Mischa Maisky

The first Cape Town International Summer Music Festival is running until 7 December. It was Jannie's birthday last week and, as a birthday gift, I bought tickets to the solo cello recital by Mischa Maisky. He played 3 of the Bach solo cello suites. What an awesome musician! Mr Maisky captured the audience with his first note. The solo suites are challenging to the performer and the audience and the audience was enthralled. After each suite, there was a quick costume change - Jannie sneered, but, having played the suites on the double bass, I know much sweat you work up performing them. The tempi were furiously fast and I appreciated the subtle humor in the faster dance movements.

Seated next to us was an apparently sweet elderly lady. Unexpectedly, she started humming ("Nothing you can't hum there!") and making the weirdest noises that I could only attribute to her tongue tapdancing with her dentures... After interval Jannie moved to an empty seat one row down to escape this audience member from hell and, without him buffering her noises, I suffered the full cacophony. During the thundering applause she also prevented me from trying to take a photograph of Mr Maisky with my cellphone camera.

Bless her soul - she prevented me from committing a terrible crime...