If the proper, dapper little composer was taken aback by his guest's careless attire and the maid's report that the soap and towels in his bath were never touched, and if the poet, accustomed to a solitary cat, was unprepared for 40 garrulous parrots and lovebirds, the two nevertheless delighted in each other's company The Rake progressed. The father Stravinsky, who had sons about Auden's age, brought a chair and pillows to extend the couch, and Auden retired. At eight he was up and ready - after a little coffee topped with whisky - for the day's work.In fact, the two brilliant innovators - each with a strong work ethic - got along quite well. He consumed an enormous dinner and gulped down quantities of wine Exactly at 10.30 he was ready for bed. Would he or would he not fit on the couch in the den? Auden arrived, and it was immediately apparent that he would not, but it was apparent also that it wouldn't matter. Should he, Auden, pack a dinner jacket? Kiss hands on arrival, a la russe? On the other coast, Igor and Vera were experiencing similar qualms. Modern English poetry was not within the composer's expertise, but he had been assured (by his neighbour Aldous Huxley) that Wystan was the best and would produce a superb libretto The question thus became not how good he was, but how tall.

Stravinsky might well turn out to be a tempestuous Russian prima donna. When Stravinsky invited Auden to come to Hollywood (from New York) in November, 1947, to work on the projected opera The Rake's Progress, Auden was, by his own admission, scared stiff. He had greatly admired the composer ever since, at age 16, he had bought Three Easy Pieces But a week was a long time. The truth is: unconscious of price and value means unconscious, full stop. If everyone in London and New York had to pay for what they ate in restaurants, half (or more) of the pricier, more elaborate, more pretentious establishments would go out of business speedily: and not a minute too soon.