Casals quartets

Last Wednesday saw the second outing of the season to hear the Casals Quartet, otherwise the Cuarteto Casals, with the last, just a couple of weeks previous, having been noticed at reference 1.

This concert was very much the same sort of thing, but instead of one light Beethoven, two heavy and a stocking filler, we had one light, one medium, one heavy and a stocking filler, this last another world première, although we did not on this occasion get the composer, one Mauricio Sotelo, on the stage at the end. But we did get Op.18 No.4 for the early, very much a favourite with me - one day I will have to count up how many times I have heard it now. Guessing, around a ten over the last ten years. Plus Op.59 No.3 and Op.131.

We learned some jargon on the journey in. We had to change trains at Raynes Park due to a problem with the speedo on the country end of the train, railway speak for the end furthest away from London. Which gave rise to a problem with digital doris, railway speak for the indicator panels inside the carriages, as opposed to those on platforms. Plus a fine sunset at Clapham Junction against which I scored a fine one from the train.

Crowds of people milling around at Oxford Circus, apparently because they had shut the gates to the tube while the crowds in the station thinned out. It made one realise how many people the tube moves a minute.

A tramp looked to be stretching out for the night on a bench in Cavendish Square, where we took our picnic. We wondered about the park keepers. The Square is supposed to be shut at dusk, but perhaps the park keepers just let tramps lie. What would be the point of moving them on?

A full Wigmore Hall. The flowers looked a bit pale while we were waiting, but came into their own when we cut across to concert lighting. The composition being mainly pink birds of paradise against green. Irritating messages projected, for the first time, onto the back wall, rather in the way of the QEH. But we also got the entertaining usher who gives us much the same messages viva voce. Also, oddly, someone who lit up a cigarette lighter for some reason in the row in front of us, in the course of making some point to a person behind him. The first time I have seen such a thing in action for years, let alone in a concert hall. Quite a lot of confusion about rows I, J and L, the row end letters for which are easy to confuse. One moving head (male) and one programme flapper (female) in front of me.

All that said, a very good concert indeed. The slightly lighter programme worked well for us.

Reference 1: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/wigmore-one.html.