It was his own piano. Nice playing throughout the concert; it's a shame the engineers decided to apply über compression to the sound, though.

This is nothing new. Thirty years ago, I was on a flight from London to Dulles with Mstislav Rostropovich, who carried his Strad cello aboard the plane, stowed it in the seat next to him with a few pillows, and belted it in. There was a mechanical failure as we were taxiing for take-off, so British Airways took us back to the terminal, fed us dinner and switched the bags to another plane. The maestro was sitting by himself, so I asked him if I could join him for dinner. He smiled and motioned for me to sit down. He filled the hour with amazing stories of his days with Shostokovich, Prokofiev, Richter, Gilels, Oistrakh and other giants of Soviet music.

At a break in the conversation, I asked him how he was able to bring his cello with him aboard planes. He reached into the breast pocket of his suit and pulled out a red Moroccan leather folder. The folder contained letters from the heads of most major international airlines instructing their ticket agents to let the cello fly in the passenger cabin at no charge. I asked him if U.S. airlines were similarly generous. In perfect deadpan style, he replied, "No -- cello drink too much on domestic flights." I laughed my . . . well, a lot. One of the great nights of my life.

Fun story, Phil!! Thanks for sharing.

Very nice story, Phil! Do you remember what stories he told?

By the way, I did not mean to imply that transporting celli on board in their own seat is new. I was responding to TW Brandon's comment about Yo YO Ma's cello. But I know someone who transported a cello from Europe for free, tucked in the flight attendant's closet. That was on board of Swiss Air, back in its glory days of impeccable customer service. The passenger was not even flying first class.

Am I the only one missing some joke here?

No! I'm not getting it, either. Maybe it's being Canadian, eh?

I don't get it either.

Condaleeza Rice was/is a classical pianist, as well - she probably had some fun tinkering on whatever piano is sitting in the white house. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCbl4RQ7WNc



As for Obama and classical music - it seems a popular thing for people to say "I never know when to clap" when confronted with the question, so they don't appear too snobbish or nerdish in front of their buddies. Am I wrong in noticing this?

Poor Yo-Yo Ma - I hope he brushes up on his Matthew 7:6 before he plays in the White House...

I don't get it either...and I'm not even Canadian.

LOL.

Later,shaking jowls back and forth with two hands in victory position:

"I am NOT a piano player!"

Yes indeed, it is a model "D" grand that was built in the late 1930s and given to the American people as a gift from Steinway and Sons.

Here's an interesting website that has a few nice shots of some of the White House pianos.

http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/furnishings/piano.htm

Wow! Now that's a story. Please give us some more detail! Can you relate a story, or two, for us?

Why is that woman wearing a tablecloth?

Check out the link below of Van Cliburn performing at the WH in 1987. The piano appears at :43. Whats this one ?

Perhaps it was a dinner engagement?

Cheers!

I assume that a couple of the posters were trying to tell us (I could have this wrong, so correct me if I am off-base) that we should show proper respect for the office of President of the United States by not referring to its occupant solely by his last name. And even though I am not one of the current occupant's supporters, I agree that we should all refrain from following those who showed such disrespect for his predecessor by sneering out the word "Bush."

I make only one exception to that general rule. It is my understanding that President Clinton also wondered frequently whether he was going to get the clap.

Russ

Well I think it has become more of a national term to call a President by his last name. Kennedy, Washington, Lincoln, Truman, Reagan, etc.

Its spreading to become a very wide way of speaking. I hardly ever hear someone say Mr, or President in front of their name. Their names are so big that we all can assume who is being talked about.

Even whilst I was in Europe, I had many foreigners asking me about the elections (it was october before election) Many would ask what our views of "Obama and McCain" were. I spoke with a lady whilst asking for directions Near St. Sulpice in France. She was speaking of how often Obama was in the news and spoke of what a great president he would be. But I never heard her say Mr. Obama, Barack, or when she mentioned Bush and such. No use of President or similar terms used.


Guess you could call everyone lazy too. But thats another story.

Brandon--I think you are exactly correct--most of it is a manifestation--I won't say of laziness, but more of the fast-paced shorthand that has crept into our day-to-day activiites. And as a grumpy, conservative old fart, I feel that as a huge loss. People used to greet each other in phone or face-to-face conversations with more formality. Now, my son calls me and starts the conversation: "So..."

As to the institution of the Presidency of the United States, I feel that, no matter how much previous individuals (e.g., Presidents Nixon and Clinton) may have done to undermine that office, we should continue to show it respect. I, for example, deplore much that President Obama is trying to do, but he stated his agenda before the election and a substantial majority of the American People elected him to do just that--or conversely, because they deplored what President Bush had done. So the pendulum swings back and forth and the Presidency somehow survives the men (and soon to be women when we elect Conoleezza Rice or Sarah Palin )who occupy the oval office.

And, previous remarks to the contrary--I do forgive President Clinton's misuse of cigars in the oval office. After all, I doubt he inhaled.

Russ

After three decades, the memory ain't what it used to be. But I recall snatches of the conversation (really, a monologue -- I was too fascinated to say much). You don't often hear virtuosos going out of their way to praise others of their kind, so it was interesting to hear how much he revered Richter as a technical pianist and, most of all, as a master musician. Their recording of the Beethoven Triple Concerto (with Oistrakh) was one of Slava's favorite recording experiences; if you listen to the recording, you can see why. He was sorry the West had lost the opportunity to hear Richter in live performance during the '60s and '70, at the height of his powers. Aside from Richter's fear of flying, his "behavior issues" moved the Soviet authorities to keep Richter on a short leash, so I believe he appeared in the US only rarely after his debut here in 1960. (I think I know what he meant about Richter's behavior, but I refer interested readers to the new biography of Richter mentioned in a recent post on this forum.)

He was understandably proud of his role in inspiring the Prokofiev and Shotakovich cello conertos. He was particularly close to Shostakovich; I think they had nearby dachas where their families spent summers together, waiting to find out what arbitrary Soviet edict one of them would be accused of violating. Shostakovich battled the state apparatus his whole life, struggling to find the right balance between political safety and artistic integrity. After Solzhenitsyn was exiled to the west in 1974, Rostropovich and his wife soon decided that their support of the dissident movement made it necessary for them to follow suit. and Slava paid one last visit to his old friend to tell him about their plans. He told me that when he had broken the news to DS, the composer's eyes filled with tears. He reached out to grasp Rostropovich's hands and asked, "Now who will hold me when my last day comes?" I still get tears in my eyes recalling that moment.

Thanks Phil. That is intersting indeed.