She ALWAYS plays the Brahms piano quintet, fyi
It was great to see a picture of Secretary Rice playing with her friends in DC in the Times today.
She is not the only secretary of state to pursue amateur music-making. Thomas Jefferson, the first to hold the office, was an excellent violinist who played chamber music, especially Baroque trio sonatas, throughout his political career. But back then, playing music at home was commonplace.
Not so today, in the era of recording technology, when you can hear almost any piece from the entire history of music by switching on an iPod. The trade-off is that so few people know the personal joy of making music. Whatever else she is to political supporters and opponents, Ms. Rice may be the most prominent amateur musician in the world right now, which is big news for classical music.
Okay, so maybe this was a transparent attempt by the Bush administration to raise its sagging ratings by appealing to amateur musicians. (They'll stop at nothing!) But it's still great to see.
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That was a courageous think to say.
I'm pleased to see it, too.