The holidays are upon us-and where would we be without holiday music to entertain, uplift and inspire us? This time of year, no celebration is complete without the sound of carols being played on the piano by a child or young student, by an adult music lover, or by a gifted professional entertainer. It's a safe bet that you'll probably have piano music in your home this holiday season, either played by yourself or your children, or performed by one of your favorite artists. But did you ever stop to wonder how others celebrate the season with piano music? While you're at home practicing your favorite piano arrangement of the Mannheim Streamroller version of "Silent Night" - complete with toy piano at the end - you might want to consider that others are at home doing the exact same thing, even in America's most famous home, the White House.
First Lady Michelle Obama is an avid pianist - her great aunt taught her to play when she was a child in Chicago, and according to her mother, she loved practicing so much that she had to be told to stop. Apparently her love of music has been passed down to another generation, because the two Obama daughters, 13-year-old Malia and 10-year-old-Sasha, both play the piano and take regular lessons. So while you're gathered around the piano this holiday season, just know that the First Family in the land may well be joining in a few carols with you, gathered around the White House piano.
Visiting an Old Friend
Speaking of celebrities and pianos, pianists always have a favorite piano, whether it's a brand-new, state-of-the-art showstopper that they've always longed to play, or a cherished heirloom that holds meaningful memories for them. Pianist extraordinaire and musical archivist Michael Feinstein has a relationship with a very special favorite piano which happens to reside in the Library of Congress. As a young musician, Feinstein got his start in show business working as the private secretary to Ira Gershwin, the brother of famed American composer George Gershwin. Ira was also the lyricist for most of brother George's most famous songs, including "Embraceable You," "Someone to Watch Over Me" and hundreds of others.
As Ira Gershwin's secretary and a budding young piano prodigy, Feinstein spent hours playing George Gershwin's own personal piano until Ira, then in his eighties, donated it to the Library of Congress. Now, the piano sits behind a partition, protected by guards as a national treasure. Feinstein still visits that piano, and admits that he never gets over his sense of wonderment at the music that was composed on it - music such as the score to "Porgy and Bess" - and his awe at the people who played it; composers such as Jerome Kern and Aaron Copland, and performers such as Judy Garland. Once, when a guard stopped Feinstein from running his hands over the keys, he reminded the guard that, for several pivotal years in his life, he had a very special relationship with that piano.
Seth Winter,
Owner, Preferred Tunings
Indianapolis IN
http://www.preferredtunings.com/
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