Preface:
Although “world” is hyperbole, we did slog many a mile to perform in countries east and west. I decided beforehand to keep a diary which given the length the tour, became two diaries. I purchased one in Tokyo called “UNIVERSAL TAPE OF UNIVERSAL” a typical example of 1984 contemporary Japanese advert-speak.
The first part of the tour included Beijing and Shanghai China, Seoul, Korea and Tokyo,Japan.
When my wife decided to type these diaries for my web site, she convinced me to leave the entries as I had originally written them. I wrote the diaries before lap top computers in cursive script and ball point pens, late at night or very early in the morning. The entries were often spur of the moment jottings by a jet lagged stranger in a strange land who was trying to get things down before memories fled. Thus there are errors in grammar, tense, punctuation, etc. Never-the-less, their lack of literary distinction contains a certain frisson and immediacy. Further posts will be made as the remaining 270 pages are typed.
NEXUS World Tour May – July 1984
Nexus members: Bob Becker, Bill Cahn, Robin Engelman, Russell Hartenberger, John Wyre.
And two fellow travellers, Jean Donelson and Joanne Todd.
May 4, 1984 Toronto to Beijing via Japan 3:30 AM
Bill and I sat together for 14 1/2 hours discussing politics of financing symphony orchestras and personnel problems. He is concerned that the Rochester Philharmonic will lose Zinman and be unable to replace him with quality talent. He is concerned that this will be the end of any potential worthwhile musical experience for him and he is wondering what he will do when this way of musical life becomes a reality for him. (P. S. The R.P.O. has lost Zinman.)
Narita is a welcome change to Haneda. Is Japan more American now than it was 10 years ago? Lots of English on TV ads. Crowds more demonstrative, The Narita Prince is an American style hotel–big rooms. My feet, from midsole to my toes were swollen like blowfish. They looked like overweight fatty women. They were hot and itchy. It took hours for the swelling to subside. This is the 1st time this has happened. I went to bed and slept at 6:30 PM Tokyo time–woke up at 3:30AM. Swelling down. I will have to stand and walk more when faced with hours of confinement.
I ordered coffee 40 minutes ago. Should I call again? I am in a foreign country. I called–he sounded slightly alarmed. I think he forgot. Just as I placed the period at the end of ” forgot” the coffee arrived–less than 1 min. from my call. ¥495. In Vancouver I got ¥176 for one Canadian dollar. No I think one US dollar. I found my receipt. I received ¥16,000 for $94.70 Canadian. Is that ¥160 per Canadian dollar? Or $3.10 roughly for 2 cups of room service coffee?
Well, in a few hours we take Japan Airlines to Beijing. We arrive at 11:55 AM. Tonight in Beijing, a banquet. Russ asked if I would wear my new suit to the banquet. I expressed some concern about that. I’ll probably be eating food in unfamiliar ways and might spill something on it. He laughed and mentioned the extra care one always takes with the new automobile.
When I arrived at my room the first thing I did was turn on the TV. I was looking for the baseball game that was being shown in the Narita airport when we arrived. No game. Saw some volleyball between Fuji film team and another team with only Japanese characters on their shirts. The latter team won. During the closing ceremonies I heard Olympics mentioned. Perhaps this tournament was to pick Japan’s Olympic team and the audience cheered in rhythm to a big drum when points were scored. Lots of young girls giggling over certain players. Switched channels and found a golf tournament – somewhere beside the ocean. Watched some fairly decent swings – many not so balanced. Then Isao Aoki came on. Saw him make par after a rather poor bunker shot – dropped a 40 foot putt. Seemed like an interesting course. Not tight, but very hilly. Not green and overly landscaped like some of our Architectural Digest’s courses but lovely, high above the ocean. The Japanese are crazy for golf. I wonder how many actually get to leave the massive practice ranges in urban centers for a round of golf on a real course.
Read a chapter in ‘The World of Golf BBC” about William St. Clair of Roslin. I knew he was a grand master Mason from reading about the Holy Grail but I was astounded to learn he was a four-time winner of the Silver Club presented by the city of Edinburgh – the 1st golf trophy, and was Captain of the Royal Company of Edinburgh golfers during the 1760s. One of my favorite pieces of music is the “Roslin Castle Dead March”. His connection with the Masons led to a contemporary belief that he gained his skill at golf from witchcraft. Bill believed that Mozart was criticized by the Masons for divulging its secrets in the “Magic Flute” but could not give me a synopsis of the story. I’ll have to look that up when I get home. Scottish mysticism–masonry–golf–Magic Flute–Debussy –the holy Grail–Rosicrucians–Crusades–Roslin Castle–Japan–China–South Korea–currency exchange, a niblick to the forehead!
May 4 3:00PM Beijing
I noticed this morning that Narita airport is an armed camp. Chain like fences topped with barbed wire, armed guards standing at intervals of 200 or 300 yards on the side of the approach roads behind riot shields that extend upwards from the ground to a height of the Japanese man’s navel. The highways that cross over the airport grounds also have fences. * (The farmers rioted when they learned so much land was being used for the airport,
I saw one woman in a kimono but everyone else in Western dress. Perhaps Narita caters to a more worldly group of travelers. With pleasure I inspected the windows of restaurants with their plastic representations of cuisine offered.
Window display, Tokyo coffee shop circa 1969.
My daughter, Dorothy had asked me to price Nikon cameras and the Nikon F3T with 36–70 mm lens was ¥300,000. Perhaps the days of bargaining camera prices for the tourists are over.
We had a very fine flight of 4 hours to Beijing on JAL. Boned breast of chicken and mushroom sauce–tiny pea pods with the peas still inside–soba noodles with shrimp – sushi–a bottle of barely good Bordeaux red–coffee and custard pudding. Guy St. Jacques from the Canadian Embassy met us at the airport. Young, handsome, polite, brief and to the point. Suit and leather briefcase. After immigration, met our stage manager Mr. Wa. I liked him immediately – my height–broad build–clear gaze. A man used to work and confident. He is most important to us and it is fortunate I like him. (And he likes us!)
Our translator is a young girl with a smile. (Kwang Chao) I must pause here to say that I had the television set on in my room while writing–a math class, in Chinese of course. The program has just ended and the music played while the test pattern is showing is Suppe’s “LIght Cavalry Overture”. Now they are playing an excerpt from “Hansel and Gretel” by Humperdinck.
The drive to our hotel was about 40 minutes. Interesting experience. The world’s largest square. When I get the names right I’llget back to those points. We have tours arranged for the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace, the Ming tombs and Forbidden City. Our hotel is funky but not as bad as anticipated. There is a banquet tonight at another hotel and John has memorized a short speech in Chinese. He tried it out on us at lunch and even with our breakups he did a noble job. John has been here for 2 days and has eaten all his meals alone. He asked our translator if she would join him but she said she could not. Our lunch was very good–fish in black bean sauce–Chinese pieces in honey garlic–spicy clear soup with greens. Pieces of pork with tiny mushrooms and 2 varieties of beer, both very smooth and light. Most of the group has gone for a walk. I stayed in my room to write and rest. I want to bath and put on clean clothes for the welcoming banquet.
Robin Engelman 
NEXUS WORLD TOUR – 1984 – A DIARY, Part 2. Beijing Banquet and dental appointment
A Banquet and a trip to a Dentist
May 5 4:00AM
At 6 o’clock, the time we are to meet in the lobby I am wakened by a knock at my door. I had just gone to bed for a little rest and have passed into a deep sleep. I was frantic. After a wet towel and quick dressing – still numb and not even remembering I am in China. The bus leaves 15 minutes late for the Beijing Hotel. Size is difficult to relate. I think two Royal York hotels could fit comparably in this hotel. Certainly the lobby is twice as wide. This, I think, is where we should be staying. We walk a good city block or more, having entered the central door, passing stores, counters of goods and hundreds of well-heeled Westerners. Why don’t we meet each other gaze? I feel rather self-conscious – precisely the way I felt when I obediently followed a doorman through a very exclusive Chicago club and the appraising stares of its membership. I realize, however, that this message was not coming from the people hoteled at the Beijing. It was coming from our hosts. I felt angry that we had been brought here. I would rather not have seen where we could have lived during our stay.
The banquet was in a long narrow room – just one of the hotel’s dining rooms. A placard in the entrance told visitors that this was the gourmet Chinese food restaurant. We passed through a reception line and separated into 3 round tables. An opening address by one of the officials praising our international status and artistry. The growing ties and friendship between Canada and China and, of course, how much the Chinese hoped to learn from us. Then Mao-tai, a lovely fiery somewhat oily clear liquor from a province of the same name. A gold-medal winner in China–the ” King of Spirits” as our translator later remarked. Only at the last toast when we were told the Chinese drink the cup dry for good luck did I learn how to properly handle this drink. Toss it down Robin! Do not hold it on your tongue to savor, just throw it down in one gulp and get it over the palate as quickly as possible!
In a slightly larger glass was another liquor the color of red Cinzano. Sweet and rather cloying without Cinzano’s bite. No one at our table bothered with more than a sip of that. Our speech maker, a strong angular face with a voice to match was into Mao-tai in a big way. John decided he had better give his speech now before his alcoholic content rose any higher. He did a marvelous job to much applause and appreciation for the time spent memorizing Chinese words.
An official banquet or reception is a curious affair. Everyone there knows someone else, no one knows everybody. But everybody is important in some way to everyone else’s being there. To my knowledge and I made discreet inquiries, no one in that room had ever heard us play a concert. They had only heard words about our concerts. Mr. Rose, a Canadian Embassy official did mention the Ragtime album. I was delighted to find someone who was familiar with at least one of our recordings, but he was surprised and then dismayed to learn that all of the percussion on that album had been played by one person and that person had died a couple years ago.( Michael Craden died in 1981)
Most of the Chinese officials were dressed in what I would refer to as Mao suits. I was very interested in their origin and color but I restrained myself for fear of broaching the subject which might lead to indelicacies. For I also noticed that some of our host were in Western dress : sportcoat ,slacks, sweater, tie. My particular interest was in the colour of the Mao suit. The most important officials suits were gray, the others black.
The 1st Secretary from the Canadian Embassy spoke: Nexus’ visit was particularly propicious because on May 4th 1919, the students at Beijing University demonstrated in the great square over the Versailles treaty granting Japan a hold on China – the 1st modern nationalistic statement by Chinese. More important historically I take it then its immediate results.
One of our host said, “Percussion is the father of music”. I waited a long time to hear if anyone would discuss the mother of music before deciding not to broach the subject. The man next to me was the honorary director of the Beijing Conservatory–teacher of music history and a nonperforming and teaching pianist. I was attracted to him because of his curiously familiar look and presence. Much later I realized he reminded me of Tom Monahan, principal bassist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Short hairy spikes on his chin, more ill shaven then beard–sunglasses–very heavy with the physical immobility common with such weight. A pipe smoker. He asked Jean’s permission before lighting up. Three times during the meal one of our hosts would laugh, leave his seat and grab a Mao-tai bottle to fill glasses, not waiting for the waitresses to serve us. It was during one of the last courses – the front of a cap came off on one of my front teeth. I had to take a pass on the last courses and wait, frustratingly absorbed in my own predicament, for the dinner to end.
The grey Mao suit said something about the good food and rose. Everyone followed suit; gray or not, and it was over. I cornered one of the Canadian embassy staff and related my problem. He told me that there were not dentists in Beijing. If staff wanted dental work they went to Hong Kong. “What we do” he said,” is send the car around for you tomorrow morning at 8 AM and bring you to the Embassy. From there we’ll call this Chinese fella who I’ve heard has done some emergency dental work. We’ll send a translator along with you and you can see what happens. Let us know how things work out we’d be interested to know”.
So here I sit. It’s now 5:45 AM with my cup of Chinese tea and half a tooth beside me waiting for what could possibly be as what Russell would undoubtedly say ‘The most interesting part of the tour”.
A postscript: Our speech maker apologized to our table for the hotel accommodations. He said that this was the height of the tourist season and they could do no better. But, as evidence of their willingness to try, we did have only one person per room, something that other visiting artists such as Les Grande Ballet Canadian coming next week would not have. It may be my nasty nature but I prefer to believe that we are housed exactly where they want us. They can get $150 US at the Beijing and those tourist dollars at their craft counters. Artists don’t spend that kind of money and because the Chinese provide free hotels for visiting artists, they don’t want to lose the income. Me thinks he doth protest too much. John replied that it was a pleasure enough for us to be in China and that we were happy with our accommodations.
May 6 6:30 AM
A car took me and our translator to the Canadian Embassy. Guy St. Jacques and I then went to another car to the Capital Hospital–6th floor, registration first, where Robin Engelman was somehow put into Chinese characters. Fee 2 yuan. Then to the 4th floor and Room 28 Dentistry. A very firm but polite and smiling lady in white seated me in the chair of a vintage Czechoslovakian, art deco, beige dental machine and proceeded to grind the old glue off my tooth. She applied some cement to the cap and held it in place with her thumb while conversing with Guy for almost 10 min. She told me it would set in 24 hours. She had a Canadian flag pin on her sweater. Her teacher, if Guy and I got it correctly, is Jacques Mallet from Canada. He comes to China, sometimes with his son, who is also a dentist, and teaches her dentistry techniques. She tells me matter-of-factly that the cap will come off again–sometime–and try to chew on the sides- particularly duck. Price 5 yuan, about C$25. The whole process took less than an hour. Competent, informal, efficient. I apologize to Guy who assures me that the trip was good for him. He was able to check out the source of their dental equipment and being his 1st trip to the hospital, he has learned the procedures which may come in handy in the future.
Posted by robinengelman on August 24, 2013 in Articles, Commentaries & Critiques, History