<<  -- 6 --  Bill Newman    'LIGHT SHINING THROUGH'

At the end of her first performing group she forgot the way through to the exit door and, walking straight ahead to front edge of the platform, decided to neatly negotiate the protective stretch of surround finding herself nearly in the audience's lap. Amusement all round! 'I can say nothing about it, because I didn't plan it. The people like me so it makes it simpler because I am here, and they are there; and when I first go on stage I know that they are there to take care of me.'

'During rehearsal it was terrible because I had a man there fixing the lights, while at the concert during the first pieces I had a shadow on the keys. I only had half vision and could not see the black ones from the white.' Then the violinist, and the singer joined her; suddenly there was more light and the audience had a good view of coloured spectacles with pointed frames that Yaara had specially designed for all three performers. But the series of faux pas were not yet over. With more solo Satie underway, the projectionist controlling the film sequence with the composer's descriptions of his music failed to change over for the next shot, while Yaara sat bolt upright, hands on hips (I started laughing) -- 'You were watching me very carefully!'

Performing four hands at one piano has been your usual format, but Koechlin also has music for two pianos, so will there be a tendency to adopt that medium more in future? 'Four hands, one piano makes ideal chamber music but you don't have that much room because your hips must be turned, and it can be restrictive, uneasy. But two pianos -- where you face one another -- is more relaxing and comfortable. Yes, we will be doing that more often.' It does happen the other way round. I talked of Cyril Smith and Phyllis Sellick and how Cyril following his stroke had to revert to playing next to his wife in new arrangements for three hands. 'We had our own pianos to begin with, then transferred over to one piano.'

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