Friday, October 07, 2005

Diplomacy and the Arts

"It was a magical evening in Washington, with a spectacular pianist playing Chopin and Paderewski in the exquisite halls of the Library of Congress. It was also an evening filled with memories -- of the Kennedy White House, the first to bring great artists to the "nation's home," and of triumphant American artistic tours overseas. One felt for a moment transported back to another, nobler time."

and this:

"The arts express the better angels within us," Sen. Coleman said in his introduction. Retired Gen. Edward Rowny recalled President Kennedy saying to him: "It is no accident that men of genius and music like Paderewski and Chopin should also have been great patriots. You have to be a free man to be a great artist."

Read the rest here.

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