To live in a place as Stravinsky-conscious as Ansermet’s orchestral headquarters were bound to be had its very real advantages. The fact that I had become aware of this far-reaching influence as early as 1911, when Stravinsky’s Fire Bird burst upon the unsuspecting and unprepared listener that I was then (this was at one of its first performances at Covent Garden), naturally made me all the more receptive to this ambiance.