Cuarteto Casals

Last Saturday to the Wigmore to hear the first of two concerts given by the Cuarteto Casals, with three of Mozart's six Haydn quartets in each. Years ago we would probably have managed both concerts, but this year we decided against. Too old to be traipsing into London two nights on the trot - or even, staying over and hang the expense - although the nearby Holiday Inn is not as dear as one might think. £100 or so a night from memory.

A mild and damp evening for our first Wigmore of the year, but got out at Vauxhall to find that the Victoria line had been paused while they dealt with an incident on the line. Climbed back onto a train and Jubilee'd it to Bond Street from Waterloo, thinking that the bus option might be a bit slow.

The Debenham's wall of shimmering tiles was as quiet as we have ever seen it. Must have been a very still evening.

In time to take refreshments downstairs, then into the hall to find a flower display involving what looked like mauve dahlias. Went for a closer inspection to think that they still looked like dahlias, but with one lady sitting nearby saying that she only knew of quavers, nothing of flowers, and with the other lady turning out to be Fiona Talkington hunched over her bits and bobs. I recognised her from St. Luke's (see reference 2) and I have to say that she had a very nice smile when I told her so. Plus the Wigmore people have got her under control and she does not mount the stage to do her stuff there. And she appeared to be managing with just the one cluster of microphones suspended over the music stands, rather than the half dozen or more spread over several stands and clusters that they seem to like at St. Luke's.

Reading over my notes at reference 1, I find that this occasion was very much a repeat, except that first and second violin did not swap this time. But the second violin did have a party dress on, revealing quite a lot of back and shoulder, and, as last time, she did not seem quite comfortable in it, fussing from time to time with her bow shoulder line. And we had half of them on iPads and half of them on large folios. They looked bigger than A3, so perhaps some old-speak music size, now consigned to the dustbin of history. But all this is just froth around the edges: the music was really very good, perhaps helped along by what looked like quite a lot of interaction between the musicians during the proceedings.

Furthermore, no telephones in earshot and no fidgets in sight. A well-behaved audience - with my impression being that people are getting better with their telephones; perhaps we really are learning to check that they are turned off when asked.

All in all, an excellent concert, just the programme for us, but I think that we were right not to attempt an encore.

Reference 1: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/cuarteto-casals.html.

Reference 2: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/viola-times.html.