The first performance of Dale’s Suite in its orchestral garb, which took place on 18 May 1911 with Nikisch conducting, was a nightmare. The famous conductor, secure in his immense reputation, had not taken the slightest trouble to acquaint himself with the work, and he gave us a casual, hasty and utterly inadequate rehearsal. Such was the attitude, still tolerated in 1911, of a lordly foreigner towards the native muse.