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President
and Mrs. Eisenhower attending My Fair Lady in New
York. Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
While neither President nor Mrs. Eisenhower was
especially knowledgeable in European classical music,
they recognized the value of the music of their
own nation and placed more emphasis than any of
their predecessors on White House programs that
reflected its colorful variety. The Eisenhowers
were the first to bring Broadway musical theater
to the White House in an after-dinner program for
Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1958. They were also
especially proud of the nation’s military ensembles,
and brought to the White House choral and instrumental
groups from the Army, Navy and Air Force, as well
as the United States Marine Band, which had been
performing at the White House from the time of John
Adams. President Eisenhower also initiated the current
concept of roving musicians, notably the Air Force
Strolling Strings, who performed at the state dinner
for the king of Saudi Arabia in 1957. Guest artists
under the Eisenhowers also included Fred Waring
and the Pennsylvanians, Guy Lombardo, and the world-renowned
pianist Artur Rubinstein in his only White House
concert.
Elise
Kirk, Musical Highlights from the White House,
130-134.
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