Beethoven's Third Symphony, November 22, 1963

It has gotten so I am no longer completely certain which memories are my own, and which are the ones that have been constructed for me over the years. However, I do still feel how horrific it all was, as a sensitive 4 year old it would have been nearly impossible to escape absorbing it all, on at least some level.
In this powerful slice of history, the announcement made by Erich Leinsdorf, and the collective gasp of the audience brought back that feeling of horror again.
The Funeral March from Beethoven's Third Symphony. The initial reaction to the news of a program change to the Third Symphony is interesting, yet another collective response, "Oh, no!" , which I would interpret as a plea to not go on.. Yet, go on they did.
How were the musicians able to play that beautiful, moving piece of music? The most passionate response as a musician to the supreme call to serve your country in its time of dire need is to play it strong and well; I suppose, to play it brilliant. To have been in that audience, to have a part in that slice of powerful history. In the presence of  such stirring music, the body/bodies strung together through the sound; what a collective expression that must have been!

The radio microphones were present at a Boston Symphony Orchestra concert at an extraordinary moment in American history.

"On November 22, 1963, conductor Erich Leinsdorf was leading the regular Friday afternoon BSO concert at Symphony Hall. Before the program began, it had been reported across the nation that president John F. Kennedy had been shot by a sniper while riding in a motorcade in Dallas. It was known, too, that his injuries were serious, but that was all the information that was available."

"During the first half of the concert, what was feared became confirmed: Kennedy's wounds were fatal. Monitoring news reports backstage at Symphony Hall, orchestra officials determined to continue the concert, but with a change in the program. Librarians pulled orchestral parts to Beethoven's "Eroica" funeral march from the shelves and brought them down to the stage door. After learning of the tragedy himself backstage, Leinsdorf walked back onstage, relayed word to the audience, and led the BSO in a work in tribute to the nation's fallen leader."

more of the story from Bill Moyers