noon
One noon in 189 - , a young man stood in front of the new Gewandhaus in Leipzig , and watched the neat , grass-laid square , until then white and silent in the sunshine , grow dark with many figures . The public rehearsal of the weekly concert was just over , and , from the half light of the warm-coloured hall , which for more than two hours had held them secluded , some hundreds of people hastened , with renewed anticipation , towards sunlight and street sounds . There was a medley of tongues , for many nationalities were represented in the crowd that surged through the ground-floor and out of the glass doors , and much noisy ado , for the majority was made up of young people , at an age that enjoys the sound of its own voice . In black , diverging lines they poured through the heavy swinging doors , which flapped ceaselessly to and fro , never quite closing , always opening afresh , and on descending the shallow steps , they told off into groups , where all talked at once , with lively gesticulation .