I realize that the mere mention of “president” these days is the equivalent of dropping a torch on a powder keg. Nevertheless, tomorrow morning on WPRB, I will go forward with my annual observance of Presidents Day. I trust everyone is adult enough to celebrate our democracy with music inspired by Washington, Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Chester Alan Arthur, JFK, and Richard Nixon without having a meltdown in the comments section.
New this year will be “A White House Cantata,” derived from Leonard Bernstein’s final, failed musical (written with Alan Jay Lerner), “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” which flopped loudly in 1976. The work parallels a century’s worth of American presidents, from Washington through Theodore Roosevelt, with commentary from African American White House servants. After the show folded, the composer recycled several of the numbers in his later concert works. (And yes, I am aware that Adams was the first president to occupy the White House.)
Join me as we follow our precedent of being presidential, tomorrow morning from 6 to 11 EST, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com. I’ll be practicing arithmetic on the back of a coal shovel and hurling silver dollars across the Potomac, on Classic Ross Amico.
