snogged everything. Didn't mean anything.
Reference 1: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/abstract-expressionism.html.
Reference 2: http://www.belceaquartet.com/.
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