I went to Ueno to listen to a concert. It's one of the many programs called Tokyo Harusai, meaning Spring Festival in Tokyo. I didn't know about the festival until recently. They say it has been held every year since 2005, though. Anyway, I found it for the first time, and was interested in some of the scheduled programs.

The one I was most interested in was the four consequent concerts celebrating Richard Strauss's 150 years birth. Because it would take me almost eight hours if I joined the whole program, I chose only the first part, which contained Richard Strauss's first horn concerto and the oboe concerto. I reckon it must have been a rare occasion to enjoy there two master pieces at the same time.

Both of them were accompanied by a piano instead of an orchestra. Watching the soloists had always been adjusting their instruments during the performances, I got an impression of how robust pianos are. I know it's quite usual thing for most of players to tune their instruments during a live session. But pianos never require such on-the-fly tuning. That might explain their relatively large size than other tempered instruments.

On the way home, I bought a shirt at Ameyoko where a lot of apparel shops stand side by side. I'm always annoyed with the lack of right sized shirts for my long arms.