Join the club, Ed Balls. This is Richard Nixon playing the piano

Join the club, Ed Balls. This is Richard Nixon playing the piano

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norman lebrecht

December 04, 2013

The deputy leader of the UK Labour Party is making a big noise about learning to play the piano. He has reached Grade 3 and is giving his first performance, just fancy.

Well, having let it be known that I’m discussing music-playing politicians on Tonight’s Front Row, Chris Russell in California has come up with this gem of a 1961 television show, featuring the defeated presidential candidate. On this occasion, the devil did not have the best tunes.

richard nixon piano

Comments

  • Alberto Martinez says:

    what a surprise !!!

  • John S. Gray says:

    I never realized that a late 50’s Steinway B211 had such a sharp decay parameter. Tastes certainly have changed…..

  • Michael says:

    So did Helmut Schmidt,he even made onto the Yellow label.

    Watch from 4min24 sec .

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdn-WC2sFBQ

  • Ron says:

    Let’s not forget the King of Thailand in this discussion! The King of Swing! http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/13/AR2006061300147.html

  • Arnold says:

    Looks US Congress has its fair share of bands. “The Second Ammendments”, for example, made up of Congressmen. http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowldc/congressmen-to-play-musical-instruments-at-the-hill-after-party_b30496

  • It’s pretty standard Tin Pan Alley stuff, altered dominants and the like. Nothing offensive, to be sure, unless you take offense from a slightly-chromaticized common-practice harmonic scheme.

    (I really wanted 18 1/2 violinists. Would have been eerily prescient.)

    WF

  • robcat2075 says:

    From that generation where every middle class child took piano lessons, just because.

    There’s also the more well-known incident when he stopped by the Grand Ol Opry to play a few tunes.

    http://frankpicturesgallery.com/artists/davidkennerly/02-006_Richard-Nixon-Piano.jpg

  • JohnB says:

    Norman

    Ed Balls is Shadow Chancellor not Deputy Leader. It should also be added that he achieved Grade 8 Standard for the violin.

  • Paul Sullivan says:

    Don’t forget Harry Truman.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRZu0RFkHkc

    Some of his favorite composers were Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin, Strauss, Gershwin and Debussy.

  • ed says:

    Hey, what about Paderewski, who was Prime Minister of Poland in 1919 and represented Poland at the Versailles Conference?

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