The Arts Centre in West Street was the venue for "Liszt in Scotland", a talk and illustration (slides and music) by Derek Watson who, the previous evening, had hosted Janis Mackay's meet-the-author session in his West Linton bookshop.
The subject focused on Franz List's concert tour of Scotland in 1841, while at the height of his superstardom as both composer and concert pianist, and fanned out to include the careers of some of his Scottish friends and contemporaries in the world of classical music. The tour was nothing if not hectic - seasickness and hangovers featuring regularly, and at one stage, Liszt and his party were commuting back and forth on a daily basis, between Glasgow and Edinburgh, by coach and horses - trains coming along just a few years too late for their benefit.
The talk was punctuated by slides and music of the period, and no less usefully, by an interval for drinks.
Contrary to the heart-warming image of Liszt on the flyers for the evening, there is, sadly, no evidence to suggest that he ever wore a tartan tammy while in Scotland.
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