The Baldwin Acrosonic
The very first piano I ever played was our Baldwin Acrosonic, spinet. It was a beautiful brown piano that my Dad bought for my mom in 1961. I lived in Northwest Detroit, and walked nine blocks back and forth every day to the local catholic school, Christ the King. I generally walked with my neighbor Mark James, who was one of my favorite playmates. I can still remember the day the piano came. My mom was at the corner of Vaughan and Grove Streets. We lived on Vaughan. She was almost yelling at me, actually more excited than I had ever seen "Rose a piano was just delivered....run, run...." So I took off, I don't even remember if Mark James was keeping up with me. When I got in the house, the living room, I simply could not believe it. A piano. I had always loved the piano, and loved to hear anyone and everyone play it.
Initially my mom took lessons, but with the busy-ness of three young children, caring for my maternal grandma, and of course my Dad, she announced at dinner that one of us -meaning my two brothers and I should take piano lessons. Well sitting at dinner, neither of my brothers raised their hand, so a little unsure, I raised my hand, and boom my life as an amateur pianist started.
And that brings me to a mother milestone in my own life. Yesterday my daughter Sarah bought her own piano!!!!! So amazing. Sarah is taking off in a couple of weeks to live and work as an attorney in Washington D.C. She rented a very cool space age apartment, and wanted to buy a piano.
At our lovely piano store, Graves here in Columbus, Ohio, Sarah found her piano. It's a 1943 Steinway upright, absolutely beautiful. It's a muted black color with real ivory keys. Don't get me wrong now ivory keys are wrong because of the beloved elephant population. But, think back to 1943, during World War II, pianos were a staple of every household. It was often a piece of furniture in someone's home. And for others it was source of sheer joy and entertainment.
Sarah played this piano first. It had a bit of a dark sound. But then I played it, and as Sarah listened she decided that it was beautiful in it's tone and quality. It is also a littler piano, and would be perfect in a small space.
I keep thinking, of Sarah, coming home from a busy law office day, and being able to sit down and play Disney tunes, Chopin, Bach, Mozart, Schubert. This piano is going to take her away from the hustle and bustle of clients, and malpractice worries. I can see her throwing an amazing dinner party, with 6 or seven intellectuals and hopefully the man of her dreams, and breaking into the ivories, while everyone eats a piece of graham cracker cake with chocolate frosting. Oh, to only catch a glimpse of that...maybe that is what parents miss about adult children, seeing them in their element, doing something fun and amazing.
I see a long and exciting career for Sarah, but I could also see her getting up one morning, and saying Self, I must make music a part of my life, perhaps chamber music, or playing at people's dinner parties.
I don't know if this is a forever piano for Sarah, but it's hers alone, it's a start, something she can point to and say, I truly did this for me, and no matter what happens in my life, the piano is in it, and I can continue to create joy and happiness for for myself and others.
So incredible!!!!
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Piano playing commanders in chief
It's difficult to believe that the Presidential election season is upon us. For someone like me who lives in Ohio, basically a swing state, the campaign ads, and robotic telephone calls are already happening. I started to think about Presidents and music, and wondered how many Presidents played the piano. Since I was born in 1955, I decide to focus on two Presidents, who (through a news clip) I have seen play the piano.
President Harry Truman was a pianist. His performances have been captured on film and can be seen on Youtube, according to a March 12, 2012 article on America's top ten musical Presidents by David Guion. It was a known fact that President Truman enjoyed playing Chopin. I must admit that simply knowing President Truman liked to play the piano, has added to my great admiration for him, and his time as President. I think dedication to any musical instrument and particularly the piano, is a sign of an industrious, hard-working individual, a trait needed to be a successful president. I guess I identify with a person who plays the piano, and places a priority on my favorite instrument, as an integral part of his or her life.
In reading David McCullough's book about Truman, he described several things about Truman, including his voracious appetite for books, as well as his attention to mastering the piano. Looking at his role as Vice President under President Roosevelt, and in his time as President at the end of World War II, I am sure his ability to play the piano, served him well in tense times.
President Richard Nixon was also an accomplished pianist. He apparently played the accordion and violin as well. In Mr. Guion's article he references a clip from the Jack Paar Show, that featured President Nixon performing a short piece he had composed. President Nixon had strengths as well as weaknesses, but no matter how the Watergate scandal is viewed in history, it is somewhat comforting to know that even he, turned to music.
Though he was not a pianist, one cannot help but recognize that President Bill Clinton played the saxophone well enough to win first chair in his all--state band, and he actually considered music as a career according to David Guion. As a young mother in 1992, and a person who loves music, it was incredible that he played Heartbreak Hotel on the Arsenio Hall show. It was the first time since President John F. Kennedy, that I could say a president was truly cool.
As the political season unfolds, it takes a little bit of the stress out of the process, when I realize that even larger than life political figures look to music and particularly the piano, for relaxation, and creativity. I think if I could hear a any president play his chosen instrument it would have to be President Truman. He loved Chopin, and so do I. It just creates a bond that you can feel with a person you never had the opportunity to meet. Beyond his political stance as a Democrat, my most beloved of political parties, I can still dream and envision him, sitting down and playing something for the sheer joy of it.
Think about our musical presidents the next time the telephone rings with a paid political announcement!
It's difficult to believe that the Presidential election season is upon us. For someone like me who lives in Ohio, basically a swing state, the campaign ads, and robotic telephone calls are already happening. I started to think about Presidents and music, and wondered how many Presidents played the piano. Since I was born in 1955, I decide to focus on two Presidents, who (through a news clip) I have seen play the piano.
President Harry Truman was a pianist. His performances have been captured on film and can be seen on Youtube, according to a March 12, 2012 article on America's top ten musical Presidents by David Guion. It was a known fact that President Truman enjoyed playing Chopin. I must admit that simply knowing President Truman liked to play the piano, has added to my great admiration for him, and his time as President. I think dedication to any musical instrument and particularly the piano, is a sign of an industrious, hard-working individual, a trait needed to be a successful president. I guess I identify with a person who plays the piano, and places a priority on my favorite instrument, as an integral part of his or her life.
In reading David McCullough's book about Truman, he described several things about Truman, including his voracious appetite for books, as well as his attention to mastering the piano. Looking at his role as Vice President under President Roosevelt, and in his time as President at the end of World War II, I am sure his ability to play the piano, served him well in tense times.
President Richard Nixon was also an accomplished pianist. He apparently played the accordion and violin as well. In Mr. Guion's article he references a clip from the Jack Paar Show, that featured President Nixon performing a short piece he had composed. President Nixon had strengths as well as weaknesses, but no matter how the Watergate scandal is viewed in history, it is somewhat comforting to know that even he, turned to music.
Though he was not a pianist, one cannot help but recognize that President Bill Clinton played the saxophone well enough to win first chair in his all--state band, and he actually considered music as a career according to David Guion. As a young mother in 1992, and a person who loves music, it was incredible that he played Heartbreak Hotel on the Arsenio Hall show. It was the first time since President John F. Kennedy, that I could say a president was truly cool.
As the political season unfolds, it takes a little bit of the stress out of the process, when I realize that even larger than life political figures look to music and particularly the piano, for relaxation, and creativity. I think if I could hear a any president play his chosen instrument it would have to be President Truman. He loved Chopin, and so do I. It just creates a bond that you can feel with a person you never had the opportunity to meet. Beyond his political stance as a Democrat, my most beloved of political parties, I can still dream and envision him, sitting down and playing something for the sheer joy of it.
Think about our musical presidents the next time the telephone rings with a paid political announcement!
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