Here's something you might be interested in.
President Harry Truman was quite the pianist. There is a nice recording of him playing Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1. The president played with a polished and intimate musicality.
There have been a few musical presidents. Clinton famously played saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show. Nixon composed his own piano music and Harding played almost every wind instrument except trombone. Jefferson practiced music for three hours a day as a college student and played violin, cello, and clavichord.
What I like about Truman is that he had an operatic temperament to go with his music making. Truman’s daughter, Margaret, was reported to be an opera singer but her career never took off. Paul Hume, the critic for the Washington Post, claimed that Margaret Truman looked good on stage but often sang flat and lacked anything close to professional polish.
Harry Truman’s letter to the critic:
"Mr Hume:"
“I've just read your lousy review of Margaret's concert. I've come to the conclusion that you are an ‘eight ulcer man on four ulcer pay’."
“It seems to me that you are a frustrated old man who wishes he could have been successful. When you write such poppy-cock as was in the back section of the paper you work for it shows conclusively that you're off the beam and at least four of your ulcers are at work.”
“Someday I hope to meet you. When that happens you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!”
“Pegler, a gutter snipe, is a gentleman alongside you. I hope you'll accept that statement as a worse insult than a reflection on your ancestry.”
H.S.T.
“…and perhaps a supporter below.” Does it get any better? Will we ever have another president that plays concert-piano and threatens to rip the balls off of music critics? We can only hope.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtVMLX0zz_A
President Harry Truman was quite the pianist. There is a nice recording of him playing Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1. The president played with a polished and intimate musicality.
There have been a few musical presidents. Clinton famously played saxophone on The Arsenio Hall Show. Nixon composed his own piano music and Harding played almost every wind instrument except trombone. Jefferson practiced music for three hours a day as a college student and played violin, cello, and clavichord.
What I like about Truman is that he had an operatic temperament to go with his music making. Truman’s daughter, Margaret, was reported to be an opera singer but her career never took off. Paul Hume, the critic for the Washington Post, claimed that Margaret Truman looked good on stage but often sang flat and lacked anything close to professional polish.
Harry Truman’s letter to the critic:
"Mr Hume:"
“I've just read your lousy review of Margaret's concert. I've come to the conclusion that you are an ‘eight ulcer man on four ulcer pay’."
“It seems to me that you are a frustrated old man who wishes he could have been successful. When you write such poppy-cock as was in the back section of the paper you work for it shows conclusively that you're off the beam and at least four of your ulcers are at work.”
“Someday I hope to meet you. When that happens you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!”
“Pegler, a gutter snipe, is a gentleman alongside you. I hope you'll accept that statement as a worse insult than a reflection on your ancestry.”
H.S.T.
“…and perhaps a supporter below.” Does it get any better? Will we ever have another president that plays concert-piano and threatens to rip the balls off of music critics? We can only hope.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtVMLX0zz_A