Haig to Narrate Comic ‘Animals’ at Leisure Village

Even Alexander M. Haig Jr. is amused by the incongruity of this one.

The former secretary of state, a man who helped orchestrate the Vietnam War and once described himself as “just an old warrior,” will appear at the Leisure Village Ocean Hills Music Festival in Oceanside this weekend to narrate Saint-Saens’ comic “Carnival of the Animals.”

When reminded during a telephone interview from his Washington office that classical music didn’t quite fit his hard-edged resume, Haig let out with a barking laugh: “Why, for a man of violence, you mean? Well, I guess you’re right, it’s not the usual thing I do.”

Self-irony aside, he is accustomed to a different stage, on a different scale. Through much of his career--as a four-star general and later in the Reagan Administration as secretary of state--Haig has played to a global audience on more weighty issues.

But Haig, who now claims to be divorced from politics following his failed presidential bid last year, said his festival appearance actually makes some sense.

His interest in classical music, especially piano pieces, began when, as a boy, he enjoyed listening to both his parents play. His mother was an accomplished pianist, as was his father, a musician good enough to give concerts. And Haig met his wife, Phyllis, following a piano recital she gave in 1950.

“You could say that it’s in my blood. With all of that classical music around you for so long, you have to develop a keen appreciation and have a natural leaning that way.”

Then there’s his involvement with Leisure Village, an affluent senior citizens community in lush North San Diego County. Haig, a member of the board of directors since 1983, was asked by Leisure Village’s developer, Michael L. Tenzer, to distinguish the festival by adding his name to the program. “This will be a valuable cultural event but, and we make no bones about it, this has a marketing objective as well as a cultural objective,” Haig conceded.

Still, he was deliberate in emphasizing the event’s quality. Under Henri Temianka’s direction, the festival will begin Friday in Maurice Abravanel Hall with two chamber music ensemble concerts by the California Chamber Virtuosi, including three movements from Stravinsky’s “Petrushka” and Mendelssohn’s Trio in D minor, Opus 49.

Saturday evening, Yehuda Gilad will direct the Strawberry Creek Music Festival Orchestra in Mozart’s “Clemenza di Tito Overture” and Schubert’s Third Symphony. Earlier in the day, Steven Mayer will give a piano recital of Brahms’ Sonata in F minor, Mozart’s Sonata in F and a selection of Fats Waller songs, among others.

Sunday morning will begin with a panel discussion on contemporary classical music that will include Temianka, violinist Sergiu Schwartz, Mayer and Maurice Abravanel.

The final Sunday offering will be “Carnival of the Animals,” performed by the California Chamber Virtuosi under Temianka’s direction. Haig will read Ogden Nash’s wry verse accompanying this piece comprised of 14 “musical pictures of animals” for two pianos, string quintet, flute, clarinet and percussion. Before that, Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet will be performed.

In such a pristine setting, there would seem no room for controversy. But as controversy often found Haig in public life, it has surfaced in Oceanside. The Times reported in August that Leisure Village’s sprawling golf course and part of its lavish clubhouse were financed with a $27-million loan insured by the San Diego office of the scandal-torn U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

HUD officials are concerned because Leisure Village, a private, gated community, does not provide benefits for the poor. The loan was approved by HUD in 1981, two years before Haig became involved with Leisure Village.

Haig said he was “surprised” by The Times’ report and did not know enough about the specifics of the case to comment. He was concerned, however, that it might cast a shadow on the festival, which he hopes will be judged on its own merits.

As for his own performance, Haig conceded, a bit sheepishly, that he wasn’t quite sure how to prepare. His wife will join him on stage, so he plans to rehearse the Nash sketches with her. He admires the piece, both for Nash’s witty writing and Saint-Saens’ music--the piece has been described as the composer’s most brilliant parody, teasing Offenbach, Berlioz, Mendelssohn and Rossini--but he admitted he’s a little at sea.

To keep on course, Haig said he’ll try to rely on any actorly skills he’s gained during more than 20 years in public office.

“There are two models, you know--those that start in acting and go into politics and those that, after a bit of politics, go into acting,” he said with a laugh. “I won’t mention any names, but there’s a guy out here in California that fits the former pretty well. I fit the latter, I guess.

“I had my stint in office. I did my bit and loved it, but that part is over. In 1992 I see myself (campaigning) for Bush, but that’s about all I see.”