In December 1941 , after the attack on Pearl Harbor , List enlisted in the Army without waiting for his formal call-up , asking only that he be allowed to finish the season , since he was committed to several concert dates . In March 1942 , the Army assigned List , aged 26 , to the New York Port of Embarkation , Brooklyn , where he was given an office job as a typist . In 1943 , he married the well-known violinist , Carroll Glenn , in New York , whom he had met at Juilliard . Like her husband , Glenn was a prodigy . She had already won the prestigious Naumburg Competition , which gave her a New York debut and helped to launch her illustrious career . List was soon assigned to the Special Services , a post he had wanted since his enlistment . He performed concerts in the New York area , where all his fees went to the Army Emergency Relief . In 1945 , he was sent oversees along with other enlisted entertainers . He was sent to the Paris suburb of Chatou , where he joined a collection of GI talent , including Mickey Rooney , violinist Stuart Canin , modern dancer José Limón , Bobby Breen and Josh Logan . Later , both Canin and List were ordered to start an orchestra . This eventually became the famous Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra . In June 1945 , Canin and List were ordered to Potsdam , Germany where they were told to play for the President and his staff at the Potsdam Conference . Soon they learned the occasion was to play for President Harry S. Truman , Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill , including their large entourage at the Big Three conference . Both musicians performed for the President and the conference members for the next few weeks , with President Truman even turning the pages for List when he was asked to play the Chopin Waltz in A-flat , Op. 42 , a work he did not have memorized . Both musicians were astounded at the headlines in the papers and the star-studded celebrity status they had acquired . List soon became known as the " Pianist of the Presidents " or " The Potsdam Pianist . " List would perform many more times at the White House , the last in 1980 for President and Mrs. Carter
Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference
Eugene List