“Who is W7?”
STORY #2
( 中文版 )
Hu Kun’s European teaching debut turned out to be quite an experience.
It was May 1986 when the young violinist received a call from a certain “Lucy”. The lady over the phone was requesting violin lessons for her cousin “Christian”. Little did Kun know he would end up a few days later in Roger Moore’s chalet, watching a James Bond 007 movie, in Bond’s house…
Gstaad, Switzerland, 1986 - After some major international violin competition success in Europe, Hu Kun managed to bring his younger sister, Zen, over from their hometown of Chengdu in China to study alongside him at the International Menuhin Music Academy. The two of them shared an apartment above “Bakery Oehrli”, situated in the heart of this chic little alpine village, right opposite the train station. This bakery was owned by the president of IMMA, where Kun was on a full scholarship, sent by the Chinese Ministry of Culture at the invitation of Sir Yehudi Menuhin.
A couple months earlier, back in March, Kun went to London for his debut recital at the Wigmore Hall and his appearance on the BBC Breakfast Show with Sir Yehudi Menuhin. Upon his return to Gstaad, Zen welcomed him back and notified him that he had received a call whilst he was away. She vaguely explained there was a lady named Lucy, who had a 12-year-old cousin “Christian”, the parents moved to Gstaad eight years ago and were not able to find him a good violin teacher. They had heard Kun’s recent performance at the Menuhin Festival in Saanen, and the boy wished to study with him. So he suggested Christian should drop by his flat one day, so they could meet and get to know each other.
Menuhin Festival program (August 1985)
Christian Moore (Credit Image: James Gray - June 1985)
Subsequently, a few days later Kun went to greet a cute little boy standing on his doorstep, carrying a violin on his back and accompanied by a young lady. Christian came across as very bubbly, talkative and enthusiastic. Not knowing much about the pair, Kun first wanted to find out his basic musical knowledge and abilities. He tested his ears, checked his pitch, asked him to sing a little…Christian took out his violin and played a short piece. Kun noticed he was missing a good shoulder rest, so lent him his (an air shoulder rest, given to him in Beijing by a well-known Australian professor from Melbourne, that Christian might still have to this day?) but other than that, everything seemed to be in order. So, he decided:
“I can’t promise you anything as I don’t know how long I’ll be in Gstaad for, but you are welcome to take some lessons with me!”
Christian was thrilled and immediately asked him where and when was his next concert. Kun would be performing Bach’s Double Concerto for two violins in May, conducted by his maestro Sir Yehudi Menuhin at the Tonhalle in Zürich, with Tonhalle Symphony Orchestra. They promised they would be there, even though it was a 3h30 train journey from Gstaad to Zürich.
To Kun’s surprise and delight, after the concert, Lucy and Christian actually appeared back stage to congratulate him, telling him how much they enjoyed his performance. It was only later in the evening, when Kun was having a meal with his host Enrica’s friends, Ruedi and Claudia, that he would uncover some interesting information regarding his new acquaintances. In between glasses of wine and silly stories, Ruedi suddenly interrupted the conversation:
“Hey Kun, by the way, how do you know these people?”
“What people, Lucy and Christian? They contacted me out of the blue, the boy wants to take some lessons, so I said yes if I have time”
Ruedi’s eyes glanced over at Claudia then back at Kun, both of them smiling, “Kun, do you know who these people are?”
Still clueless and starting to wonder why his friends were being so mysterious, Kun replied, “I have no idea, I just know they live in
Gstaad, the boy studies at the Kennedy School in Saanen”
“This little boy, we know him…”
“Oh really, how?”
“Well, we have a house by the sea in Italy, they’re our neighbours!”
Wow, what a coincidence, Kun thought.
“One day, we were sunbathing on the beach, and a little boy climbed over the fence and into our garden. He wanted to play and said he felt lonely because his parents were often away, so we became friends! You know his father is……”
There was a long pause, as though Ruedi was expecting Kun to complete his sentence. Instead, he continued to stare at both of them, confused and oblivious.
“……007!!!”
Another silence.
“W7?... Who is W7?…”
“007!!! You don’t know who 007 is!! The famous British spy!” Ruedi exclaimed in disbelief.
Kun had only recently left China - a communist country that had just opened up to the West - in ’84. He didn’t have a clue what Ruedi
was talking about.
“James Bond?! The secret agent?”
But nothing rang a bell, no names, nouns, references; he had never heard of any of it. Ruedi spent the rest of the conversation urging him to watch his films, whilst Kun nodded indifferently.
A few weeks later, Kun’s classmates from IMMA said they were going to the cinema, which was a luxury at the time as there was only one picture house in the whole village, and it was pretty expensive. But he had never seen a film in the West, so he decided to join them. Plus, incidentally they were going to watch the latest Bond movie; this was a chance for Kun to discover what all the hype was about.
Ciné-Theatre in Gstaad, taken when Kun went back to visit in 2018
The lights dimmed and the curtains were drawn:
🎺 *DA DA BOOM - DA DA BOOM - TA DA TA DAA DA* 🎶
~ A VIEW TO A KILL ~
(Tap image)
Kun will never forget this moment - the epic opening sequence, the theme song, the glamorous model actors, the fast cars, luxurious hotels, bullets flying in all directions, the epitome of capitalism and Western culture all in one place. Any young person’s dream!… and he was witnessing all this for the first time in his life, most importantly through the eye’s of the heroic protagonist: Roger Moore.
And then it all clicked.
“Ohhhhh, DOUBLE-O-SEVEN!…” Kun’s English at the time still had room for improvement.
Prior to their next lesson, Lucy called again saying that Christian’s parents were both very grateful that Kun had taken on their son as a pupil. Therefore, they wished to meet him in person and were inviting him over to their house, asking if it was possible for him to give the next lesson there for once. By that time, Kun was aware of who he was about to meet…
The family lived on the outskirts of Gstaad, so Lucy drove up to collect Kun and his wife-to-be at the time, from Bakery Oerhli and they headed towards the nearby municipality of Lauenen. After a quick ten minute ride, they drove down a private road and arrived at a gate.
From the car, Kun spotted a tall man standing next to a Range Rover parked in the driveway. He was casually dressed and appeared to be in his 50s or 60s. As they approached the entrance of the house and got out of the car, Kun indeed recognised the man he had seen on a big screen, dodging bullets and sipping on Martinis, a few days earlier. Kun remembers thinking he looked incredibly suntanned.
“You must be Kun…Hu Kun?” Mr Moore said as they shook hands. There was only one phrase ringing in Kun’s ears…
“…Nice to meet you” (Bond…James Bond…) Kun answered politely, resisting the temptation.
“We appreciate you coming all the way down to give Christian his lesson” Roger said as he lead them towards the front door and into the sitting room.
It was a very warm and cosy typical Swiss chalet, beautifully decorated and ambient lighting made the whole place glow. Everything was made of wood, so you were immediately greeted by an enchanting scent as you walked in.
Roger continued to lead the way into the studio, “May I sit in on your lesson?” It was the first time Kun met a true Englishman, and he remembers how friendly and easy-going he was.
And so, the lesson began. First, Kun asked Christian to tune his violin. To do so, you need a piano.
“We haven’t got a piano here, have we?” said Roger.
Christian was already running out of the room “But Dad, I’ve got a Yamaha electric keyboard!…” He returned bearing the massive instrument, which was almost bigger than him, and placed it on his father’s knees.
“Ok, that’ll do!” Kun approved.
There was a brief pause as Roger sat there, fiddling with all the switches. He looked deadly serious “Christian, how do you turn this thing on?” and Kun could not help but playfully laugh at the supposedly “best British spy”, who was used to operating the most complicated gadgets, but was struggling to turn on a keyboard!
The lesson ended, and Roger thanked Kun again, saying he thoroughly enjoyed it. They stepped out of the studio and were introduced to his wife Luisa Mattioli, a very charming and elegant lady. As they were getting ready to leave, Christian proudly asked:
“Kun, have you seen my dad’s films??”
So he stayed on and this time, was lead downstairs to the basement, occupied by Christian’s room. As they walked in, Kun was mesmerised; train sets, war ships, model airplanes, everything he had dreamt of as a kid…but the only toy he had ever possessed was his violin. Here he was at 23, feeling like a 10-year-old boy again. It was fascinating. Christian’s room also included a little home cinema, equipped with a projector.
“So, which film would you like to watch?”
“Apart from A View to a Kill, I haven’t seen any, you pick!” not knowing much about the franchise nor which film to suggest.
“The Spider Who Loves Me?” Kun - with his poor English at the time - remembers Christian asking.
In the end, they watched Roger chasing villains around India in Tuk-Tuks in Octopussy (1983), during which Christian shared some behind-the-scenes gossip and intimate stories about his dad.
After the film, they went back upstairs. Roger and Luisa asked Kun about his next concert, “I will be performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto in Antibes with Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra but we’re rehearsing at the Monte Carlo Casino.”
“Oh, we have a boat there! How long will you be there for, you are welcome to visit us!”
Finally, after a wonderful afternoon, Roger very kindly offered Kun a lift back to Gstaad. There he found himself sitting in Roger’s Range Rover, in the passenger seat at the front, whilst James Bond, his “chauffeur”, was driving beside him. A rather memorable day.
As they were chatting on the way back, Roger asked “So, how much do I owe you?”
…What do you charge a famous movie star??
“Oh well, I’m not sure…my friend charges x Swiss Francs …”
While keeping one steady hand on the wheel, Roger slowly reached into his chest pocket with his spare hand - Kun assumed he might be drawing out a gun - and pulled out a large bill.
“Would this be sufficient?”
“Yes, that will cover a few lessons!”
After Kun’s rehearsal at the Monte-Carlo Casino with l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo for the concert in Antibes the next day (May 1986)
When Kun returned to Gstaad after his performance in Antibes, at the end of another lesson, Lucy handed him a newspaper cutout from “Nice-Matin”, one of the major regional French newspapers.
Christian added “Dad saw this great review of your concert, so he cut it out and wanted to give it to you!” which Kun deemed extremely thoughtful.
Sadly, he had had to be on his way to a festival in Sweden shortly after the concert, so they did not manage to see each other. A couple months later, Kun was embarking on his journey to become Sir Yehudi's only private student in London at the Maestros's personal invitation, so they eventually lost touch. The very last time he saw Lucy was when he bumped into her by chance on the main street in Gstaad, when he returned in 1987 to perform at the Menuhin Academy’s anniversary concert.
To this day, Kun is still amazed that ironically, despite Roger’s worldwide fame, he knew about Hu Kun before Hu Kun knew about him!
Nice-Matin newspaper cutout sent to Hu Kun by Sir Roger Moore (28/05/1986)
Hu Kun performed the Sibelius Concerto with l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo conducted by Andre Bernard in Antibes (23/05/1986)
This story is in loving memory of Sir Roger Moore. Kun will always treasure his teaching debut as one of the fondest memories of his musical journey.
Hu Kun would like to personally thank:
Sir Roger Moore and the family
Enrica Kohli, Ruedi and Claudia Flroesch (Kun’s host family and friends in Bern and Zürich)
Zen Hu (Sister / Violinist)
Edwin and Edith Oehrli (President of IMMA and owner of Bakery Oehrli)
Appendix
Roger Moore (centre) photographed with his family at the film premiere of Octopussy (June 1985): wife Luisa Mattioli (left), son Christian (bottom left), daughter Deborah (right) - right before this story took place. Photo credit: James Gray.
“Gstaad, My Love”
Hu Kun and Roger Moore appeared in the same issue of “Gstaad My Love” magazine (1986), perhaps where the family might have first read about him?
Hu Kun returned to Gstaad in 2018, and had to visit Bakery Oehrli !
A happy reunion with the owners, Edwin and Edith Oehrli (2018)
Reunion with the owner of the cinema - where he watched A View to a Kill - and his Bernese host Enrica (2018)
Roger Moore and his youngest son Christian (Credit: Jacques Dejean/Sygma/Getty)
Luisa Mattioli, wife of Roger Moore, and two of their children (Credit: Mary Evans/Studio Canal Films Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo)