Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Boston I have a request tonight. Usually I don't do request numbers unless of course I have been asked to do so This is a request from a lady I sincerely hope She's an elderly lady. She's an old lady you might as well face it As a matter of fact she's dead now but It's from her son. He and I grew up together we haven't seen each other for approximately seven years neither have I but he asked me if I would do a routine I used to do when we were little boys and girls. Yeah little uh we didn't know the difference anyhow because it's very small as a matter of fact he still doesn't Well he asked me if I would do that routine so with your permission or maybe entirely without it I am going to do that routine right now unfortunately he called up and said that he couldn't be here tonight for this concert so now I actually don't have to do that routine which of course takes care of that so now I'm gonna do something else by the way we are going to have an intermission pretty soon Don't you like intermissions? Oh I love them. Smoke, cigarette, walk around in the lobby, meet friends and so on. We're gonna have an intermission of about an hour and a half tonight so that we really can get acquainted so for my fourth and last number I'm going to play excerpts from Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto number two that is by Rachmaninoff of course who also wrote the music for this concerto this is a piano concerto for piano and concerto and was originally written for approximately 95 piece symphony orchestra due to circumstances beyond my control we seem to be approximately 95 pieces short but you won't notice the difference because I play it very fast this concerto was written in four flats because Rachmaninoff had to move four times while he wrote it and of course I play excerpts I don't know the whole thing that's the Steinway people have asked me to announce that this is a Baldwin piano pardon me for sitting down while I play pardon my back pardon my front that's the way I'm built speaking of pianos many people have asked me why there are three petals in these grand pianos well the petal in the middle is there to separate the two other petals which might be bad news for people with three feet Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto when you hear this that is the introduction and when you hear this that is the main theme then when you hear this then there is definitely something wrong because that's Tchaikovsky would you on the other hand like to hear the famous Polonaise in A flat by Schoenberg very well is there anyone here who can play it so that takes care that now I'll be very honest with you I know two numbers that's all one is clear to noon and the other one isn't do you have any preferences very well clear to noon English translation clear this alone all the light what's the matter the closing up the joint could I please have some lights oh thank you now I can see the match now I'm gonna put this microphone right over next to you madam so what's your language by the way can you all hear what I say without the microphone no no well how can you answer my question all right ladies and gentlemen this number is a number during which most people cough I have heard people cough during this number of people who have never coughed in their life you haven't even started hear I'm sorry. Here, Delude. What's the matter? Don't you like good music? That took care of that one. I should like to play for you a theme. T-H-E-M-E. You are late. T-H-E-M-E. I mean, I'm... You are late. Why are you so late, by the way? Well, I'm going to play this theme now, T-H-E-M-E, for you, as I told you. When I'm through playing it, I will ask you to name your favorite composers. And I will then try to play this theme the way these, your favorite composers would have composed the same theme. If you would be kind enough to name your favorite composers, whom would you like to hear? Sibelius. Who asked you? All right, Sibelius. Who else? Bach. Bach, which one? Johann Sebastian or Offen? Let's make an effort. Whom else? Mozart. Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Sousa, Chopin. Who? In the band of the Rassus. So you make up your mind, you two gentlemen. Chopin, yeah. I'll play him twice. Who, but he else? Brahms. Brahms. Beethoven. Who? Beethoven. Beethoven. Are you making fun of my accent? Well, I think we have enough anyway. I would like to begin with Tchaikovsky. Before I play these, your favorite composers, I would like to read to you from a book I have here, just a few lines from the life story of some of these great masters, because some of them are most uninteresting. Here is the book. What did I say? Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky, C under T. M, N, O, F, S, T. Here we are. Lipton. Wrong T. Ah, Tchaikovsky. Seafood. Pardon me. Oh, Seafood Note. Oh yes, down here it says Peter Ilyich. That must be his name. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Peter was born in Watkinsk, May 7th, 1840. When he was a little boy, he never played out in the streets of Watkinsk, like the other little children of Watkinsk. Because when Tchaikovsky was one month old, his parents moved to St. Petersburg. I told you it wasn't very interesting. Today he would have composed Happy Birthday. Next Chopin. Now Brahms. Joey Brahms. Brahms spelled backwards, sma-b.
