Author: William Curry

In 1972, Richard Nixon was re-elected as President of the United States. As part of the second inaugural festivities, it was decided to feature an orchestral concert. Nixon himself chose for the occasion his favorite orchestra and conductor: the Philadelphia Orchestra and their Music Director, Eugene Ormandy. Nixon also chose two of the major selections: Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and Grieg’s Piano Concerto, with Van Cliburn. The concert was to be held at the newly-built Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. A committee was formed by Nixon supporters to help with the details. It’s not known who, but someone got the brilliant idea of commissioning an American composer to supply the concert with a world premiere of a new work. The committee then approached Vincent Persichetti to write the work. He was then 57 years old, taught at The Juilliard School, and was one of the best known American composers.