“Monsieur, we need you to get off the train”
STORY #1
( 中文版 )
It was the last day of April in 1985, Kun had practised eight hours a day since January of the same year and was fully prepared to travel to Brussels, to participate in one of the most demanding and prestigious violin competitions in the world - The Queen Elisabeth Competition.
Kun practising in his room in Gstaad (1985)
Kun left China in August ‘84, as he was sent to study at the International Yehudi Menuhin Academy in Gstaad, Switzerland. He lived in a shared apartment with other students from IMMA and every January, they stayed with a host family in the capital of Bern. This was his first experience of living on his own, outside of his home country. Now, he was about to undergo another exciting journey, this time accompanied by Mikyung Lee - Kun’s schoolmate and also a student of his teacher, Alberto Lysy - who would be competing alongside him. This young lady had been living in Europe for eight years already, so had acclimatised to the culture and was familiar with the Western lifestyle. The two of them practised together every afternoon at the Kirchgemeindehaus church in Gstaad, day after day for four months, playing for each other and exchanging feedback.
Finally, the time had come for them to travel to Brussels, where the competition was taking place on May 3rd. The day before leaving, Kun told Mikyung he was going to the bank to pick up some cash for the trip. Mikyung giggled and jokingly said:
“Don’t worry Kun, you won’t need any money, we are staying with a host family who will look after us, provide a bed, food and everything else you will need.”
But it was a Chinese tradition to always carry some cash when you are on the road just in case, so Kun followed his instinct and went to the bank to pick up six hundred Swiss francs. This was the entirety of his one month scholarship allowance from the Menuhin Academy. They had decided to book a couchette sleeper train from Bern - where the international trains depart from - to Gare de Bruxelles-Midi, as it would have cost a fortune to go by plane. Kun especially applied for a Belgium visa, and treated himself to a beautiful Minolta camera, dedicated to capturing this once-in-a-lifetime experience. This would have cost him around two to three hundred Swiss francs at the time, the equivalent of £170 nowadays.
Hu Kun in Gstaad, Switzerland (1985)
The type of couchette train Kun and Mikyung booked to travel to Brussels
And so the two of them set off on the first part of their journey, leaving Gstaad for Bern, where Enrica - Kun’s Bernese host - met them with a box of cherries at 11 O’clock at night, on the 30th of April, to say farewell and “Bonne chance!”. Finally, the two students hopped on their connecting train, wide-eyed, full of enthusiasm and walked down the wagons looking for their respective cabins. What an exciting adventure; a cosy bed, promising a comfortable overnight stay aboard this magnificent train speeding through the countryside; his first time outside of Switzerland, his first European escapade to the big city.
That night, Mikyung and Kun stayed up late, chatting away into the early hours. She told him fascinating stories of her time in Europe and they spoke about the competition, gossiping, speculating, discussing the jury members and the other candidates - so many big names (Szeryng! Menuhin! Gingold!), so many incredible people who would be attending…
The youngsters were to stay with two different host families in Brussels. Kun had already been contacted by his future hosts, Francis and Michèle Remacle. The couple, along with their daughter Gaëtane, their son Thibault, and their labrador Gitane, had written to him:
“We are all waiting for you! We will be at the station to pick you up at 7:30am…we are so excited to meet you!”
Well past midnight, knowing they had only a few hours left of sleep, Mikyung and Kun said goodnight. She went back to her cabin and Kun changed into his pyjamas. He crawled into his comfy bed and lay there, looking around the room, thinking about how luxurious this all was; his own bathroom, his own cabin, his own door, what a dream! He fell into a deep sleep…
Hu Kun’s host family in Brussels
Kun recalls: “ I just remember waking up to the sound of loud banging on my door and a strong, severe voice shouting in French
‘PASSPORT, PASSPORT!’ ”
Kun jumped out of bed to unlock the door. In front him, stood an intimidating-looking policeman. Kun’s English at the time was very limited, and let’s not even mention his French. But, he confidently got his official Chinese passport out (with his Belgium visa), handed it over to the officer, supposing this was just a routine check and that everything would be fine. The policeman went silent for a minute, inspecting the documents. Suddenly, a stream of French words were coming out of his mouth and Kun stood there, attempting to decipher even a single word, as he realised that there appeared to be something horribly wrong... All he got was ‘No good! ’. Although he could not work out why, he understood that this man was asking him to get off the train immediately. By this time, Mikyung had also been woken up and had her documents checked. She overheard the commotion next door and walked over to see what the problem was. After a brief chat with the officer - Mikyung’s eight years in Europe had been beneficial to her French - she turned to Kun in shock and exclaimed “You need to get off this train, now! You need to grab your things and go!” In less than a couple of minutes, before the train had time to blow its whistle and without realising what was happening, Kun had gathered all of his belongings, and stepped off the train in the middle of the night.
And just like that, he found himself on the platform of an unknown station, alone, bewildered, watching his train slowly disappear into the distance. To this day, he remembers Mikyung screaming and waving out of the window, her voice fading away “you don’t have the right vi…sa…!!…” and the silhouette of the stern police officer, as he shouted back into the wind “but I have a visa?!” Something out of a movie.
The exact suitcase Hu Kun was carrying with him on that night
It was dark outside, it must have been about 2am. Kun was still in his blue pyjamas, clinging on to his new violin borrowed from the Menuhin Academy, and his fashionable suitcase he had brought with him all the way from China. He had no idea where he was, what time it was, what country he was in? One second he was asleep and wrapped up in a warm duvet, the next he was standing on a platform in the cold, stranded on his own in a foreign country where he could not speak the language. The irony in all of this is that right before leaving, Mikyung had been hesitant to get on to the train in Gstaad, as she felt underprepared for the competition. Kun was the one who almost physically had to push her onto the train, insisting that they had spent too much time preparing for this moment together for her to abandon everything - it was not even an option for him to go alone! But now, she was on her way, and he was left behind. God moves in mysterious ways…
The first thing he needed to figure out was, what stop was this? He assumed he would be somewhere in France or even Belgium by now. He walked down the empty platform and saw a big sign that said “Basel ”. Luckily, there was a couple of officers at the ‘douane’ (customs) - the one French word he still very clearly remembers from that moment - who confirmed to him that this was indeed Basel Railway Station. Switzerland! He was still in S W I T Z E R L A N D ! Immediately, Kun’s heart sank; he was doomed, six to eight hours a day of practising, all for nothing. There was no way he was going to make it on time to the competition… But Kun was determined to figure out a plan to get to Belgium, he could not accept this ending nor give up this easily.
To give a bit of context, the reason Kun had applied to this competition was because at the time, he was already a well-known violinist in China and the government had sent him to Europe at the invitation of Sir Yehudi Menuhin, who called him ‘the pearl of China’. He was a front-page star as a soloist but when he arrived in Switzerland, he found himself in a small chamber orchestra. So, he discussed with his teacher Alberto, who was in the jury of the Queen Elizabeth Competition, whether he could apply and gathered that he did not stand much of a chance. It was mainly intended for experienced candidates who were already successful, as it was one of the most respected competitions in the world, and Kun had only ever won what was considered a “small prize” (5th Prize of Sibelius Competition of 1980). Nonetheless, Kun asked if Alberto would kindly write him a reference letter. Mikyung had advised Kun to bring a pen and paper to their next rehearsal, so he could approach Alberto directly. Thankfully, he wrote a few words to get him off his back.
Hu Kun and his teacher Alberto Lysy
Back to the story - all of this was down the drain!! Kun realised he was stuck, miles away from Belgium and worst of all, the next three days (1st-3rd of May) were Labour Day; everything would be closed!… He needed to be in Brussels by the 3rd of May, which is when the opening ceremony was, where they draw the numbers to find out the performing order of the first round. The rules of the competition are that any candidate who misses the ceremony is automatically disqualified. It was the end of April in Switzerland, and still very snowy. Kun tried his best to stay calm and not let the cold get to him. The sky was brightening, by then it was around 5am, Kun had been wandering around the station the whole night, trying to work out a solution. He went back to speak with the officers, struggling to make them understand that he desperately needed to get to Belgium and finally, they explained to him why he had been kicked off that train. Although Kun was only passing through France and would not technically set foot in the country, he was missing a transit visa. Suddenly, he had an idea. What if he flew OVER France, that way he would not need any other sort of visa?… “That’s it! I can still make it to Brussels on time!”
Basel Railway Station, Switzerland
Those days, you had to go to a travel agency to book a plane ticket. Luckily, there was one right outside the station. Labour Day! CLOSED. It seemed like all the odds were against him going to this competition… He stood there, still in his pyjamas and with all of his luggage, staring at the sign, wondering what he had done to deserve such an ill-fate. It was at this moment, in all his frenzy, that he realised a passerby had stopped and was standing next to him, looking rather concerned. He asked if Kun was alright. Immediately, Kun frantically pointed at his violin case “Musician! Competition in Belgium! Problem! No visa!” The man’s eyes widened as he seemed to understand the situation but didn’t quite know how to help. Kun then pointed at the agency and the ‘CLOSED’ sign in German.
A mixture of sign language and his jumbled English words somehow translated themselves into his necessity to get to the airport. To Kun’s disbelief, after a moment of thought, the man replied “I’ll take you”. For all he knew, he could be risking his life and was about to be kidnapped at five in the morning, but Kun took his chances, out of pure desperation. After all, this competition could change his career and life.
During the drive, Kun grasped that this man was a doctor; he appeared to be in his mid-30s. They drove straight to Basel Airport. Kun was incredibly grateful and didn’t know how to thank the man who was asking for nothing in return. But time was ticking and he had not a moment to spare. The minute he arrived at the airport, he walked up to the only airline desk that was open “Crossair ”, a regional Swiss airline at the time. The words he had been hoping to hear were finally spoken, “Yes, we fly to Brussels!” He was saved. He could not believe how his luck had turned around. What’s more, this was the moment his six hundred Swiss francs would finally come in handy. And just like that, he bought a ticket, boarded the charter flight around 9am - he was the only passenger on a small propellor aircraft - and arrived Brussels airport a couple of hours later.
Upon his arrival, Kun spent his remaining coins to use a pay phone; it was very expensive to call, so he could not speak for long.
“Hello, is this Francis??”
“Kun, where are you?!…” The man’s voice over the phone sounded deflated, probably expecting Kun to still be in Switzerland.
“…I am in Brussels!!”
“WHAT! We are coming now!!!” and he hung up the phone.
Francis and Michèle later told Kun their version of the story; they had arrived at Gare de Bruxelles-Midi at 7:30am, expecting to see a Chinese guy come off the train with his violin case. They had seen a photo of Kun in the registration papers they had received; a young man with a voluminous bowl (self-)haircut. Instead, as the platform emptied itself, they bumped into a young lady, also carrying a violin. Mikyung, realising they were the only family left waiting, assumed they must be Kun’s host family, and explained the whole story, breaking the bad news that Kun was still stuck in Switzerland and did not have the right visa to come over. She asked them if they could host her instead, which they agreed to of course. In the end, the two of them stayed with the same family during the competition.
Despite this remarkable story, Hu Kun not only made it to the final but won the 4th Prize and the TV/Radio “Jacques Stehman” Public Prize of the Queen Elisabeth Competition of 1985, which kicked off his international solo career, and was where Sir Yehudi Menuhin - his future mentor - would hear him play for the first time. Kun has only one man to thank, the kind doctor who took time out of his day and selflessly drove him to the airport. He never saw this man again, does not even know his name, but we can only hope that one day he reads this story.
Many years later, Menuhin told Hu Kun that he had lived through a similar experience, and had been evicted from a train during the war in Berlin for the very same reason! A funny coincidence…
Appendix
A Happy Ending - Hu Kun and his host family, when he finally made it to Brussels - Gaëtane, Michèle, Thibault, Hu Kun, Francis and Gitane the Labrador! (from left to right)
Hu Kun and Mikyung Lee hanging out in the Remacle’s house during a break from practising (1985)
Back stage with their pianist Jeffrey Gilliam at the Queen Elizabeth Competition (1985)
Hu Kun’s competition prizes and cheque
Hu Kun in the exact blue pyjamas he would have been wearing the night he got stranded at Basel station (1985)
Hu Kun’s Bernese host family - Enrica Kohli (top left), Miriam, Lukas with Chiko the dog, Peter Kohli (bottom left)
Twelve Prize Winners on stage at the Queen Elisabeth Competition (1985), Hu Kun awarded “4th Prize” and Mikyung Lee “5th Prize” (fourth and fifth from the left)
> CLICK HERE to watch Hu Kun at Queen Elisabeth Competition (1985) <
See Archives to view more of Hu Kun’s experience of the Queen Elisabeth Competition (1985).
Hu Kun would like to personally thank:
Alberto Lysy (Kun’s teacher at IMMA)
Francis and Michèle Remacle (Host family in Belgium)
Enrica and Peter Kohli (Host family in Bern)
Mikyung Lee (IMMA schoolmate)
Jeffrey Gilliam (Pianist)
International Menuhin Music Academy Gstaad
Unknown Swiss Doctor
for contributing to his story, and without whom he would not be where he is today.