On a cold, wet January night in 1973, Richard Nixon and his entourage descended upon the Kennedy Center Concert Hall to hear Eugene Ormandy conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra. The concert was one of the highlights of Nixon's second inaugural, and though Washington's National Symphony Orchestra usually performed at such events, the president had a particular love for the Fabulous Philadelphians, as the storied ensemble with the plush string sound and bright, resonant brass was once known.