General rehearsal. Benois, Coates, Malko, Steinberg, Shteiman, Walter, Nurok, the Damskaya sisters, Mama, my aunts. I addressed the trombones, asking them to play at maximum volume. The work was played right through without stopping, and pretty well - the eighth rehearsal, after all. At the end, some of the orchestra applauded, fifteen or so booed, and the remainder indignantly reproached their colleagues: 'That's enough! Stop that, it's uncalled-for...' Ziloti was in total ecstacy, rushing around the hall shouting: 'A slap! A real slap!' meaning that in this piece I was giving the audience a good slap in the face.