Razumovsky Ensemble

Last week to the Wigmore for an unusual concert for us - being mainly soprano with piano and string support. Songs from Brahms, Respighi and Fauré. Instrumental pieces from Mahler and Fauré again. The soprano was Ruby Hughes and the ensemble was led by Oleg Kogan - with the ensemble last being heard in March for a programme more in our usual line. See reference 2.

Along the way we learned that Kogan had once taught Hughes cello, in the days before she became a soprano.

We started off with a picnic on the chairs and tables outside a rather forlorn BHS, in the middle of its closing down sale. We wondered what the office block above the store was for - perhaps once the headquarters of the BHS empire, but rather an expensive site for such a purpose. Maybe flogging off the freehold was part of what made up the bung to Mr. Green (see previous post).

The concert was indeed very different from the sort of thing to which we are used, but none the worse for that. In fact, all rather good, this despite my not having taken the time to find out what the songs were all about before the off - despite the programme including the full text - with the biggest chunk being Fauré's setting of seven songs from Verlaine's collection called 'La bonne chanson'. The only warning note being that while I got on well with this singing, I did not think that this getting on would extend as far as opera. This singing was quite operatic enough for me and I did not need all the costumes and posturing which came with opera proper. Too old to learn better now, despite the well watched example of Inspector Morse - this last despite his deplorable habit of listening to loud music in his car, a deplorable habit shared by my late brother.

House not full but it was enthusiastic.

We were impressed by the John Lewis window display on the way back to the tube, impressed in the sense that it looked as if a lot of quality time and money had been lavished on it. Don't know how many other John Lewis stores have the sort of windows needed to house such a display - not Kingston certainly. Perhaps it is a one-off for their flagship store.

Raynes Park platform library was open but most of what little was there was ladies fiction. Nothing to interest me on this occasion.

PS: the illustration of the Razumovsky who was the father of the one who patronised Beethoven was provided by Sotheby's. He being the last person to hold the rather oddly titled post of Hetman of Zaporizhian Host, an important person in the Ukraine until around the middle of the eighteenth century. But a rather more impressive picture than google can turn up for his musical son. The connection being that Kogan is also a Ukrainian.

Reference 1: http://rubyhughes.com/.

Reference 2: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/razumovsky.html.