Yu Kosuge

On Thursday to the Wigmore for the première there for Yu Kosuge, a young Japanese pianist based in Munich (http://www.yu-kosuge.com/).

Gave some thought to the best way to get to the Wigmore Hall, being a bit leery for some reason about Hyde Park Corner and Marble Arch, and settled for up Kingsway and left into New Oxford Street. Started proceedings at Waterloo where I had some trouble getting a Bullingdon, the stands at the station and at the RFH being empty of road worthy bicycles, not good I thought for late morning. They should have restocked such a place by then after the morning rush. But Waterloo Roundabout had one, which I managed to get out on the third attempt. So off over Waterloo Bridge - not as windy as I was expecting - up Kingsway and so to Chapel Place, described as Marylebone but actually handy to the Oxford Street John Lewis.

Being a little early, I thought to try the bar which now occupies the premises which used to be the Toucan, and which earned, in its day, various mentions both here and in the other place. A new outlet from the http://www.beatone.co.uk/bars/ family which might actually be quite good if you are younger than I am and like cocktails. Completely remodeled since its Toucan days. I took a glass of wine - there was a reasonable choice - and was entertained by the Polish cocktailista practising her skills. To which end she had a little wooden rack of eight glass tubes, each with eight graduations, one side covered. From the covered side, so that she could not see the graduations, she had to pour a measure with her right hand from a spouted bottle into a cocktail shaker from where she poured the measure into the next available tube, the idea being to do the eight different measures. Apparently the knack is to count the bubbles in the spout, one bubble equaling one small measure. And when you have got that off you do it all again with the left hand. Her colleague claimed that superior cocktailistas could do it with both hands at once, but I think that they were pulling my leg; sounds very difficult to me. In any event, good for the upper arm muscles; I imagine they must ache a bit after you start out in a busy bar.

And so to the Wigmore to hear Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 24 (Op. 78), Nishimura's Kalavinka, Schumann's Widmung (arranged by Liszt) and Schumann Fantasie in C major Op. 17. Beethoven good. Nishimura interesting, involving such thumping that it got all the strings humming in the background. Bit like the drone of a bagpipe or a sitar. Next two pieces both got off to good starts, but I could not maintain concentration all the way through, touch of nodding even. Being what I call 'clever clogs' music and which I usually avoid, perhaps the brain went into overload and shut down. Too much going on for it to cope. But Kosuge was judged to have done well, despite her surprisingly diffident stage manners.

Afterwards, worked our way up to Goodge Street where having taken lunch in a sandwich bar next to the 'Marlborough', an establishment on the fringe of my undergraduate repertoire and not much changed since, it seemed proper to finish off with a little something there. The cheerful young barmaid thought it was a great pity that I did not spend more time there as drinking was such a splendid activity. Her favourite leisure activity in fact. Thus fortified I thought it best to take the tube back to Waterloo rather than a Bullingdon, deterred in part by there having been a sharp cloud burst while we were inside. No longer up for cycling in the rain when I don't need to.

PS 1: YouTube offers a version of the Schumann played by Vladimir Horowitz, with accompanying score. OK, so there is a very modest amount of avoidable advertisement, but who takes the trouble to put this sort of thing up? Very public spirited of whoever it is.

PS 2: the number of east asians on the western classical circuit makes one wonder if what I understand to be their old fashioned educational style of drill, drill and more drill, from an early age is particularly conducive to the production of classical pianists: start young, work hard and hope you make it. It is also my understanding of how you make good athletes.