Leonard Bernstein Fans?

Are there any fans of one of the most genius musical minds out there? Here is a pretty cool clip (one of the very few) I found where he plays (disects in different keys) and acknowledges rock music (since his primary basis is of classical.)

 

imho he wrote the most brilliant work of music of the last two centuries in "west side story"
there should be a shrine to him.
i remember that special he did where he bestowed his blessings on rock music ie: brian wilson, janis ian etc.
that single-handedly changed my parents mind about the legitimacy of rock music and a lot of other skeptical adults.
i was even tempted to buy that new $500 box that just came out on his works.

 

It's not based on a whole lot of exposure but my overall impression of his work as a conductor is quite positive. I have one LP, Harold in Italy by Berlioz.

 

his interpretations of the Beethoven Symponies are 2nd to only the interpretations of Wilhelm Furtwangler.

And that's saying a ton.

 

he makes Karajan sound metronomic in comparison.

 

When I was in high school my folks gave me a new copy of this record. It got played MANY times!

 

Bernstein's work as a composer is, unfortunately, not very widely known outside West Side Story. There have been occasional pushes om Candide & Mass (both very much better than their original critical receptions suggested) and Trouble In Tahiti is somewhat known, but his more serious work is unappreciated. The Jeremiah symphony, in particular, is terrific, but has been overshadowed by the Jazz Age antics of The Age Of Anxiety. The late songcycle, Songfest, is really a masterpiece. I'm less persuaded by some of his later pieces (can't get on with the Kaddish symphony) but his overall output has some wonderful highlights.

 

I think his compositions often played these days outside WSS are “Serenade" and “Candide" overture.

 

West Side Story is staggering.

 

I have the massive Bernstein box and while, of course, not every recording is definitive; overall the level of musicianship is high, imo.

 

So the new DG DECCA box is worth the price of entry? Thx Jeff

 

I love Berstein's versions of the classics. He sometimes get criticism from purists, but I always thought he made the music sound "alive".

 

I'm a fan of his first symphony, especially its tight 2nd movement, the Profanation. He wrote some really lovely songs for voice and piano, and the Anniversaries are little pianistic gems. I'm more of a fan of Candide than West Side Story, in part because it's the less-known of the two, and in part because of it's ribald sense of humor. A whole song about how venereal disease brings us together? Yes, please!

As a composer, I think he was capable of so much more, but that's the problem with being a polymath. And he also got influenced rather heavily by the atonal movement, which took him a bit out his element (Kaddish, I'm looking at you).

Given the stories told about him in various biographies, I wonder how he would have fared in the #meToo age.

 

His Mahler is revelatory. Bernstein was a great quadruple threat: pianist, conductor, composer and educator.

 

Leonard Bernstein was one of the three great generalists of the post WW2 era including Stokowski and HvKarajan as the other two. By generalist I mean a conductor that could produce great performances in a wide range of repertoire rather than just their home culture or the most basic repertoire. Unfortunately health problems began to affect him by the late 70s or so and he aged rapidly. But yes one of the greats.

 

Are there any biographies of Bernstein that come highly recommended all around? I'm mostly interested in learning about the intersection of the man and the music, which means I don't want his personal life left out - but I also gather there's plenty of gossip and the like that doesn't really add much to the story or serve to do much other than make the subject of a biography look bad.

Anything that's easily attainable walk the line appropriately?

 

You might look at Allen Shawn 2014 who leans a bit more to the music or Humphrey Burton 1994 who leans a bit more to the work and social activity side.

 

Thank goodness for this thread. Thanks, MSF! Picked up the remastered Complete Beethoven Symphony Cycle Bernstein recorded with the Vienna Philharmonic:


I'm up watching a program featuring Lenny and his recollections on and approaches to conduction. Fascinating stuff with great insights on the craft:

 

Love this.

 

Whenever somebody asks what the greatest song of the 20th century is, I usually decline to answer. But I will say this much. I rank "Somewhere" (when it's performed properly, with all the dominant 7th chords) higher than "Somewhere Over The Rainbow."

 

Bernstein is probably my favorite composer of the 20th Century. His second symphony is one of my absolute favorite pieces of music of all time. The Chichester Psalms, Mass, third symphony, Trouble in Tahiti, Candide... so much brilliant music.

Professionally, in my role working in opera, I've only had the opportunity to work as part of a production of Candide. I keep mentioning that I'd love to see us do a production of A Quiet Place, but I'm too low on the totem pole to have that kind of influence.

As a conductor, I'm not as big a fan of Bernstein as I am of some of his contemporaries. I like some pieces he conducted, and others not so much. There's just such a huge volume of it that I've never been able to really absorb much of it. Perhaps I should look into one of those CD mega-sets of his conducting.

 

TCM is showing many of his Young Peoples Concerts this weekend.