The Boston Symphony happened to be playing an afternoon concert when President Kennedy was killed on November 22, 1963. The famed conductor, Erich Leinsdorf, had to announce his death to the hometown crowd--and then, following the gasps, led the orchestra in the funeral march from Beethoven's "Eroica." It's all in the clip below. The same movement was played at Kennedy's state funeral three days later. Plus: watch Bill Moyers' segment for his TV show this week, now online, on the new film I've co-produced--which explores the amazing political and cultural influence of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in America and abroad. My book on the same subject here.
3 comments:
Holy moly, this is heavy duty. Thank you for posting this.
The little-known, but most important clue to the JFK assassination can be found in this Youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMuF1u94cic
I love the impulse to shush each other even in the face of this news. Concert etiquette is strong.
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