Richard Nixon's piano play

[Simkin]

Did anyone hear Richard Nixon's performance?

Or of others of his kin, like Truman or Kanzler Schmidt?

Is it possible to get recordings somewhere?

[Lance]

Did anyone hear Richard Nixon's performance?

Or of others of his kin, like Truman or Kanzler Schmidt?

Is it possible to get recordings somewhere?

I'm unaware of Nixon, Truman, or any president having been recorded on the piano, be it the White House Steinway or their home pianos.

The closest I've come is to have a recording or two of Harry S. Truman's daughter—Margaret—singing (RCA Victor 10-inch LPs), and the reviews were very bad. In fact, the following is the story:

"December 6, 1950. President Truman, infuriated by the disparaging review by Paul Hume in the Washington Post of a song recital by Truman's daughter Margaret, dispatches a letter to him written in longhand on White House stationery as follows: 'Mr. Hume: I have 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 ... Some day 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.'"
Quoted by Nicolas Slonimsky
Music Since 1900, 1949

[Ralph]

Today a President who sent a note like that to a music critic might be up for mental examination. But Margaret wisely gave up singing for mystery novel writing.

There is a photo of Truman playing the piano with Margaret sitting on it. I have a copy on my office wall.

I've never heard of any recording of Nixon or Truman playing an instrument. There are videotapes of Clinton playing the sax.

[Lance]

Today a President who sent a note like that to a music critic might be up for mental examination. But Margaret wisely gave up singing for mystery novel writing.

There is a photo of Truman playing the piano with Margaret sitting on it. I have a copy on my office wall.

I've never heard of any recording of Nixon or Truman playing an instrument. There are videotapes of Clinton playing the sax.

I've heard that Clinton was quite the sexophonist. I wonder if any recordings were ever issued?

[Werner]

Another top politician who was a competent musician was British Prinme Minister Edward Heath. If I remember correctly, he preceded Margaret Thatcher - who was no musician. and I don't know whether there are any records of Heath in performance.

As Prime minister, his performance did arouse comment, both pro and con.

[Ralph]

Another top politician who was a competent musician was British Prinme Minister Edward Heath. If I remember correctly, he preceded Margaret Thatcher - who was no musician. and I don't know whether there are any records of Heath in performance.

As Prime minister, his performance did arouse comment, both pro and con.

*****

Yes, I have a CD somewhere of Heath conducting and there are both audio and videotapes.

[Simkin]

Another top politician who was a competent musician was British Prinme Minister Edward Heath. If I remember correctly, he preceded Margaret Thatcher - who was no musician. and I don't know whether there are any records of Heath in performance.

As Prime minister, his performance did arouse comment, both pro and con.

I read somewhere that he made a recording with Chancellor Schmidt. I could not find the recording itself, though.

Do you have any idea what is the best place to look? Some database of musical recordings?

[Simkin]

Yes, I have a CD somewhere of Heath conducting and there are both audio and videotapes.

One can easily get a CD with Herbert Kaplan conducting.
I wonder: can it be that an orchestra can just play without a conductor?

Do you have a recording of Heath playing an instrument?

[Donald Isler]

Recordings with former Chancellor Schmidt:


http://www.musicabona.com/schmidt_helmu ... iano&hl=en


Helmut Schmidt
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Konzerte fur 2, 3 und 4 Klaviere, Concertos for 2, 3 and 4 Pianos, Concertos pour 2, 3 et 4 Pianos, Concerti per 2, 3 e 4 pianoforti:, BWV 1060, 1061, 1063, 1065
Christoph Eschenbach, Justus Frantz, Gerhard Oppitz, Helmut Schmidt, Hamburger Philharmoniker, Christoph Eschenbach
1 CD (DDD)
Total time: 56:28
Usually dispatched within 3 days Price: $25.50

[Donald Isler]

BBC Music magazine Article About former Prime Minister Heath


Sir Edward Heath, the musical politician
How the former Prime Minister showed a rare talent at the keyboard and on the podium
19/07/2005

Sir Edward Heath, who has died aged 89, was a musician of some talent. Encouraged by his mother, Heath's first piano lesson at the age of 8 led to a lifelong fascination with the instrument - when, 46 years later, he became Prime Minister, his Steinway grand was one of the first pieces of furniture to be installed at 10 Downing Street.
It was as an organist, too, that he was able to further his educational and subsequent political career. Arriving as an undergraduate at Balliol College, Oxford, he eased the financial burden placed on himself and his parents by gaining an organ scholarship which brought in £80 a year for playing at chapel services. At Oxford, he also devoted himself to the university's musical life, training the Balliol Choral Society, and conducting the Oxford Orchestra.

Nor did the music stop on leaving university, and Heath continued to perform as a conductor and pianist during his rise up the political ladder - as Prime Minister, he fulfilled an ambition by directing the London Symphony Orchestra in Elgar's 'Cockaigne' Overture in 1971.
He wrote in Music: A Joy for Life, first published in 1976, that playing and conducting music gave him a sense of power: 'but not of power over people: it is the power of contributing sound to the general uplift of those making music together'. One of Heath's greatest friends included the pianist Moura Lympany, whom it was once suggested he should marry, and who predeceased him by only a few weeks.

COPYRIGHT © 2004-2005 ORIGIN PUBLISHING LTD.

[pizza]

Shortly after WW1, Paderewski took a break from concertizing to became the Polish Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs for a couple of years, and of course there are many of his recordings available.

[Corlyss_D]

Yes, I have a CD somewhere of Heath conducting

Whatever for????

[Ralph]

Yes, I have a CD somewhere of Heath conducting

Whatever for????

*****

He really had a knack for conducting.

[MaestroDJS]

One of the best non-professional conductors was Danny Kaye. He conducted mostly for charity fundraisers, and there was a great spirit of fun because he was of course a comedian. However one had the impression that Kaye knew what he was doing as a conductor, even though he said he couldn't read music.

Photo: Danny Kaye and Maurice Abravanel


Dave

David Stybr, Engineer and Composer: It's Left Brain vs. Right Brain: best 2 falls out of 3
http://members.SibeliusMusic.com/Stybr
Fanfare for a Meeting of the Minds (1:00)
http://www.DeniseSwanson.com/Stybr/Stybr-FM.htm

Personal Assistant and Der Webmeister to author Denise Swanson
http://www.DeniseSwanson.com
Murder of a Smart Cookie
Penguin Putnam ~ Signet, New York, NY

[Simkin]

Recordings with former Chancellor Schmidt:


http://www.musicabona.com/schmidt_helmu ... iano&hl=en


Helmut Schmidt
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Konzerte fur 2, 3 und 4 Klaviere, Concertos for 2, 3 and 4 Pianos, Concertos pour 2, 3 et 4 Pianos, Concerti per 2, 3 e 4 pianoforti:, BWV 1060, 1061, 1063, 1065
Christoph Eschenbach, Justus Frantz, Gerhard Oppitz, Helmut Schmidt, Hamburger Philharmoniker, Christoph Eschenbach
1 CD (DDD)
Total time: 56:28
Usually dispatched within 3 days Price: $25.50

I saw this one on Amazon. But those are performances with several pianos. It will not be immediately obvious which one is Schmidt. I need a recording of him as a soloist.

Besides are you sure that Helmut Schmidt on the CD is Kanzler Schmidt?
Helmut and Schmidt are very common names.

[Simkin]

Shortly after WW1, Paderewski took a break from concertizing to became the Polish Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs for a couple of years, and of course there are many of his recordings available.

He was a professional musician turned politician. However, to achieve my goals I need recordings of a non-professional musician.

[Donald Isler]

No, you won't be able to tell which of the pianists is the former chancellor, but ONE of them is he! Otherwise you'll have to ask him to make a new solo recording for you!

[Ralph]

No, you won't be able to tell which of the pianists is the former chancellor, but ONE of them is he! Otherwise you'll have to ask him to make a new solo recording for you!

*****

Not a single political note that tips off who the pianist is?

[violinland]

Let us not forget that Mussolini ( not a President perhaps, but a leader at least) played the violin well enough to have considered a musical career.

[Ralph]

Let not forget that Mussolini ( not a President perhaps, but a leader at least) played the violin well enough to have considered a musical career.

*****

Too bad he didn't go that route.

[Simkin]

Let not forget that Mussolini ( not a President perhaps, but a leader at least) played the violin well enough to have considered a musical career.

Would be great to get his recordings. This would be such a good accompanement to
my quiz with Hitler's paintings

[jbuck919]

No, you won't be able to tell which of the pianists is the former chancellor, but ONE of them is he! Otherwise you'll have to ask him to make a new solo recording for you!

*****

Not a single political note that tips off who the pianist is?

Of course. In Germany, it would always be B-flat. But only English speakers would get the joke.

[Simkin]

I got Harry Truman's piano recording from his presidential library.

Wonder: do they have similar establishments in Germany, where I could request Kanzler Schmidt recording?

[Cyril Ignatius]

I just came across this conversation on Nixon, politicians and musical performances. Nixon played a piano piece on television, perhaps on the Ed Sullivan show. I think it was sometime during the 1960s, in his "wilderness years", when he was quietly preparing his comeback in the Presidential Election of 1968.

[jbuck919]

Let us not forget that Mussolini ( not a President perhaps, but a leader at least) played the violin well enough to have considered a musical career.

Since this thread has been revived and I missed Cheniston's post the first time around, it is worth pointing out that Mussolini's son was a famous jazz pianist.

There's no particular reason to think that Thomas Jefferson was a good violinist, but George Washington spent a cool thousand pounds to import a harpsichord for his adoptive daughter. That is like a million dollars today.

[RGM]

I forget the occasion, but my wife awakened me one night
to observe Condaleeza (sp?) Rice accompanying a cellist in
a movement from one of the Brahms Sonatas. She played
accurately, but I didn't think especially interestingly.
However, that view should considered in the context that I'm
not a fan of Brahms's cello sonatas, I'm sorry to say.

I've several times seen a film of Truman playing the "Missouri
Waltz" competently. This was a piece that he later professed
to despise, saying he only played it as a politician. He said his
favorite piano piece was Chopin's Grande Valse Brillante, which
he invariably identified complete with key and opus number.
One suspected that it may have been the only serious work he
knew.

And I have seen one film of Nixon playing the piano. It was
at some sort of White House fete, and someone pushy (was it
Pearl Bailey?) maneuvered him so that he couldn't get out of
it without seeming surly. He was obviously embarrassed and
annoyed. I don't remember what he played. It was just a novelty.

[jbuck919]

This is completely off topic, but Richard Nixon, like his immediate predecessor Lyndon Johnson saw two daughters get married while he was presdent (that is such an extreme improbability that it already seems astonishing even to those of us who lived through it). I think it was Tricia Nixon Cox who was actually married in the White House (the other daughter Julie was married (to the grandson of Dwght Eisenhower) at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception). But I may be conflating this with the memory of Johnson's daughters' weddins (I'm sure I'll be corrected). I distinctly remember there being a tent on the White House grounds for reporters, and Nixon just walked in for a spontaneous chat with, among others, Dan Rather. He was like any father giving away his daughter: Somewhat befuddled and incoherent, for one day in his life completely uninterested in politics. He was human for once, and even as a child I loved him for it. Later, he danced a (rather clumsy) waltz with his daughter as the first dance of the reception in the East Room.

Nobody can ever deny that Richard Nixon had his human side. I know what others will say, but I would have been happy to shake his hand (and could have if I had been bold enough; he was the only president I have seen live, at West Point.)

[Gary]

Since this thread has been revived and I missed Cheniston's post the first time around, it is worth pointing out that Mussolini's son was a famous jazz pianist.

I take it he's dead now

I saw him on TV once. I think Clive James was the host (no doubt visiting Italy that time). The son was quite a humble-looking man, nothing like his father.

I forget the occasion, but my wife awakened me one night
to observe Condaleeza (sp?) Rice accompanying a cellist in
a movement from one of the Brahms Sonatas.

I'm not sure what the occasion was, either, but I recall seeing maybe two seconds of that on the news. I'm pretty sure the cellist was Yo Yo Ma.

[Simkin]

I've several times seen a film of Truman playing the "Missouri Waltz" competently.

You sure it was not "Black hawk waltz"? I got this one from Truman library, and it was his only recording they have.

And I have seen one film of Nixon playing the piano.

What movie was it? Nixon library replied me that they don't know of any recording of his piano play.

[RGM]

Re: Was it the "Missouri Waltz"?

That is what I recall. My mother was from Missouri, so I can identify
the piece. Don't know the "Black Hawk Waltz". It is entirely possible
that I'm confusing the common association of Truman with the "Missouri Waltz" -- I remember when he was president -- with the occasion when I saw him playing the piano.

The Nixon incident was more a newsreel type of film. Whatever he played lasted for only a few seconds, and would never be cited as evidence that he was musical.

[Cyril Ignatius]

RGM and I may be referring to very different video clips of Nixon playing the piano. While Nixon never pretended to be anything like a master musician, the clip did seem to suggest he could play the piano quite respectably. And he seemed to like classical music. A biography of Nixon mentions his putting on a record of the Rachmaninov Concerto # 1 by the Philadelphia Orchestra on a sleepless night in the Lincoln Sitting Room when he was troubled over the Vietnam War and the antiwar demonstrators who had arrived in town, and some of whom he could see gathering by the Ellipse. He shortly thereafter called his security, etc. and made an impromtu trip over to the Lincoln Memorial where he had a spontaneous conversation with a few of the protestors.

Before his political days, and sometimes during - Jan Paderewski was a great pianist and a great composer - I have a great recording of his piano concerto. Sitting on my desk as I write this is an LP I recently acquired of Paderewski in concert, playing Mendelssohn, Schubert Chopin, etc..

[mouth404]

Recordings with former Chancellor Schmidt:

Okay, ya i can see your point.

[premont]

I saw this one on Amazon. But those are performances with several pianos. It will not be immediately obvious which one is Schmidt. I need a recording of him as a soloist.

Besides are you sure that Helmut Schmidt on the CD is Kanzler Schmidt?
Helmut and Schmidt are very common names.

As far as remember from the sleve of this recording, Helmut Schmidt played exclusively in the Quadruple concerto (the Vivaldi transcription) and not in the other concertos. There is a photo of him on the sleve sitting in a group with the others, some of them standing (Eschenbach et.c.), and he really looked like the kanzler. I never acquired the recording - I think modern pianos are out of the question in this music.

A propos the topic, the Danish king Frederik the Ninth 1898-1972 was a keen conductor, and recorded in the 1950es with the Royal Danish Chapel some very listenable music (available on Danacord) among others a very fine interpretation of Beethovens Seventh symphony. I wonder if any other royal person in our age was a semi-professional musician.