Jimmy Carter
February 24, 2025
The recent passing of President Jimmy Carter brought to mind his remarkable life, both in office and beyond, but also something much more personal for me.
During Lyndon Johnson’s presidency, our Guarneri String Quartet’s manager, Harry Beall, called to say that he had been contacted by the White House. Would we play there if invited? (At this point they were only inquiring, not yet inviting.) It was the height of the Vietnam War, and many artists had publicly refused President Johnson’s invitations to appear at the White House. Johnson tried to avoid further public humiliation by asking members of America’s cultural community surreptitiously. It was both comical and sad. What if I had asked for my wife’s hand in marriage that way? “Darling, mind you, I’m not asking you to marry me but if I were to ask, would you?” We refused President Johnson’s curious non-invitation.
Presidents changed. Now Jimmy Carter was in office. Again, Harry was contacted by the White House. Would we play for a state dinner honoring Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of Israel? Of course, it was an honor to be invited to the White House, and this time we gladly accepted. But five minutes later Harry was back on the phone. “They’re happy you will play, but there’s no room for you to sit with the invited guests in the State dining room. You’ll have to sit elsewhere with the White House personnel.” It was the old Fritz Kreisler story all over again. Kreisler was invited by a New York society lady to play a concert at her home. The fee was to be $5,000. “You understand, Mr. Kreisler, that you are to use the servant’s quarters both before and after the concert.” “In that case, Madam, my fee is only $3,000.” We instructed Harry to refuse.
The phone rang again. “They’ve managed to find places for you at the state dinner,” Harry said, chortling. “You’re playing at the White House on April 15th, a week from Saturday.”
When I informed my wife, Dorothea, that the President of the United States had invited us to a state dinner, she had an observation. “I need a new dress and you need a new suit.” The part about the suit was certainly true. The threadbare condition of my present one was not particularly obvious to an audience, but when I shook hands with President Carter he was bound to notice the shine on my left lapel, polished from constant rubbing where my violin and shoulder meet.
It was only in the middle of the following week that I managed to get to Saks Fifth Avenue for the new suit. “Looks very good on you,” said the tailor, as he finished marking and pinning the sleeves and cuffs. “We’ll have it ready in two weeks.” “Two weeks?” I was aghast. “That’s impossible, I need it in two days!” The tailor smiled smugly. “You don’t seem to realize, sir, that here at Saks we have an enormous backlog of gentlemen’s attire to alter. Two days is out of the question.” Thinking of my old shiny suit being reviewed by the President and First Lady of the United States brought beads of perspiration to my brow. “Look,” I said in something of a state, “I have to perform for the President of the United States at the White House this coming Saturday. This suit must be ready.” The small group of salesmen who had gathered to see what the ruckus was about fell silent and the tailor’s face suddenly had a new look. “Mr. Steinhardt, if you have to play for the President, we’ll have the suit ready in two days.”
Security is always tight at the president’s residence, but especially so for four men carrying instrument cases. Ever since the release of The Lavender Hill Mob, the 1951 film about gangsters’ concealing their weapons in such cases, the public has been convinced that instrument cases have a dual purpose. Hardly a month went by without someone asking me in a crowded elevator whether I’m carrying a machine gun. The White House security force at the East Gate seemed unconcerned, however, as they checked off our names on a list and passed us through without further inspection.
The White House might not be the kind of place that you and I would live in, but it has the character of a lived-in house. All of us—naturally, our wives were there—found it appealing. Michael Tree’s wife, Jani, who was born in Czechoslovakia and raised in Austria, comes from a part of the world where official functions are held in palaces and government buildings designed on a grand, formal scale. The White House had a more democratic and accessible feel to it, reflecting the warmth and informality of the American people themselves.
When dinner, with its speeches by President Carter and Prime Minister Begin, was over, the guests moved to the East Room for the concert. We had decided to play Antonín Dvořák’s American Quartet. President Carter introduced us and the music we were to perform. “I told Mr. Begin that he and I could make beautiful music together. The last time we had dinner together, we heard Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman, and Mr. Begin told me in advance that they were the greatest.” The President laughed and added, “I chose not to argue with him. Tonight I’m offering Mr. Begin something that I call the greatest, and I don’t think he’ll argue with me.” He spoke at some length about the growth of chamber music in America, the new abundance of American quartets, and in some detail of the many ways in which the Guarneri Quartet was unique.
The President concluded, “They are performing for us just one major piece and that is the Dvořák number. He came to America, as you know, in 1892 to head the newly created National Conservatory. Dvořák was Bohemian. He went to a little place called Spillville, Iowa, and he located there because there was a fairly substantial Bohemian community. And while he was there he was able to listen to a lot of American performers. One of those performing groups was a group of Iroquois Indians who came and put on a musical drama, and from that Dvořák derived several pieces of music—the most famous of which is the one they shall perform tonight.”
I listened in amazement. The President of the United States was speaking extemporaneously and knowledgeably about chamber music, about string quartets, about Dvořák, and about us. Who was the last President who knew something about string quartets? In any case, our President most certainly did.
President Carter came to the end of his introduction. “It’s a great pleasure to introduce to you the Guarneri String Quartet—I think the finest in the world—playing Dvořák’s wonderful piece, the American Quartet.” Flanked by Gilbert Stuart’s outsized portraits of George and Martha Washington, we performed for the assembled audience who then gave us a standing ovation. And only moments later we stood before the President and the First Lady. In the instant in which I shook the hand of our president, there was no time to thank him for his loving appreciation of our work, but none of us would ever forget his words and the tone he had set that evening.
Subscribe
Sign up to receive new stories straight to your inbox!
Comments
I have long believed the arts will save us. In this politically painful time, I lavished in the celebration of Jimmy Carter’s amazing life. The Guarneri String Quartet has been in my consciousness since meeting them in college where they were in residence. Here, in this maginificently human story, I learn of the intersection of arts and politics, and to a lesser extent, commerce. Thank you.
Thank you for another wonderful story, beautifully told.
You mentioned invitations from Presidents Johnson and Carter. I’m guessing there was none from the intervening Nixon White House.
I love this story!
I have tears in my eyes. Thank you, Arnold, for this beautiful remembrance.
Arnold, this is just the best! I am still teary-eyed from reading it! Thank you so much for sharing this gem!
Even in Texas LBJ was an embarrassment. Elected to the Senate by dead voters from a cemetery in precinct 13 in Duval county. Back then Texas was two party…liberal democrats and conservative democrats. Only about 3-4 republicans in the whole state.
Yes, he was very knowledgeable and spoke eloquently about Horowitz when he played there. Bygone days of civilty and culture.
What a lovely gift of this memory! President Carter is someone we cherish, especially in our current climate. Thank you!
Amazing story, and what a contrast to now, where Renee Fleming and other artists have resigned from the Kennedy Center. I’m going to send this story around to people.
Another gem ! Thanks so much for the lovely respite from the meshugas going on each day now… your stories are a beacon and inspiration .
your story brought tears to my eyes, and touched my heart, experiencing the beauty and grace that remains alive in great music, the musicians, composers, instruments, and states people that bring it into manifestation.
Thank you for your charming and informative tribute to the gracious and multi-talented President Carter. It renews my hope that this cruel and imbecilic era will give way to one in which our leaders, judges and representatives would not be better housed in mental or penal institutions.
I’m have no doubt that the current occupant of the White House will offer similarly thoughtful and informed commentary when Kanye West and Ted Nugent sing duets for Vladimir Putin before beginning their feast on Big Macs.
Thanks you so much. The story touched my heart. I hope that you are invited to the White House again!!!!
Wonderful story. I too admire Carter. I don’t think the current president will request your coming out of retirement to play.
Wonderful story! Just a note about Dvorak’s Conservatory: Herman Reinshagen was a bassist in the New York Philharmonic for many years, including when Mahler was the Music Director. He taught my teacher Fred Zimmermann, and Reinshagen also studied composition with Dvorak during the time of Dvorak’s Conservatory. Reinshagen arranged many solos for double bass, some of which were played by soloist Gary Karr. I love to think of all these musical connections and the history of the Guarneri Quartet!
Jimmy Carter was unique among our politicians. I managed to greet and shake his hand when he came to NM during his first campaign. Since then my appreciation for his humanity, decency, generosity and leadership has increased year by year. It is interesting to know now of his cultural/musical sophistication as well. I appreciate your storytelling as always.
I met you on Amtrak when you returned to NYC from DC after the White House concert, which you described a bit. When I told you I was a (young) doctor you told me as a youth you aspired to be a physician but you were not good at remembering things. I asked if you could play the Beethoven violin concerto from memory and you said yes, but then you quickly added “that’s different.” Really?
A wonderful story, and not surprising. I thank you, from a proud (most of the time) Georgian
What a moving story about a great President! I only wish that were the standard. Thank you, Arnold!
Such a beautiful story, beautifully told! Thank you, Arnold
Thank-you so much for sharing this beautiful, moving story! It provided a glimmer of hope for this retired violist & American expat, watching aghast from my home in Switzerland at the developments in the US. Thinking of your concert at the white house, the wonderful American quartet, & Jimmy Carter, the anthesis of the current White House resident, reminds me to hold on to the values, the inner world embodied in this story. .
Inspiring story and brings joy to my heart!
What a lovely story.
Lieber Arnold, heute würdest Du weder eingeladen noch spielen. Trump hat sicher noch nie von Dvorak oder einem Streichquartett gehört, denn er ist ein völlig ungebildeter Kerl. Bei der Geschichte mit den Instrumentenkästen fällt mir der Film “Ladykillers” ein, denn da treten auch 4 brutale Gangster als Quartett auf, lassen über ein Grammophon ein Boccherini-Quartett laufen, und immer , wenn die alter Dame kommt, greifen sie mit den Fäusten zu ihren Instrumenten. Eine Szene, die man nie vergisst. Sei herzlich gegrüßt. Peter
Leave a Comment
*/