During the interval I was very busy and preoccupied dealing with the flowers. Yesipova was due to play next, and we had to be in position to shower her with flowers from the balcony. This time I could not pay as much attention to Yesipova's playing as my mind was on other things. The moment she finished, the flowers rained down on her from above. They lay around her on all sides, and one of them even landed on the train of her concert dress, so that she swept out with it to the artists' room. Yesipova had a huge success, and played two encores. Needless to say, we yelled and screamed like madmen. Down below in the stalls, Pyshnov and Zakharov, immaculate in full evening dress, carried up to the stage with Hoffman and Merimanova our enormous basket of white flowers.