...And did you know that RICHARD NIXON played the piano?

Let us set aside all political opinions and rake "Richard Nixon, pianist" over the coals instead.

Here, performing (presumably on "The Tonight Show" with Jack Paar) is pianist Richard Nixon - from 1963, before he became President, performing an original composition - let us call it "I Know the G Major Arpeggio" - Paar took the trouble to have an orchestral accompaniment added to this lovely number.  (G Major is a great key for string players, by the way.)





This will never be a political blog (follow me on Twitter for that - robertsonrick) - but there is a famous old one-liner that Nixon said about pianists - and it's here.

Now, there's gotta be a clip of Harry Truman out there somewhere - I recall reading that his favorite Chopin waltz was op. 42 in A flat...

Anderson and Roe take on the Moonlight Sonata

This video "gets me" every time I see it.  Talented piano duo Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe do a "dramatic" performance of the all-too-familiar first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.  The skits are dramatic presentations of actual comments posted on YouTube videos of this piece by noted artists such as Kissin, Kempff, Horowitz, and Argerich.

Their website  (thanks, Chase!) is at http://www.andersonroe.net/ - guess I was typing .com, but thought I was trying to access it from a search result.  Oh well, it's fixed now.  They have a CD out as well; I have it and it is fantastic.  It is available as a download from iTunes.