Richard Strauss: Four Last Songs (1948) Soprano – Renée Fleming

When I inaugurated this blog last August, it was with the hope that readers of these pages might come to share my enthusiasm for the music that I feature here, and the comments I have received since then have demonstrated that this hope was not in vain.  I didn’t realize, however, that this would become a two-way street, and that readers would introduce me to music they loved, which in turn might appear on these pages.

Richard Strauss

The most recent example of this occurred when I posted the video of Boris Feiner playing Debussy’s “Pour le Piano”.  Brian Lowe of KING-FM in Seattle left a comment on that post which said in part that in his thirty years as Program Director, “Four Last Songs” by Richard Strauss was one of his favorite discoveries, and had changed his world.

I was struck by Brian’s use of the phrase, “changed my world”.  I was not familiar with Strauss’ “Four Last Songs”, but on the strength of his recommendation, I looked it up on YouTube, and now, having listened to it many times, all I can say is, Brian didn’t exaggerate.  If anything, he understated the emotional impact of these extraordinary songs.

“Four Last Songs” was written in 1948, and was Richard Strauss’ final completed work.  He died one year later at age 85.  To me, these four songs suggest someone near the end of his life who, upon reflection, is at peace both with the life he has lived and with the prospect of his death.

This performance was recorded in 2001 in London’s famed Royal Albert Hall, and features soprano Renée Fleming with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Christoph Eschenbach.

1. Frühling  (Spring)

Text: Hermann Hesse

In dämmrigen Grüften
träumte ich lang
von deinen Bäumen und blauen Lüften,
Von deinem Duft und Vogelsang.

Nun liegst du erschlossen
In Gleiß und Zier
von Licht übergossen
wie ein Wunder vor mir.

Du kennst mich wieder,
du lockst mich zart,
es zittert durch all meine Glieder
deine selige Gegenwart!

_________________________

In shadowy crypts
I dreamt long
of your trees and blue skies,
of your fragrance and birdsong.

Now you appear
in all your finery,
shining brilliantly
like a miracle before me.

You recognize me,
you entice me tenderly.
All my limbs tremble at
your blessed presence!

2. September

Text: Hermann Hesse

Der Garten trauert,
kühl sinkt in die Blumen der Regen.
Der Sommer schauert
still seinem Ende entgegen.

Golden tropft Blatt um Blatt
nieder vom hohen Akazienbaum.
Sommer lächelt erstaunt und matt
In den sterbenden Gartentraum.

Lange noch bei den Rosen
bleibt er stehn, sehnt sich nach Ruh.
Langsam tut er
die müdgeword’nen Augen zu.

_________________________

The garden is in mourning.
Cool rain seeps into the flowers.
Summertime shudders,
quietly awaiting his end.

Golden leaf after leaf falls
from the tall acacia tree.
Summer smiles, astonished and feeble,
at his dying dream of a garden.

For just a while he tarries
beside the roses, yearning for repose.
Slowly he closes
his weary eyes.

3. Beim Schlafengehen  (Going to Sleep)

(Text: Hermann Hesse)

Nun der Tag mich müd’ gemacht,
soll mein sehnliches Verlangen
freundlich die gestirnte Nacht
wie ein müdes Kind empfangen.

Hände, laßt von allem Tun,
Stirn, vergiß du alles Denken.
Alle meine Sinne nun
wollen sich in Schlummer senken.

Und die Seele, unbewacht,
will in freien Flügen schweben,
um im Zauberkreis der Nacht
tief und tausendfach zu leben.

_________________________

Now that I am wearied of the day,
I will let the friendly, starry night
greet all my ardent desires
like a sleepy child.

Hands, stop all your work.
Brow, forget all your thinking.
All my senses now
yearn to sink into slumber.

And my unfettered soul
wishes to soar up freely
into night’s magic sphere
to live there deeply and thousandfold.

4. Im Abendrot  (At Sunset)

(Text: Joseph von Eichendorff)

Wir sind durch Not und Freude
gegangen Hand in Hand;
vom Wandern ruhen wir
nun überm stillen Land.

Rings sich die Täler neigen,
es dunkelt schon die Luft.
Zwei Lerchen nur noch steigen
nachträumend in den Duft.

Tritt her und laß sie schwirren,
bald ist es Schlafenszeit.
Daß wir uns nicht verirren
in dieser Einsamkeit.

O weiter, stiller Friede!
So tief im Abendrot.
Wie sind wir wandermüde–
Ist dies etwa der Tod?

_________________________

We have gone through sorrow and joy
hand in hand;
Now we can rest from our wandering
above the quiet land.

Around us, the valleys bow;
the air is growing darker.
Just two skylarks soar upwards
dreamily into the fragrant air.

Come close to me, and let them flutter.
Soon it will be time for sleep.
Let us not lose our way
in this solitude.

O vast, tranquil peace,
so deep at sunset!
How weary we are of wandering—
Is this perhaps death?

J. D. Salinger (1919 – 2010)

J. D. Salinger on Time Magazine September 15, 1961

J. D. Salinger, American author, who was born on January 1, 1919, died three days ago at his home in New Hampshire, at the age of 91.  (Have you noticed how long people are living nowadays?  Isn’t it great!)  Salinger’s stature rests primarily on one novel, three novellas, and a handful of short stories, and while the literary world is holding its collective breath over the possibility of new posthumous works, Salinger’s status as one of the giants of American letters is secure, even if nothing new is ever forthcoming.

Salinger’s greatest strength as a writer was his ability to create flesh and blood characters, and infuse life into them.  I know of no other author whose characters come to life more vividly than Salinger’s.  If I were asked to name just a few of his greatest creations, I would begin with Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye, the title characters from Franny and Zooey, Seymour and Muriel Glass from A Perfect Day for Bananafish, and Boo Boo Tannenbaum from Down at the Dinghy.  I could go on and on, and it pains me not to mention a whole host of his minor characters, all of whom are drawn with unerring accuracy and attention to detail.  I must mention, however, the extraordinary success that Salinger achieved in his portrayals of children.  If you are familiar with his short stories, take another look at Sybil in Bananafish, at Lionel in Down at the Dinghy, and at Teddy and Booper in Teddy.  In his portrayals of children at least, Salinger’s achievements have not only never been exceeded, they are unequaled.

A key component of Salinger’s success in characterization was his uncanny ear for dialog.  If there is a writer’s equivalent of perfect pitch in a musician, Salinger had it in spades.  When his characters speak, we can see right into their souls.  We learn at least as much about them from how they speak as from what they say.

To illustrate this, I have reproduced below a short excerpt from A Perfect Day for Bananafish.  One of Salinger’s most compelling works, Bananafish is my idea of the perfect short story.  If you haven’t read it, you should run – not walk – to your nearest library or bookstore, pick up a copy of Nine Stories, and read the very first one.

A Perfect Day for Bananafish (excerpt)

There were ninety-seven New York advertising men in the hotel, and, the way they were monopolizing the long-distance lines, the girl in 507 had to wait from noon till almost two-thirty to get her call through.  She used the time, though.  She read an article in a women’s pocket-size magazine, called “Sex Is Fun-or Hell.”  She washed her comb and brush.  She took the spot out of the skirt of her beige suit.  She moved the button on her Saks blouse.  She tweezed out two freshly surfaced hairs in her mole.  When the operator finally rang her room, she was sitting on the window seat and had almost finished putting lacquer on the nails of her left hand.

She was a girl who for a ringing phone dropped exactly nothing.  She looked as if her phone had been ringing continually ever since she had reached puberty.

With her little lacquer brush, while the phone was ringing, she went over the nail of her little finger, accentuating the line of the moon.  She then replaced the cap on the bottle of lacquer and, standing up, passed her left – the wet – hand back and forth through the air.  With her dry hand, she picked up a congested ashtray from the window seat and carried it with her over to the night table, on which the phone stood.  She sat down on one of the made-up twin beds and – it was the fifth or sixth ring – picked up the phone.

“Hello,” she said, keeping the fingers of her left hand outstretched and away from her white silk dressing gown, which was all that she was wearing, except mules – her rings were in the bathroom.

“I have your call to New York now, Mrs. Glass,” the operator said.

“Thank you,” said the girl, and made room on the night table for the ashtray.

A woman’s voice came through. “Muriel?  Is that you?”

The girl turned the receiver slightly away from her hear.  “Yes, Mother.  How are you?” she said.

“I’ve been worried to death about you.  Why haven’t you phoned?  Are you all right?”

“I tried to get you last night and the night before.  The phone here’s been – ”

“Are you all right, Muriel?”

The girl increased the angle between the receiver and her ear.  “I’m fine.  I’m hot.  This is the hottest day they’ve had in Florida in – ”

“Why haven’t you called me?  I’ve been worried to – ”

“Mother, darling, don’t yell at me.  I can hear you beautifully,” said the girl.  “I called you twice last night.  Once just after – ”

“I told your father you’d probably call last night.  But, no, he had to – Are you all right, Muriel?  Tell me the truth.”

“I’m fine.  Stop asking me that, please.”

“When did you get there?”

“I don’t know.  Wednesday morning, early.”

“Who drove?”

“He did,” said the girl.  “And don’t get excited.  He drove very nicely.  I was amazed.”

“He drove?  Muriel, you gave me your word of – ”

“Mother,” the girl interrupted, “I just told you.  He drove very nicely.  Under fifty the whole way, as a matter of fact.”

“Did he try any of that funny business with the trees?”

“I said he drove very nicely, Mother.  Now, please.  I asked him to stay close to the white line, and all, and he knew what I meant, and he did.  He was even trying not to look at the trees – you could tell.  Did Daddy get the car fixed, incidentally?”

“Not yet.  They want four hundred dollars, just to – ”

“Mother, Seymour told Daddy that he’d pay for it.  There’s no reason for – ”

“Well, we’ll see.  How did he behave – in the car and all?”

“All right,” said the girl.

“Did he keep calling you that awful – ”

“No.  He has something new now.”

“What?”

“Oh, what’s the difference, Mother?”

“Muriel, I want to know.  Your father – ”

“All right, all right.  He calls me Miss Spiritual Tramp of 1948,” the girl said, and giggled…

Isn’t that amazing? Don’t you feel like you know these people, after just a few minutes of dialog?  This is Salinger’s great gift: He creates real people.  Characterization is far more important to him than plot, which serves primarily as a means for him to delve into his characters.  We, the readers, feel that we know them.  Within a few lines, their issues, their lives, become important to us, and we care about them.

If you are unfamiliar with Salinger, I would begin with The Catcher in the Rye. It is a classic, and mandatory reading for everyone.  Then I would pick up his volume of Nine Stories, and read A Perfect Day for Bananafish, Down at the Dinghy, and Teddy.  For your next course, read Franny and Zooey, and if you still hunger for more, read Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour – An Introduction and the rest of the Nine Stories.  You may get hooked on Salinger, but you will never regret a single minute of the time you spend with him.

Earl Wild (1915 – 2010)

It was with sadness that I learned today of the death of pianist Earl Wild, who died at the age of 94 on Saturday, January 23 at his home in Palm Springs, California.  Although I have known of Earl Wild for years, and enjoyed his arrangements of several Gershwin songs, it was only recently that I gained an appreciation for the breadth and depth of his achievements.   He was a classical pianist of enviable taste and technique, at home in an astonishing variety of musical styles and eras.  He was a composer as well, famous for his piano transcriptions of songs as different as those of Gershwin and Rachmaninoff.

His career was remarkable as much for its longevity as its diversity.  He was born in Pittsburgh on November 26, 1915, and began giving recitals in 1928 at the age of 12.  To put that into historical perspective, that was just one year after Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs in one season, and one year before the onset of the Great Depression!  He gave his final concert at age 92 in February 2008, drawing to a close a career that had spanned 80 years.

It was just three weeks ago that I featured Earl Wild on this blog in a performance of “Danse” by Debussy, a tribute that was by no means intended as a memorial.  Here, from that same recital, is a performance of Chopin’s brilliant Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat minor.  After such a performance – and such a career - what is left to say but, “Bravo!”

Sergei Prokofiev: Sonata No. 6 in A major Pianist – Boris Feiner

Sergei Prokofiev on the cover of Time Magazine, November 19, 1945

If some beneficent genie were to grant me the ability to play any three sonatas of my choosing, the sixth sonata by Prokofiev would have to be one of the three.  The first of Prokofiev’s three “War Sonatas”, the 6th was composed in 1939-1940, and given its first performance on April 8, 1940 with the composer at the piano.  I heard it for the first time in 1965, in a recital by Van Cliburn, who later released it – together with the sonata by Samuel Barber – on an RCA record appropriately titled “Two 20th-Century Masterpieces”.  In the liner notes to that album, Edward Jablonski writes, “One of his most majestic compositions, [the Sixth] is typically Prokofievian in the grandeur of the first movement, the wit of the second, the wistful beauty of the third and the propulsive drive of the finale.”

The pianist in this recording is Boris Feiner, whom we met earlier this month in a recording of Debussy’s “Pour le Piano”.  In an unusual co-mingling of performances, Mr. Feiner elected to upload video of the first two movements from a recital in Bad Bergzabern, Germany on September 29, 2006, and the third and fourth from a recital five days earlier, in Rheinsberg.

Claude Debussy: Two Pieces for Piano

“L’Isle Joyeuse” – Sae Lee, Piano

“L’Isle Joyeuse” (The Joyous Isle) and “Danse” by Claude Debussy have been two of my favorite piano pieces for many years.  I first became acquainted with them in high school through an old Angel Records recording by the incomparable Walter Gieseking, much of which is available on YouTube, but without any video of the pianist.

Sae Lee was born in Osaka, Japan and began her musical studies at the age of four.  We learn from her website (www.sae-lee.com) that she pursued her piano studies in Tokyo and Paris, and was the first-prize winner at numerous competitions.  In addition to her work as a solo artist, she currently performs regularly with saxophone player Miha Rogina in the chamber ensemble “Duo Kalypso”.

“Danse” – Earl Wild, Piano

The legendary pianist Earl Wild was born on November 26, 1915.  A veteran of the concert hall by the age of 19, he was still giving recitals in 2005 at age 90.  In addition to being a virtuoso pianist, he is a composer and has made numerous piano transcriptions of works by other composers.

In this video, Wild plays a piece by Debussy sometimes called “Tarantelle Styrienne”, but more commonly known simply as “Danse”.

Claude Debussy: Suite “Pour le Piano” Pianist – Boris Feiner

As Elizabeth Middleton mentioned in the email quoted in the previous post, many classical music radio stations across the country have disappeared.  Here in Seattle, however, we are fortunate to have KING-FM broadcasting twenty-four hours a day at 98.1 on the FM dial.  I’m a regular listener to KING-FM, particularly when I’m in my car.  Although they consistently program more baroque (and less 20th-century) music than I would like, and persist in an annoying veneration of Mozart, I have nevertheless spent hundreds of hours over the years listening to KING-FM, and have been introduced to many pieces of music that have become favorites of mine.

The following video presents one of those favorites.  I was out running errands recently, with my car radio tuned as always to 98.1, when Debussy’s suite “Pour le Piano” came over the air, in a dazzling performance by French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet.  I was captivated with the piece, and immediately made plans to feature it on this blog.  Although I was unable to find a performance by Bavouzet on YouTube, I found this wonderful performance featuring the Israeli pianist, Boris Feiner.

Born in 1981 in Kiev, Boris Feiner began studying piano at age 7.  He moved to Israel in 1991 and to Germany in 2004.  This recording was made in Bad Bergzabern on October 17, 2008.

If your local classical radio station is one of those that have ceased broadcasting, you can still enjoy KING-FM over the internet at www.king.org. 

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Sonata No. 1 Pianist – Valentina Lisitsa

I recently received a thoughtful email from a friend of mine, Elizabeth Middleton.  A pianist and composer with eight CD’s of her own music to her credit, Elizabeth wrote in part:

I am beginning to wonder whether there is so much mediocre or just plain bad music being created that people’s ability to hear is being corrupted.  It’s so sad that music education has gone by the wayside in public schools and that most classical radio stations have disappeared.  Yet, with YouTube, MySpace music profiles, Rhapsody, iTunes and other websites, there are numerous ways for people to discover and listen to good music, of different genres, on the internet.

Sergei Rachmaninoff

This video, and the one that follows, are striking examples of the great discoveries that can be found on two of the venues mentioned by Elizabeth: YouTube and classical radio.  I had never heard of Valentina Lisitsa before I discovered her on YouTube, and had never heard Rachmaninoff’s first piano sonata until I watched this video.  The first sonata is more expansive than the second, and more romantic in its character.  Though less frequently played, it is every bit as deserving of the appellation “masterpiece”.

This recording was made in July 2009 at a recital in Boca Raton, Florida, at which Valentina also played Beethoven’s epic “Hammerklavier” Sonata, also available on YouTube.  What a recital!  I cannot imagine two more demanding sonatas.  When I first heard the Rachmaninoff, I was struck at once by the scope and power of the piece, as well as its technical demands.  In addition, I was overjoyed to find that, even after 45 years of listening to Rachmaninoff’s music, there are still new masterpieces to discover.

Would you like to receive email notification of updates to this blog?

Dear Readers,

Thank you for your interest in my blog.  If you would like to receive email notification of future updates, please write to me at derrobin@hotmail.com.

Enjoy the music!

Derrick

The Lighter Side of Lola

Lola Astanova is one of the very few classical musicians today who has publicly embraced pop music.  In fact, she has written piano trans-criptions of three popular songs, and posted videos of all of them on YouTube.  No one but a classically trained pianist could have written or played these arrangements – they all bristle with technical difficulties - but in each case, Lola has remained true to the spirit of the original.

Concerning the first video, Lola writes on her website, http://www.lolaastanova.com:  “Several months ago, while dancing to Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop The Music” in the club, I thought that it would be fun to turn it into a virtuoso piano piece.  So a couple of nights at the keyboard later, I came up with my version of it.  I haven’t done anything like that before, and it was a bit of a challenge to capture the original rhythmic pattern on the piano.  But I gave it a good try.”

When she recorded the following transcription of Madonna’s “Music”, Lola gave us some fascinating insights into the differences between pop and classical music.  Here are a few of the highlights:

“Having been both surprised and amused by the comment, ‘This does not sound like the original,’ that some people posted to my ‘Don’t Stop The Music’ video, this time I decided to give a fair upfront warning: my arrangement is NOT supposed to be the exact repetition of the original song!  For my taste, playing a pop song such as ‘Music’ note for note would be among the most boring, unoriginal and unpleasant things to hear, and I would never waste your attention or my time on such tediousness.  With that said, my arrangement is, in fact, very closely linked with the original (though, I’ll admit that connecting all the dots may require some musical prowess).  So here are a few trivia points about my ‘Music’…

“Pop music and classical music are two polar opposites in the sense that while the richness and variety of electronic sounds allow pop compositions to easily dwell on the same motif over and over again, in classical – it’s all about developing and growing your musical idea.  Additionally, the sound of a single instrument (like the piano) is very “thin” compared to the multitude of electronic sounds in a pop song.  For these reasons, taking a bare pop theme and playing it on the piano unchanged would be utterly ridiculous.  As the original song offered little melodic material, I had to sneak in new motifs (that were still derived from the original) in order to give my ‘Music’ some shape and texture.”

Finally, in the spirit of the holidays, Lola composed the following arrangement of “Jingle Bells”.  In this, as in all of these pieces, I hear the clear influence of Franz Liszt, who wrote hundreds of piano transcriptions himself, and who – like Lola – introduced music written for other instruments to a new and vastly wider audience.

In closing, I cannot do better than to echo the comment posted by Steven Mento after the interview with Lola featured on this blog in October: “Brava! Thank you for your extraordinary part in keeping the pianist-composer legacy alive in the 21st century!”

– The Assassination of John F. Kennedy – 46 Years Later

October, 1963 - My Sophomore Year

Today marks the 46^th anni-versary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, who was killed on this date in 1963.  At the time of his death, I was a sophomore at George Washington High School in Denver, Colorado.  I had recently turned 15 years old, and had begun keeping a diary only the month before.

I watched the non-stop news coverage of the assassination obsessively, waiting for some detail or explanation that would help make sense of the incon-ceivable.  Perhaps more real to me than the image of Kennedy as President was my image of him as a family man.  He was only 46 years old when he was killed.  His beautiful wife Jackie was 34, his daughter Caroline almost 6, and his son John Jr. almost 3.  Regardless of one’s politics, they were our First Family, and their loss was our loss.

Writing in my diary was one way I tried to come to grips with something totally outside the realm of my experience, but not for days would I escape a dreamlike sense of unreality.  With a tip of my hat to the boy I was then, I have reproduced below my three entries relating to this historic event.

Friday, November 22, 1963

What a day this has been.  The events of this day still seem unreal to me.  The date, November 22, 1963 will go down in history as one of the most earth-shaking days in this century.

For me it started quite normally.  I was wakened at about 7:00 o’clock.  I dressed and went downstairs.  Mom took me to school because the temperature was twenty-seven degrees.  Today was to be the day of the Thespian play, “The Late Christopher Bean,” and after fourth period I went directly to the ticket booth to sell tickets.  Nobody was in the booth, and this was strange because someone should have sold tickets fourth period.  The treasurer was there and she asked me to go to her office to get the box which contained the tickets, the key to the ticket booth, and five dollars in change.  As I left for her office, I saw a girl lying on the cement deck by the patio door.  I heard someone say that she had hit her head on a metal banister.  I ran to the nurse’s clinic, getting there just before two other girls.  I explained to the nurse that a girl had been hurt, and left the rest up to her.  I then went to the trea-surer’s office.  When I returned to the ticket booth, I prepared to sell some tickets.  I saw the girl being carried away on a stretcher.  Just then [School Principal] Mr. Waldman’s voice came over the P.A. system.  He said something to the effect that there had been a great tragedy.  At first I thought he was talking about the unfortu-nate girl.  He continued, saying, “The President of the United States and the Governor of Texas have been shot.”  I don’t remember the rest of what he said except that they were both in critical condition.  I was completely stunned.  The blood all rushed to my face and my skin became very hot.  Later, when Karen [another Drama Club member] came into the booth, we said very little.  It was just too hard to understand.  In seventh period we were told that Mr. Kennedy had died.  This only confirmed my belief.  It is still hard to grasp the fact that he has been assassi-nated.  It all seems so unreal.

Saturday, November 23, 1963

I am finally able to grasp the fact that President Kennedy is dead.  Our family has spent almost the entire day watching the television and I am able to relate most of yesterday’s tragic events.

President and Mrs. Kennedy, with Governor and Mrs. Connally, moments before the assassination.

President Kennedy had gone to Texas; although it was classified as a non-political trip to heal the Democratic Party split, most people were sure that it had political connotations, next year being an election year.  He had made a speech in Fort Worth and had then flown to Dallas.  He was in his famous bubble-topped Lincoln Continental with Mrs. Kennedy and Governor and Mrs. John Connally of Texas when three shots rang out.  Two of them hit President Kennedy.  The third hit Governor Connally.  Mrs. Kennedy screamed, “Oh God, he’s been hit.”  The time was 11:30 a.m. MST.  The car then rushed to Parkland Hospital where Kennedy was rushed to the Emergency Room.  The Governor was also rushed to a separate Emergency Room.  Doctors worked frantically for about thirty minutes but at noon he was pronounced dead.  Governor Connally was in critical condition.  President Kennedy had been hit by two bullets, one in the brain, the other in the chest.  Governor Connally had been hit by one, which went through his collarbone, punctured a lung, broke three ribs, and passed out of his body.

There is a prime suspect in the shooting, Lee Harvey Oswald.  He is a self-styled Communist.

President Johnson was sworn into office on the plane that carried President Kennedy to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.  He is our thirty-sixth president.

I don’t think whoever killed Mr. Kennedy could have thought about the profound effect it would have on people of the United States and of the world.  Monday is a day of national mourning.  There will be no school in Denver and in most other cities in the United States.  This assassination has so much effect on this nation and the world that it is impossible to comprehend it.

Tuesday, November 26, 1963

Jack Ruby shoots Lee Harvey Oswald

There has been so much that has happened in such a short amount of time that it is very hard to grasp the enormity of it.  Lee Harvey Oswald, the suspect in President Kennedy’s assassination, was himself murdered Sunday.  He was being transferred from the city to the county jail when a man, Jack Ruby, stepped out of the crowd of reporters, put a gun into the stomach of Oswald, and pulled the trigger.  Oswald groaned and slumped to the floor.  Police grabbed Ruby and immediately took him into custody.  Oswald was taken to Parkland Hospital, the hospital where President Kennedy died.  He died in a room only ten feet from where Kennedy died.

Maybe tomorrow someone will shoot the man who shot the man who shot President Kennedy.  What a mess.  Who has gained anything?