Victor Borge - Performance at the White House

[KarrotKun1]

2:29 "The only one he wrote." No, Tchaikovsky wrote 2 piano concertos and was working on a third when he died. x.x WHY Mr. BORGE LIE TO US? ;(

[jankerle58]

What a genious!

This is the right atitude to the music, to life, to everything!

Whish I couls be such positiv person!

[TheIllusionist1997]

hahahaha xD

one of the best pianists,and one of the best comedians xD

pure genius xD

[SomebodysVincent]

proud to be danish!

[SelestynaArpa364]

That just totally made my day when he came out and up onto the piano like they were stairs and he looked around like "well this isn't right..."

[harrynking777]

He seems to have been an excellent pianist. Very musical.

[barkt23]

amazing!



[Rebekah88keys]

I love it when Victor slips/falls off the bench. :) I wonder how many bruises he endured over the years. ;)

[MrHypnofan]

what is that gadget for?

[mizsparrow]

@MrHypnofan The long wooden strut that holds up the piano lid has a chunk that folds out (the gadget). You can raise the entire strut and have the lid up very high, or you can lay the main strut down, and just fold up that "gadget", and it is a smaller strut that holds the lid up just a little bit.

[MichaelHansenFUN]

is this on dvd?

At age 90 he came out on stage, took the microphone, and a puff of smoke came out of his mouth. the audience reacted and he said "Mexican Food".

[MichaelHansenFUN]

too bad there is no audience footage of stuff, because I saw this guy live in concert when he was 90 and 91 years old!!!

[hophmi]

Cracking up at the Blue Danube parody.

[Oistrakhfollower]

Virtuoso!!!!!

[chutdigadut]

this guys was THEE best

[mrspeel7]

@McBearPEI A-ha! Good catch that I missed. Thanks!

[jazzflutist]

Priceless.  You know there's a God around with that kind of talent.

[vesemashouk]

'what key are you playing in?' hahahahahahahaha i love victor borge!!

[prchristman]

Absolutely. A persistent "Missouri Waltz"!

When Harry Truman came back to Independence, MO following Eisenhower's inauguration, the American Legion band played "Missouri Waltz" for him. But Truman didn't care for the song. One website says he called it a "ragtime song" and as bad as the "Star Spangled Banner" in terms of music. He said it was played 30,000 times during the 1948 presidential campaign and "I just got tired of it."

[mrspeel7]

What is the musical joke at 1:00, and again at 1:46? It must be topical for the time. And, given that it is a White House performance, there may be a political connotation, too.

Anyone?

[prchristman]

At 1:00 and 1:46, the piano insists on playing "Missouri Waltz." These White House pianos were still under the influence of Harry Truman (Democrat), of Missouri, who had just departed Washington following the inauguration of Dwight Eisenhower (Republican). Truman was known for his piano playing as well as a couple of terms as U.S. president. Eisenhower was a golf player, not a piano player. Nevertheless, he would have to get those presidential pianos retuned!

[mrspeel7]

Oh, thank you so much!

I greatly appreciate your good information!

:)

[MShepherd88]

@mrspeel7 Yeah, I was curious about the same thing...I think I might be too young to get the reference :)

[davidcorwin]

This is actually from an episode of The Abbott and Costello Show (the Colgate Comedy Hour). It wasn't actually taped at the White House...that's a ruse that's part of the skit. The show was celebrating Dwight Eisenhower's inauguration. These shows are available on DVD, and contain classic material by comic geniuses!

[vesemashouk]

hahahah 4:00 is hilarious i cant stop laughin

[vesemashouk]

HAHAHAHHAHA if you know all the original songs, its so funny,

Harry S, Chopin ROFL

[jmt62]

he was a genius

[cyanoftyr]

"what's the matter? What key are you playing in?" lol

Pure genius!

[ValorUnlimited]

I can only imagine what it would have been like to be there and witness that live.

A true virtuoso.

[toasted9]

Effortless

[jbcranberry]

What year was that? Whose administration?

[phi358]

I'm guessing during the Eisenhower administration given the joke at 0:20

[jbcranberry]

thanks, it seems about right (clothing, setting) - even though I do not know the joke

[chieh1980]

nice :)