At a quarter to nine I was at the station and at nine departed with Kolechka [Nikolay Myaskovsky] for Pavlovsk. The Andante, with which he began, sounded wonderful, especially the middle section. The Finale was not nearly so successful and not everything came off in the first movement either, as Aslanov dragged out the tempo with excessive ritardandos. I was following the rehearsal with the piano score. I am fond of this symphony, although of course it would be even better if it had more vigour and more élan, and if the orchestration were more colourful.