>>Peter Redstone writes:
>>Beecham's other comment on the sound of the harpsichord was to 
liken
>>the sound to "beating a birdcage with a toasting fork".
>
>Oh, dear.  Documentation is a dilemma in such famous quotes 
>instances.  I've always known this line thusly:  A student asked 
>Vaughan Williams why he had not written anything using the 
>harpsichord.  He is to have replied, "If I wanted the sound of a 
>brass birdcage beaten with a spoon, I'd have scored for it."
>
>So unless a reporter noted down carefully that "this afternoon, 
>Maestro Beecham mentioned...." or the student transcribed in his 
>diary, "I asked Dr. VW..., and he said...." how are we to know?
>
Hi folks!

I heard the story about the birdcage and toasting fork from Lammond 
Clelland in the early 50s when he was a flautist with the Bournemouth 
Symphony. he had previously played in the Royal Philharmonic under 
Beecham from whom he heard it.  It seems that a harpsichord had been 
used in a program, and afterwards Beecham expressed his opinion of 
it! The story emerged because I expressed my interest in the empty 
case of a spinet he (Clellend) owned, my telling him he ought to have 
it resuscitated and made playable again. (I wish I could get my hands 
on that case today!)

Best!

Peter Redstone
http://www.ctg.net/redstone