LEONARD BERNSTEIN / WIENER PHILHARMONIKER Leonard Bernstein / Wiener Philharmoniker - Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 131 [Original Source Series] Bernstein's recording of Beethoven's String Quartet Op. 131 with the Wiener Philharmoniker stands out for it's strong sense of contrast. In the central variation movement, Bernstein adopts a notably slower tempo, creating an intense and focused atmosphere, while the faster movements gain added bite and momentum. The Wiener Philharmoniker strings bring their renowned sound to the performance, making this a highly engaging interpretation. Bernstein dedicated this recording to the memory of his wife, Felicia Montealegre. For the first time, this recording has been remastered from the original 1-inch, 8-track tapes. Bernstein. The Original Source Series from Deutsche Grammophon features celebrated recordings reissued on vinyl. Remastered by the renowned Emil Berliner Studios using 100% pure analog techniques to create the highest possible audio quality. Produced on 180g virgin vinyl by Optimal and housed in deluxe gatefold, featuring additional photos and/or recording documentation.

Elmer Bernstein - Movie Themes, Mood Music & More 1952-62 - Elmer Bernstein was a composer and conductor who became renowned for his work in films and TV, writing, scoring and recording some of the most renowned and recognisable themes in in Hollywood history. He is not related to the renowned composer of stage musicals Leonard Bernstein. Born in 1922, he served in the USAF in WWII, working in Armed Forces Radio, and came to the fore in the early 1950s when he started writing for movies. This 44-track 2-CD collection primarily features soundtrack and commercial recordings of themes and other music written for films and albums during the first decade of his career. In addition, it includes selected titles from his albums "Blues And Brass" for Decca and "Movie & TV Themes" on the Choreo label. It includes "The Man With the Golden Arm", "Staccato's Theme", "The Magnificent Seven", and "Walk On The Wild Side", plus themes from "The Ten Commandments", "The Comancheros", "To Kill A Mockingbird" and more. Although he composed for many different genres of film, his style was very distinctive, characterised by dramatic and atmospheric melodies and arrangements that invariably conjured up the mood and imagery of the subject. Comprising a selection of works from his early career, this collection offers an entertaining and evocative showcase for that style.

2024 release. Bernstein convenes an all-star quartet for his stunning release, BETTER ANGELS, featuring pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Vicente Archer, and legendary drummer Al Foster. It would be accurate to say that the quartet that Peter Bernstein has assembled for his remarkable new album is making it's debut, but it would also be more than a little misleading. While it's true that this all-star group - which teams the acclaimed guitarist with pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Vicente Archer, and legendary drummer Al Foster - had never played together prior to recording BETTER ANGELS, it's members all share deep and long-standing relationships. The result is the best of both worlds: striking interplay that can't help but thrive on the chemistry generated by the various connections, combined with the high-wire energy derived from delving into the unknown. BETTER ANGELS extends that combination of the comfortable and the unfamiliar to Bernstein's choice of repertoire, which pairs thoughtfully selected standards with bold new original ompositions.

Vinyl LP pressing. 2024 release. Bernstein convenes an all-star quartet for his stunning release, BETTER ANGELS, featuring pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Vicente Archer, and legendary drummer Al Foster. It would be accurate to say that the quartet that Peter Bernstein has assembled for his remarkable new album is making it's debut, but it would also be more than a little misleading. While it's true that this all-star group - which teams the acclaimed guitarist with pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Vicente Archer, and legendary drummer Al Foster - had never played together prior to recording BETTER ANGELS, it's members all share deep and long-standing relationships. The result is the best of both worlds: striking interplay that can't help but thrive on the chemistry generated by the various connections, combined with the high-wire energy derived from delving into the unknown. BETTER ANGELS extends that combination of the comfortable and the unfamiliar to Bernstein's choice of repertoire, which pairs thoughtfully selected standards with bold new original compositions.

Leonard Bernstein - "The Maestro - Very Best of Leonard Bernstein" / Electrifying conductor, brilliant composer, gifted pianist, inspiring teacher: Leonard Bernstein is one of the most famous and influential musicians of all time. Highlights of the Maestro's legendary recordings for Deutsche Grammophon include his incandescent interpretations of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Mahler, composers for whom he felt a profound affinity. 2 CD set with 4-page folder. Verve Label Group; Deutsche Grammophon; Classical

Few personalities of our time unite so many diverse talents with such passion, generosity and charisma as the immensely gifted American composer, pianist, conductor and music communicator Leonard Bernstein, world citizen and all-round star. His death in October 1990 did nothing to diminish his legacy, still deeply felt to this day. Lenny, as he loved to be known, shaped the musical culture of America. His boundless energy and talent was his gift to the world, despite moments of self-doubt and ambivalence. The spectrum of his creative activity ranges from the famous musical West Side Story with it's pulsating Broadway rhythms to grave, complex works that embrace his Jewish faith or political sensitivity. He once framed his convictions thus: "What have we artists got to do with oil and commerce, with survival and honour? The answer is everything."

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

“There had never been a communicator about music with anywhere near Bernstein’s brilliance, humor, energy, reach and importance.” (The New York Times) “Leonard Bernstein did this better than anyone. He was brilliant - as a musician and as an ambassador for music.” (Whoopie Goldberg) Young People’s Concerts Vol. 1 comprises 17 episodes of the legendary series, which remains unmatched until today. Awarded three Emmys and hailed by Variety as “a rare moment in the symbiosis of the arts and broadcasting”, Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts left their mark on television history. Aired at prime-time on CBS from 1958 to 1972, 52 one-hour programs were written and hosted by Leonard Bernstein, “certainly the most influential American maestro of the 20th century” (The New York Times). With the New York Philharmonic and guest artists providing the live music, these programs brought musical concepts and music history to life for generations of viewers. Volume 1 includes 17 Episodes - The Concerts Nos. 1-14 plus Young Performers Nos. 1-3 (featuring Seiji Ozawa and Lynn Harrell)

In the year of Leonard Bernstein’s centenary, Sony Classical is pleased to present the perfect introduction to this legendary American musician. Many of the conductor-composer’s most celebrated interpretations and works are sampled on two CDs, every track chosen to display a facet of his unparalleled dynamism and versatility.

There is music by Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Mahler, Shostakovich and Copland on the first disc, with great soloists like clarinettist Benny Goodman and mezzo Frederica von Stade, violinists Joshua Bell and Zino Francescatti, pianists Glenn Gould and Philippe Entremont, not to mention Bernstein himself playing and conducting Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Writing about these benchmark 1960s and 1970s New York interpretations, The Guardian’s reviewer declared: “There’s a raw ebullience to the performances that is typical of Bernstein at his best … They are all historic performances.”

Bernstein the composer is represented by a generously filled second disc. “Few composers capture their time and become the iconic voice of their age,” wrote conductor John Mauceri, in a tribute to his late mentor, one of a handful of figures in the 20th century who truly changed the face of music. In addition to highlights from concert works such as the Age of Anxiety, Serenade and Mass, there are selections from Bernstein’s ballets and musicals, including excerpts from the original Broadway cast recording of West Side Story from 1957 as well as his later New York Philharmonic recording of the “Symphonic Dances”.

Bernstein’s friend and colleague, composer Ned Rorem, summed up Leonard Bernstein’s achievement admirably when he said in 1987: “If he were not a composer he would not be the world’s best conductor. Alone among conductors he knows that the essence of music is not what it sounds like, but what the sounds are intended to communicate. Since he too is a composer, he knows that the magic lies not in the communication of sound, but in the sound of communication."

This impressive four-DVD set features four documentaries that revolve around the lives and careers of four of history’s finest conductors. The first is “I Am Lost to the World,” a documentary about Carlos Kleiber, that includes several musical excerpts conducted by Kleiber. The second is “Journey of a Lifetime,” which focuses on Sir Georg Solti. The film includes interviews with Valerie Solti, Valery Gergiev, and more. “Larger Than Life” revolves around Leonard Bernstein, and includes interviews with his children and other music giants like Stephen Sondheim and Gustavo Dudamel. Finally, “Maestro for the Screen,” is about the life of Herbert von Karajan and shows the fascinating development of Karajan’s language for filming orchestral productions and starts with the very first concert production in 1957 in Japan, followed by the impressive cooperation with director Henri Georges Clouzot in 1965 to Karajan’s own film company Telemondial.

A box set celebrating Leonard Bernstein's upcoming 100th birthday including concerts with the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia as well as the prizewinning Documentary ''Leonard Bernstein - Larger than Life.'' Works by Sibelius, Beethoven, Haydn, Debussy and some of Bernstein's own compositions.

IDIS continues their tradition of re-issuing young Glenn Gould great live performances. These recordings were made in 1959 when the Canadian artist was only 27 years old. Gould's artistic maturity shines throughout this album but what mainly comes through is the absolute and unique originality of this incredible talent he possessed. This album comes his his offbeat interpretation of Brahms' Concerto in D minor, Op. 15. We have the top of his artistic talent in the Mozart Concert No. 24 where the lucky meeting with Leonard Bernstein gives us a unique and incredible result of beauty and poetry.

Leonard Shure (1910-1995), an Artur Schnabel student, was one of the most respected American pianist and pedagogs of the 20th century. This new release presents live performances, including his 1960 collaboration with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic on the Brahms' first piano concerto. "Shure played with a thrilling blend of insight, breadth, authority and daring,” wrote The New York Times. Also included is his Carnegie Hall Recital from February 1956, which features his Encores, and his Symphony Hall Boston concert from February 1936. This is the first release of each of these recordings.

Sony are now reissuing the earlier New York recordings of the Bernstein symphonies in the Bernstein Century Edition. In the case of No. 2 this is the very first (1950) mono version, with Lukas Foss as the piano soloist. Subtitled The Age of Anxiety and based on Auden's poem, this concertante work shows the composer at his most eclectic, with the stylistic contrasts emphasized by the clear, forward mono sound, the "Dirge" stridently dissonant, and the jazzy exuberance of the "Masque" contrasting boldly with the closing "Epilogue". Foss is dazzlingly idiomatic but he is too forwardly recorded; and the same has to be said of the coupled (1956) mono performance of the Serenade after Plato's "Symposium", with the violin soloist Isaac Stern on top form and naturally attuned to the score, but with the solo violin balanced way out front and the orchestral sound unrefined.

-- Ivan March, Gramophone [12/1998]

There's revealing diversity in these pre-'West Side Story' works of Bernstein, as well as harbingers of that landmark musical and film. Among them is the dramatic horn work in the title composition, which also certifies the classical chops and sureness in syncopation of jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman. The modernist flurries of the saxophone arrangements are evocative of the much later work by the avant-garde ROVA ensemble.
The 'Fancy Free' ballet appears along with the "Three Dance Episodes" from 'On the Town,' a 1944 show envisioned by Bernstein and choreographer Jerome Robbins as an extension of 'Fancy Free.' The ballet (reproduced here from a monaural recording) presents a remarkable array of emotional dramas - some with Coplandesque bravado, some with Latin touches of tango and fandango, some with the sassy strut which is so Manhattan. The dances showcase Bernstein's facility at reusing and combining themes, some taken from 'On the Town's' most famous number, "New York, New York" (not to be confused with the John Kander-Fred Ebb song of the same name sung by Liza Minelli in the 1977 film "New York, New York"). The composer conducts with vigor.
By contrast, the 'Serenade' lacks the expected Bernstein lyricism and clear, tight structure, but is interesting in concept and shows off the dynamic palate and authority of violinist Zino Francescatti.

At first glance, it may seem odd to couple Mahler's most exalted work with one that ranks among his most personal and tragic. Sony could have issued the symphony alone on a single disc, but chose not to for a very good reason: This is an excellent Kindertonlieder with both Lenny and Janet Baker at their absolute best. Dame Janet recorded this work earlier with Barbirolli, but here she's far more detailed in her phrasing and declamation of the text. Bernstein is also at his best - underling all of the dark, grim noises in the lower registers of the orchestra. As for the symphony, this was always considered a great performance, but had been criticized for its less than stellar sonic qualities at the climaxes (read: distortion). Sony has gone a long way towards remedying things by transferring the work at a lower level. As a result, the huge endings for both Parts I and II have much greater bloom and expanse than previously. Although Bernstein's vocalists are not as great as those in the Solti recording on an individual basis, they do work better as an ensemble -- witness the passage for the three penitent women in Part II. This is a triumph for all concerned. --Barry Guerrero, ClassicsToday.com

These are glamorous, big-city readings, far removed from the granite-faced objectivity proffered by most recorded Sibelians. But it’s all tremendously exciting – and if Bernstein nears emotional saturation more than once, particularly in Symphonies Nos. 1 [and] 2..., the coursing adrenalin in these accounts is irresistible. The New Yorkers are on top form throughout... Despite remastering, some of the fizz and glare that goaded pre-digital CBS LP pressings still survives.

-- Michael Jameson, BBC Music Magazine
reviewing these performances previously reissued as part of Sony 87329

Like Brahms, Bernstein lived his life in the shadows of masters who came before him. Yet both men, despite their tendency toward self-criticism, created their own legends. Bernstein's extraordinary talent as a conductor made him so much more--he became an ambassador of music, bringing vitality and excitement to audiences young and old, from all walks of life.
Though his Symphony no. 1 is one of his most well-known compositions, Brahms was not always comfortable with the idea of writing symphonies. His deep respect for Beethoven's work is evident, and even Brahms admitted the composer's profound influence on his first symphony. This did not prevent Brahms from creating a piece that is distinctively his own, however. His sense of melody and humor infuse the composition with a lighter tone without sacrificing decorum.
Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic provide a delightful performance, as they always did. Remastered from recordings made in 1960 and 1968, the album is rich and clear while preserving the warmth of the analog originals.

This release combines a pair of Beethoven performances by conductor Leonard Bernstein, in his prime, with the New York Philharmonic; the Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, was recorded in 1961, and the Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92, in 1958. Both have been digitally remastered, and the earlier recording actually comes out a bit better; by 1961 Columbia's engineers had figured out how to use the backdrop of LP sound to accent orchestral strings, an effect difficult to reproduce on CD. Charismatic, gifted, and genre-crossing, Bernstein was on top of the American musical world during this period, and these recordings remained strong sellers for some years. Hearing them half a century on reminds listeners (or apprises them anew) of several things. The first is that the New York Philharmonic, though certainly more than competent, did not have a trademark strength like its chief competitors in Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, and Boston. You hope for brilliance that is not there. But you're also reminded that Bernstein was a subtler conductor than he is sometimes given credit for being. His histrionic style on the podium belied a well-considered, detailed approach to these works, for which he was confronted by decades (or more) of established tradition. The Symphony No. 5 is broad rather than exceptionally violent, with a lovely free space for the oboe cadenza in the first movement; Bernstein has it expand beyond its structural significance into a moment of sudden and profound personal reflection in the midst of societal tumult. In the Symphony No. 7 Bernstein is deliberate and persistent in the first movement's slow introduction and never really turns up the voltage until the finale, which thus acquires its proper bacchanalian mood. As with other albums in this Sony reissue series, the CD version includes both photographic reproductions of the original artwork and booklet reprints of the jacket text, with added French and German translations.

-- James Manheim, AllMusic.com

..."Dance of the Firebird"...is much more nimble and airy in Leonard Bernstein's performance, possibly because the American opts for the better-known 1919 Suite which uses a reduced orchestration... Bernstein delivers a brilliant account of the score...

-- Erik Levi, BBC Music Magazine [reviewing the Firebird Suite]

----------------------

Bernstein treats Scheherazade as the "Symphonic Suite" it's billed as, barely pausing between movements—the old Columbia LP has no bands on either side. This was the kind of personalized, excitable interpretation that made Bernstein beloved to many, though it won't be to everyone's taste... His shaping of the violin and cello statements of the theme in "The Young Prince and the Young Princess" is exquisite. The violin solos are played warmly and effectively by John Corigliano (the composer's father and, for 23 years, concertmaster of the Philharmonic.)... It's difficult to imagine Bernstein devotees not having these performances already. But for others who have missed them in their various incarnations, or want to replace aging LPs—don't deny yourself some considerable pleasure.

-- Andrew Quint, FANFARE [5/1999, reviewing Scheherazade]

...I ought to mention the various overtures which serve as makeweights—intensely dramatic recreations these, of which The Consecration of the House struck me as particularly fine despite the constricted sonics. It comes with Stern's now classic Beethoven Violin Concerto, a warm, confident, and (on Bernstein's part) sometimes bluff rendition. There is some rapt playing from a soloist then in his prime, an intriguing textual oddity in the coda of the first movement (the familiar 'unauthentic' cello line is similarly absent from Kyung Wha Chung's recent EMI account) and some mildly distracting tape hiss (suppressed during the cadenzas where the image shifts as if Stern has been transported to another studio).

-- Gramophone [11/1992]

BERNSTEIN CONDUCTS DEBUSSY

Claude Debussy: Images, Prélude à l'apres-midi d'un faune, La Mer

Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Leonard Bernstein, conductor

Recorded live from the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome, 1989.

Picture format: NTSC 4:3
Sound format: PCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 86 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



DEBUSSY Images pour orchestre. Prélude à l’près-midi d’un faune. La Mer • Leonard Bernstein, cond; Santa Cecila Natl Academy O • UNITEL 701608 (DVD: 86: 00)


Although Debussy did not figure largely in Bernstein’s repertoire, the conductor had an innate affinity for the composer’s music. We are therefore fortunate to have this concert, from scarcely a year before Bernstein’s death, preserving his interpretations of this repertoire in digital sound. Bernstein’s older Columbia recordings with the New York Philharmonic from 1960–63 are also still in print, although to duplicate this particular program one must acquire two different CDs (one from Sony, the other an ArkivMusic reissue). Those performances, however, are completely superseded by the present ones, both sonically and interpretively. In his later years Bernstein became decidedly self-indulgent, and his performances sometimes assumed bloated dimensions, as in the famous (or notorious) 1989 Christmas Day Berlin performance of the Beethoven Ninth. (I was blessed to attend that concert in person, being resident in East Berlin for my doctoral dissertation research at the time. As an interpretation it verged on the preposterous, but I still wouldn’t have missed it for all the world.) Here, however, he is in top form, eliciting performances with superb clarity of line, pellucid orchestral color and instrumental balance, and moderate tempi that are convincingly right at every point. Debussy is not the first thing I, as someone partial to Romantic German and Slavic orchestral repertoire, think to take off the shelf for personal listening pleasure, but Bernstein leaves me marveling at the sheer genius of these masterworks, providing a joy of rediscovery.


There are of course many performances of these works available on CD; most readers will already have their favorites, so I will not assay a broader discussion that in any case would exceed the bounds of this review. Regarding performances on DVD, this is the only complete performance of Images available. (For whatever reason, Bernstein altered the order of its three movements and placed Iberia in third position.) The Naxos issue with Alexander Rahbari and the Belgian Radio Symphony, which also has the Prélude and La Mer , omits Iberia in favor of the Nocturnes ; those are solid performances but not in the same class as these. The only other DVD to feature both the Prélude and La Mer is with Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic, reviewed negatively by Christopher Abbot in Fanfare 26:2 and positively by Colin Clarke in 32:3. I do not intend to enter the lists of the debates between champions and detractors of the German and American maestros; suffice it to say that in these works I prefer Bernstein’s clarity and sense of motion to Karajan’s lushness and perfumed languor. His DVD has more interesting camerawork to boot, with better lighting and more varied and better close-ups of the instrumentalists. The sound quality is excellent, the recordings having been made for commercial issue at the time. For those with more slender wallets, or who are uninterested in the visual aspects of an orchestral concert, these same performances were issued on CD by DG and are still in print as an ArkivMusic reissue. Strongly recommended.


FANFARE: James A. Altena