Richard Wagner: the Man, His Mind, and His Music

New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc.. Very Good-. 1968. First Edition. Hardcover. xx, 490 pages; New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. Very Good-. 1968. First Edition; First Printing. Autograph; xx, 490 pages; Publisher's beige cloth. Lacks the dust jacket. Signed twice by Paul Hume, first on the red front free-endpaper, and again on the next leaf (half title) , underneath this, he has made at least 16 page number references. As a sample, Hume marked page 306 with an exclamation point; he made a triple rule in that page's margin at a passage asserting that Wagner hoped to establish a center for his music dramas... "a sort of Washington for arts. " From the music reference library of the late Paul Hume, longtime musical editor of the Washington 'Post. ' Hume [1915-2001] earned a degree from the University of Chicago, and, in addition to his multi-decade career in musical journalism, served as as professor of music at Georgetown University (1950-1977) , as adjunct professor of music at Yale University (1975-1983) , and also hosted long-running classical music programs at WGMS-FM radio in Washington, D. C. He is best known for his substantial and influential term at the Washington 'Post" -- 1946-1982, for which he won numerous awards including a Peabody; Hume also wrote several books. Despite all this, during a couple of days fairly early in his tenure at the 'Post, ' Paul Hume became the most famous music critic in America. He achieved this unsought status by publishing a review of a recital December 5, 1950 at Washington's Constitution Hall, writing that the singer possessed "a pleasant voice of little size and fair quality. She is extremely attractive on the stage. Yet . . . There are few moments during her recital when one can relax and feel confident that she will make her goal, which is the end of the song... She is flat a good deal of the time . . . She cannot sing with anything approaching professional finish . . . She communicates almost nothing of the music she presents ..." All in a night's work for a working music critic -- unless the subject of a review is the only child of a President of the United States. Such was the case for Paul Hume in 1950. The President was not at all pleased to read Paul Hume's review in the 'Post. ' He took two sheets of White House stationery and wrote (in longhand) an emotional and un-Presidential letter to the critic. One key phrase stands out: "Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!" Margaret Truman initially told reporters "I am absolutely positive my father wouldn't use language like that... "In the first place ... My father wouldn't have time to write a letter . . . Mr. Hume is a very fine critic. He has a right to write as he pleases..." Cautiously, Hume and the Managing Editor of the 'Post' sought confirmation from the White House that the letter, signed only with the initials "H. S. T. " had indeed been written and sent by the President. Soon, after the Executive Office did confirm Presidential authorship of the note, a 'Post' competitor, the tabloid Washington 'Daily News' put the whole story on its front page. In 1951, Hume reportedly sold the original letter written to him by the angry President -- for $3500. It was resold once before being purchased by publisher/collector Malcolm S. Forbes in 1983, who displayed it for the rest of his life in his collection of historical documents. After Forbes' death, Christies in New York sold the Truman letter for $193, 000 [Sale 1032, lot 177, 26 March 2002]. In an interview published just after his eightieth birthday, Hume was philosophical about the incident which made him famous: "the President has every right to get mad, and to show it in any way he wants. I wrote a review President Truman hated, and he wrote to say so. It wasn't considered Presidential, but I loved him for having written it" -- [People Magazine, 29 January 1996, p.94]. ; Signed by Notable Personage, Rela; Music and Performing Arts, Most Recent Listing, Most Recent Listing .