You could trace Larry Perelman’s “American Impresario,” to a Facebook post in the aughts. Or to a letter he wrote in 1994. Or to his family moving to St. Paul from the Soviet Union in the 1970s, shortly before Perelman was born.
“American Impresario” is about Perelman’s friendship with conservative TV host, writer and — most important, for the book — classical music enthusiast William F. Buckley. Perelman’s father, Dimitry (who lives in St. Paul with Perelman’s mother, Celia, a piano teacher), was a fan of Buckley, specifically of the pundit’s stands on Communism and antisemitism. So was young Larry. The latter knew Buckley was devoted to classical music and a pianist himself, something he occasionally covered on his PBS series “Firing Line.” So Perelman wrote to Buckley in 1994, when he was 18, expressing his admiration and offering a private piano recital.
In “American Impresario,” Perelman, 49, refers to that FedEx’ed note as “the letter that would change my life.” One reason he wrote the book is that he believes other young people could use a little encouragement to make a change for themselves.
“I was 18 when all of this started. So, recent high school graduates, if they’re lost about what they want to do in the world, there’s an opportunity to write to a hero and it could change your life, too,” said Perelman, a Minnesota booster whose undergraduate degree is from Macalester College and who still gets back here often, including a family trip last year that featured a State Fair/Renaissance Festival double feature.
Perelman had pondered writing a book ever since Buckley’s death in 2008 (Perelman was in the writer’s home when he died, preparing to play one of his regular concerts for Buckley and dinner guests). But bipartisan reaction to a Facebook post that Perelman wrote several years later convinced him there was an audience for a book about his friendship with Buckley — particularly since Buckley’s ability to gather civilly with friends of all political persuasions seems to be a dying art.
“I was very happy to call myself a conservative, growing up in the eighties. That is why I wrote the letter — because of his stance on Communism and because of his stance on antisemitism,” said Perelman. “Politics would come up in some conversations or when there would be mock ‘Firing Lines’ at the end of dinner parties, but most of our conversations were about music.”
In a time of families that skip gatherings because of political differences, Perelman hopes his book about Buckley (who would have been 100 this year and is also the subject of a full biography by Sam Tanenhaus, due in June) can remind people that we used to know how to set differences aside. One chapter lists Buckley virtues that Perelman thinks would serve us well today.
“People say I’m so quaint to think this way, but the centerpiece in the book is when I asked Bill a question that was pointedly political and he looked at me and said, ‘You know, Larry, politics is my vocation. Not my avocation,’” said Perelman. “I wish everyone would take a look at that and say, ‘We are at dinner parties. Let’s try to stay away from politics and religion,’ or ‘When we go to a concert hall, let’s focus on other things, the things that can bring us together.’”
