At the time I had, shamefully, hardly even heard of Beecham. It was quite remarkable how one could be isolated from the rest of the musical world in that remote north-easterly corner. Not even all the wonders of the BBC could really make contact with us then because although symphony concerts were a daily part of their broadcast menu, the wireless sets (not radios, yet) of the day were incapable of delivering anything like the sound of an orchestra. I feel sure that anyone who had actually been in the presence of a great orchestra could reconstruct the sound from the attenuated version which came from the tinny horn-speakers of the day; but as I had not yet had that first thrilling Queen's Hall experience, it was lost upon me, and names like Dr Adrian Boult, Sir Hamilton Harty and Sir Thomas Beecham, while familiar, were unassessed as yet.