Dressed in my new suit, which gave me a uniquely elegant 'English' air, I went to Pavlovsk in the company of the Zakharovs, Boris and Vasily. At Pavlovsk I was met by Damskaya, but not wishing to fall immediately into her embraces I stayed close to the brothers. The conductor was Glazunov, and my God, how boring, how featureless and amateurly contrived his Third Symphony appeared after the new things I had been listening to in London. Basically Diaghilev's tastes and the outrageous liberties Stravinsky had taken in his Nightingale had already left their mark on me, and I no longer had patience with the bland and predictable flavour of Glazunov's neatly logical progressions. By comparison with my earlier compositions I intend my ballet to be a great modernistic leap forward; I have begun to cool towards the lyricism of my Violin Concerto, which I loved so tenderly before my departure for London. What I need to do now is create a ballet that will make people gasp and stretch their eyes, and after that I can settle back to the benign peace of my Violin Concerto. 

Needless to say I did not stay to listen to the second half of the Glazunov concert, preferring to talk to my friends.