I miss Leonard Bernstein.

[hornteacher]

I stumbled across this clip on You Tube.  Watching LB conduct the movement AND THEN encore the movement with just his facial expressions made me realize how much I miss his charisma as a personality.  There really is no one like him today in the United States representing the world of Art Music with such passion and stage presence.  Watching this clip (especially the encore) made me very nostalgic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlURvraEmeY

[jochanaan]

So do I, hornteacher.

[M forever]

Incidentally, the Boston Pops opened their season tonight with a concert dedicated to LB - I caught the live broadcast by accident on the car radio    I basically never listen to music while I am driving, but I hit the "on" button of my radio by accident when I put a cup of coffee in the cup holder and heard an interesting sounding piece. It turned out to be "For Lenny" by John Williams and it was the opening piece of that concert which otherwise featured almost exclusively music by LB. It was all plaid and sung (by musical stdents of Boston Conservatory) extremely well and very animated, so I ended up listening to the whole broadcast. Since I don't have a radio set up at home at this time, I actually drove up and down the Mass Turnpike a few times to be able to hear the whole program 

LB would have turned 90 this year and, of course, he was born not far from here and grew up in Boston (actually 5 minutes down the street from where I live now), so it is only fitting that they dedicate this season to him.

[BorisG]

[Greta]

It's funny...the trombone player who commented on that video is a good friend of mine from my school! 

And he is right in his comment, that is truly an example of great conducting. Lenny had this inner light that shone through his musicmaking, this deep understanding of what the music was really about and how it worked, and it just flowed out of him to his musicians. He always really conducted the music, not the notes, and had a rare natural gift.

Though a gift like his is so extremely rare, there are other very musically awesome conductors out there, who perhaps 50 years ago might've had an easier time, but now with the current American orchestral landscape, and the way we undertake conductor training here, it is nearly impossible for many of these fine musicians to become as known, although they are making an impact teaching and conducting in colleges and schools across the country.

Lenny came along at a special time - the stars were lined up just right, the person, the talent, the time...for example, something like the Young People's Concerts just couldn't happen today, the focus has shifted to fluff for entertainment on TV. Times were different back then.

He was able to capture the country's and the world's imagination, and truly had it all musically, on every level. I sure miss him, and I miss that he died while I was only little. But there is so much recorded history of him, as player, as conductor, as teacher...I am glad we have that to learn from and to inspire. 

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

We'll never see his like again - often a cliché, in his case utterly right.

[CRCulver]

And he is right in his comment, that is truly an example of great conducting. Lenny had this inner light that shone through his musicmaking, this deep understanding of what the music was really about and how it worked, and it just flowed out of him to his musicians.

I disagree. There are a number of recordings where it is clear that he doesn't understand what the music was about. Have you heard his bizarre performance of Ligeti's Atmospheres.

He always really conducted the music, not the notes

The notes are the music, at least for 20th century repertoire. Any conductor who claims to find something "behind the notes" is a charlatan.

[drogulus]

   

The notes are the music, at least for 20th century repertoire. Any conductor who claims to find something "behind the notes" is a charlatan.

    He conducted the music as he felt it. Many composers would have loved to be interpreted in precisely that way (Mahler, for instance, who said as much). Many people commented on Bernsteins hammy stage antics. This was supposed to be just egotism, but I saw it as enthusiasm for the music.

   

Lenny came along at a special time - the stars were lined up just right, the person, the talent, the time...for example, something like the Young People's Concerts just couldn't happen today, the focus has shifted to fluff for entertainment on TV. Times were different back then.

He was able to capture the country's and the world's imagination, and truly had it all musically, on every level. I sure miss him, and I miss that he died while I was only little. But there is so much recorded history of him, as player, as conductor, as teacher...I am glad we have that to learn from and to inspire. 

     I grew up with Lenny on TV. Recently I saw one of his televised concert/lectures to an audience of children. It was mesmerizing, and as I watched I realized that I had watched this program when it aired in 1968.

[MN Dave]

I only know him through recordings I've purchased and, in general, he's too inconsistent for me (though I do love a Bernstein/Gershwin CD with NY that I own). Some of his interpretations were downright weird.

[PerfectWagnerite]

I only know him through recordings I've purchased and, in general, he's too inconsistent for me (though I do love a Bernstein/Gershwin CD with NY that I own). Some of his interpretations were downright weird.

Really? Like which ones?

[MN Dave]

Really? Like which ones?

Sibelius tone poems?

[Gurn Blanston]

   
I grew up with Lenny on TV. Recently I saw one of his televised concert/lectures to an audience of children. It was mesmerizing, and as I watched I realized that I had watched this program when it aired in 1968.

Me too. I watched all the Young People's Concerts "Live", and I owe my love of music and whatever understanding I have of it to Bernstein (and the NYPO). Not that he is above criticism, but people who only know him through recordings and base their opinion of him on comparisons with other interpretations that they like better have no idea at all of the much larger figure he presented, and the passion for music that he spread out to so many others. Talk about casting your bread upon the waters! 






----------------
Listening to:
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Ferenc Fricsay - LvB Op 125 Symphony #9 in d 5th mvmt

[PerfectWagnerite]

Sibelius tone poems?

Hmmm, I don't have those so I don't know. What do you find weird about it? You referring to his earlier SONY years or later DG years?

[Operahaven]

I can do without Mr. Bernstein.

Give me the prince of classical music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8eigkwmMEo&feature=related

0:)

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Bernstein conducted the Concertgebouw Orchestra several times during the 1980s. I remember vividly his performance of the Mahler First, which was broadcast live. The recording which was issued later still is, I think, one of the best performances there are of this particular work.

[Bonehelm]

I can do without Mr. Bernstein.

Give me the prince of classical music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8eigkwmMEo&feature=related

0:)

Now THAT'S the real deal.

[MN Dave]

Hmmm, I don't have those so I don't know. What do you find weird about it? You referring to his earlier SONY years or later DG years?

It may not even have been that. It's been a while. Whatever it was, it was a well-known piece that sounded bizarre under his baton.

Could have been "Hall of the Mountain King" come to think of it.

Whatever. I'm glad he has fans.

[bhodges]

Me too. I watched all the Young People's Concerts "Live", and I owe my love of music and whatever understanding I have of it to Bernstein (and the NYPO). Not that he is above criticism, but people who only know him through recordings and base their opinion of him on comparisons with other interpretations that they like better have no idea at all of the much larger figure he presented, and the passion for music that he spread out to so many others. Talk about casting your bread upon the waters! 






----------------
Listening to:
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Ferenc Fricsay - LvB Op 125 Symphony #9 in d 5th mvmt

True, spreading his infectious enthusiasm for music may be his most enduring legacy.  I agree that some of his interpretations could be a bit willful, but when he was "on," he was pretty amazing.  I was lucky to hear him in some of his last concerts with the NYPO (from which a number of DG recordings were culled), such as his over-the-top emotional Mahler 2, severall all-Ives evenings, and a memorable concert with the third symphonies of Roy Harris, William Schuman and Aaron Copland.  I don't know how he got on so well with the NYPO, but they really did splendid work together. 

Anyone who likes the Shostakovich Fifth Symphony should check out the DVD with him and the NYPO, live from Tokyo in 1979.  Watching him conduct, the charisma is definitely visible, and the performance is about as searing as you could want.

--Bruce

[BorisG]

Sibelius tone poems?

Including Pohjola's Daughter?

[MISHUGINA]

I love this vid. "Who needs Nobel Prize?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVQyhuTP0KU