{"title":"Artie Bernstein","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"bernstein-century-bach-vivaldi-gould-stern-nypo-261397","title":"Bernstein Century - Bach, Vivaldi \/Gould, Stern, Nypo, Et Al","description":"Bach \u0026amp; Vivaldi: Concertos","brand":"Sony Masterworks","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44626948784362,"sku":"074646021125","price":11.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4318092-3139743.jpg?v=1778215299"},{"product_id":"bernstein-century-jeremiah-the-age-of-anxiety-261406","title":"Bernstein Century - Jeremiah, The Age Of Anxiety, Etc","description":"The true personality of American classical music in the 20th century has to be Leonard Bernstein. No one has done so much to spread the joy of music to audiences young and old as the late conductor of the New York Philharmonic.\u003cbr\u003eThough this is the work for which he is best known, Bernstein was an accomplished composer and performer as well as orchestra leader and goodwill ambassador for the arts. His 'Jeremiah' Symphony launched his career in 1942, when Bernstein submitted it to a competition. Although it did not win, it was performed in Pittsburgh, Boston and New York City, where it was voted the outstanding new work of the season by the New York Music Critics Circle.\u003cbr\u003e'The Age of Anxiety' is a tribute to the W.H. Auden poem of the same name, and aims to capture the disjointed, anxious, disaffected spirit of the postwar period. \"I Hate Music!\" and 'La Bonne Cuisine' are more lighthearted affairs, embodying the spirit that connected Bernstein so well with a children's audience. Performed by Bernstein himself, along with mezzo-soprano Jennie Tourel and the New York Philharmonic, this recording is a beautiful memory.\u003cbr\u003eREVIEWS:\u003cbr\u003eNew York Times (Publisher) (7\/30\/00, p.30) - \"...These whimsical song cycles occupy just a small portion of this CD but are its real reward. Previously unissued, the recordings feature Tourel at her most charming, with Bernstein at the piano...\"","brand":"Sony Masterworks","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44626948620522,"sku":"074646069721","price":11.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4318137-3139783.jpg?v=1778202520"},{"product_id":"bernstein-favorites-the-20th-century-260825","title":"Bernstein Favorites - The 20th Century","description":"Bernstein Favorites: Twentieth Century","brand":"Sony Masterworks","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44626946097386,"sku":"074644671520","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4317584-3139592.jpg?v=1778207652"},{"product_id":"earth-tones","title":"EARTH TONES","description":"Bernstein is reunited w. 2 of his favorite players, Larry Golding's \u0026amp; Bill Stewart, doing tender ballads, uptempo swingers \u0026amp; beyond.","brand":"CRISS CROSS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44938814783722,"sku":"8712474115129","price":20.21,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/232712.jpg?v=1778355700"},{"product_id":"brain-dance","title":"BRAIN DANCE","description":"Guitarist goes for the quintet setting, performing originals \u0026amp; standards w. 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Here, on \"Heart's Content,\" his fifth for the label as a leader, he is in the company of a top-notch rhythm section featuring famous pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Larry Grenadier, and drum wizard Bill Stewart.","brand":"CRISS CROSS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44938818027754,"sku":"8712474123322","price":20.21,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/502724.jpg?v=1778350550"},{"product_id":"lenny-the-best-of-leonard-bernstein","title":"LENNY THE BEST OF LEONARD BERNSTEIN","description":"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.\"","brand":"WARNER CLASSICS","offers":[{"title":"Vinyl","offer_id":44947098173674,"sku":"190296319433","price":27.54,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4078701-2818722_799816ae-ffdb-4ad5-9db3-29114c70b6ba.jpg?v=1780140859"},{"product_id":"maestro-very-best-of-leonard-bernstein","title":"MAESTRO - VERY BEST OF LEONARD BERNSTEIN","description":"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","brand":"DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":45862030901482,"sku":"028948654918","price":23.07,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4264819-3059239.jpg?v=1778371459"},{"product_id":"brahms-mozart-piano-concertos-gould-76609","title":"Brahms \u0026 Mozart: Piano Concertos \/ Gould","description":"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.","brand":"IDIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012933505258,"sku":"8021945003262","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3548359.jpg?v=1778273353"},{"product_id":"sibelius-symphonies-1-2-5-7-bernstein-79210","title":"Sibelius: Symphonies 1, 2, 5 \u0026 7 \/ Bernstein, Vienna Philharmonic","description":"Director: Humphrey Burton \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Recorded live at the Wiener Musikvereinssaal, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1990.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Picture format: NTSC 4:3 \u003cbr\u003e  Sound format: PCM Stereo 2.0 \/ DTS 5.1 \u003cbr\u003e  Region code: 0 (worldwide) \u003cbr\u003e  Booklet notes: English, German, French \u003cbr\u003e  Running time: 166 mins \u003cbr\u003e  No. of DVDs: 2 (DVD 9 + DVD 5)\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e In the mid 1980s, Unitel began recording a complete cycle of Sibelius symphonies with Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic. Bernstein´s death in 1990 unfortuantely cut short this project after the release of Symphonies Nos. 1, 2, 5 and 7. Recorded live at Vienna´s Musikverein, these ecstatic performances were the object of stellar reviews. On this double-disc set, Bernstein´s unique and by now legendary interpretations of Sibelius are released for the first time on DVD.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"C Major Entertainment","offers":[{"title":"Blu-Ray","offer_id":46013093445866,"sku":"814337013240","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"DVD","offer_id":46025483256042,"sku":"814337010225","price":26.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3038182_b2e6dc4b-05ed-4943-9cca-35863fad1bb1.jpg?v=1778298437"},{"product_id":"young-peoples-concerts-with-the-new-york-49211","title":"Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic, Vol. 1 \/ Bernstein [Blu-ray]","description":"\u003cb\u003eThis Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003ca class=\"links\" href=\"album.jsp?album_id=2280112\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlso available on standard DVD\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “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)\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"UNITEL Edition","offers":[{"title":"Blu-Ray","offer_id":46013097574634,"sku":"814337017835","price":64.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3907364.jpg?v=1778386116"},{"product_id":"great-conductors-1","title":"Great Conductors","description":"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.","brand":"C Major Entertainment","offers":[{"title":"DVD","offer_id":46013107273962,"sku":"814337014414","price":53.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3763203.jpg?v=1778297268"},{"product_id":"beethoven-l-van-symphony-no-7-gershwin-g-an-america","title":"BEETHOVEN, L. van: Symphony No. 7 \/ GERSHWIN, G.: An America","description":"Classical Music","brand":"IDIS","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013249749226,"sku":"8021945001909","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2818286.jpg?v=1778296918"},{"product_id":"mussorgsky-pictures-at-an-exhibition-orch-ravel-rimsky","title":"Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (Orch. 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Its special qualities haven't dimmed a bit in the four decades since it was recorded, and every interpretive decision comes across with the inevitability of fate itself. First, you get the first-movement exposition repeat (very unusual for its time), then there's the very slow (but still very flowing) Largo, gorgeously played and far from the trudge-fest that Bernstein would make of it in his lousy later recording for DG. The scherzo goes like the wind, the fastest ever, and the finale offers simply the last word in excitement. If you don't own this performance in some form, then you don't know the \"New World\".\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e --David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Sony Masterworks","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46015612453098,"sku":"827969272923","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4318345-3144341.jpg?v=1778202217"},{"product_id":"beethoven-symphony-no-5-bernstein-et-al-234113","title":"Beethoven: Symphony No 5 \/ Bernstein, Et Al","description":"\u003cb\u003eThis recording also includes a lecture by Leonard Bernstein on the first movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, entitled \"How a Great Symphony Was Written\". Leonard Bernstein recorded the lecture in four different languages including English. To listen to a desired language, the stereo balance has to be turned to favor one of the audio speakers. On some players a mono button can be pressed to make the selected channel signal balance in both speakers.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e As with the Stravinsky CD I reviewed recently, this issue contains music conducted by Leonard Bernstein followed by a talk discussing aspects of that music. This time it’s Beethoven, and the most celebrated of the symphonies, the fifth. In fact, the illustrated talk was recorded some five years before the symphony, at a time when Bernstein was giving full rein to his educational pursuits.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The talk is quite brief, and, a little frustratingly, discusses only the first movement of the symphony. It’s well worth hearing, though, for Bernstein gives a fascinating insight into the composer’s working processes. As a creative artist himself, he understood these processes well, and he drives home how the apparent inevitability of the way one idea follows another in the symphonic argument was in fact the outcome of a detailed and lengthy sifting and rejection of material and treatment. This applies even to details of the orchestration, and it is revealing to hear, for example, the famous opening with the addition, as Beethoven originally intended, of flutes to the strings. It sounds most peculiar, and one has to agree with Bernstein that the final version that we know today has far greater power of utterance.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e I suppose that Beethoven is not a composer one immediately associates with Bernstein, as one does Mahler, Stravinsky or Copland for example. But his music meant an enormous amount to the American maestro, and one of his very last public musical acts was, famously, to conduct Beethoven’s 9th in Berlin soon after the destruction of the Wall. This 5th, though it will not be to everyone’s taste, is a performance of enormous character and commitment. For me, the first movement is the least convincing; it has a breadth and a seeming lack of urgency which is almost perverse. It is, as a performance, the diametric opposite to the Harnoncourt\/Norrington school; nonetheless, on its own terms, it works, for the surge of energy which occurs in the coda has the sense of a dam bursting, of pent-up energy surging forth. There are some telling details, too, with, for example, the oboe emerging from the texture before its solo cadenza (track 1, around 5:10).\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The Andante is beautifully done, at a serenely flowing tempo, and with flexible, expressive playing from wind and strings, despite a surprising split note from 2nd trumpet (track 2 around 3:12). The scherzo, interestingly, is on the quick side, and Bernstein emphasises the light and shade, giving the music a suitably furtive feel. And as you might expect from this most theatrical (in the best sense!) of conductors, the tense transition to the fourth movement is magnificently done, with the great crescendo held back to the very last moment carrying us into the triumphant blaze of the finale’s opening theme. And once more, Bernstein’s sheer commitment and energy keeps the momentum of this movement up to the very end, particularly impressive when – as the disc’s liner notes proudly announce – this is a performance with all the repeats in place. Well, that’s not rare these days, though it is surprising how many conductors still do omit the exposition repeat in the finale. All told, a highly successful performance, typical of the conductor in its expressive power and dynamism, but completely free of his less admirable mannerisms.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e - Gwyn Parry-Jones,  \u003ci\u003eMusicWeb International\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Sony Masterworks","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46015614025962,"sku":"828767874029","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4361655-3215514.jpg?v=1778214327"},{"product_id":"bernstein-l-serenade-mclean-m-elements","title":"BERNSTEIN, L.: Serenade \/ MCLEAN, M.: Elements","description":"Classical Music","brand":"Delos","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46017707409642,"sku":"013491335728","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1031230.jpg?v=1778342923"},{"product_id":"leonard-bernstein-vol-2","title":"Leonard Bernstein, Vol. 1","description":"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.","brand":"C Major Entertainment","offers":[{"title":"DVD","offer_id":46025390850282,"sku":"814337014308","price":64.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3705851.jpg?v=1778278918"},{"product_id":"debussy-image-la-mer-prelude-a-lapres-196260","title":"Debussy: Image, La mer, Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune \/ Bernstein","description":"BERNSTEIN CONDUCTS DEBUSSY \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Claude Debussy: Images, Prélude à l'apres-midi d'un faune, La Mer\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia\u003cbr\u003e  Leonard Bernstein, conductor\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Recorded live from the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome, 1989.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Picture format: NTSC 4:3\u003cbr\u003e  Sound format: PCM 2.0 \/ DTS 5.1\u003cbr\u003e  Region code: 0 (worldwide)\u003cbr\u003e  Booklet notes: English, German, French\u003cbr\u003e  Running time: 86 mins\u003cbr\u003e  No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003ctitle\u003e3421710.az_DEBUSSY_Images_Prelude_La.html\u003c\/title\u003e  \u003cmeta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003e DEBUSSY \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eImages pour orchestre. Prélude à l’près-midi d’un faune. La Mer \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12b\"\u003e• \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eLeonard Bernstein, cond; Santa Cecila Natl Academy O \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12b\"\u003e• \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eUNITEL 701608 (DVD: 86: 00) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eAlthough 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. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThere 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 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eImages\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e available. (For whatever reason, Bernstein altered the order of its three movements and placed\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003e Iberia\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e in third position.) The Naxos issue with Alexander Rahbari and the Belgian Radio Symphony, which also has the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePrélude\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eLa Mer\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e, omits \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eIberia\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e in favor of the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eNocturnes\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e; those are solid performances but not in the same class as these. The only other DVD to feature both the \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ePrélude\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eLa Mer\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e is with Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic, reviewed negatively by Christopher Abbot in \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eFanfare\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e 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. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: James A. Altena \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"C Major Entertainment","offers":[{"title":"DVD","offer_id":46025391145194,"sku":"814337010164","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1626643.jpg?v=1778328768"},{"product_id":"beethoven-string-quartet-no-16-haydn-missa-232983","title":"Beethoven: String Quartet No. 16; Haydn: Missa In Tempore \/ Bernstein","description":"\u003ca class=\"links\" href=\"album.jsp?album_id=777970\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlso available on Blu-ray\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e LEONARD BERNSTEIN CONDUCTS BEETHOVEN AND HAYDN\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Released for the first time on DVD and BluRay, Leonard Bernstein’s interpretations of Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 16 and Haydn’s Missa in tempore belli are quite superb. Only the strings of the Vienna Philharmonic could carry off the orchestral rendition of Beethoven’s opus 135 with bravura, since each player is a true soloist. Bernstein and the orchestra wanted to play a difficult Beethoven Quartet in a monster setting, achieving a truly exciting performance unlike anything anyone has ever heard.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135 (arr. for string orchestra)\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra\u003cbr\u003e  Leonard Bernstein, conductor\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Joseph Haydn: Missa in tempore belli, Hob. XXII:9, “Paukenmesse”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Judith Blegen, soprano\u003cbr\u003e  Brigitte Fassbaender, contralto\u003cbr\u003e  Claes-Hakan Ahnsjö, tenor\u003cbr\u003e  Hans Sotin, bass\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Bavarian Radio Symphony Chorus and Orchestra\u003cbr\u003e  Leonard Bernstein, conductor\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Recorded live in 1984 (Haydn) and 1989 (Beethoven)\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Picture format: NTSC 4:3\u003cbr\u003e  Sound format: PCM Stereo \/ DTS 5.1\u003cbr\u003e  Region code: 0 (worldwide)\u003cbr\u003e  Subtitles (Haydn): Latin, English, German, French, Spanish, Korean, Chinese\u003cbr\u003e  Running time: 93 mins\u003cbr\u003e  No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  R E V I E W\u003cbr\u003e   \u003ctitle\u003e3630560.az_BEETHOVEN_String_Quartet_16.html\u003c\/title\u003e  \u003cmeta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eBEETHOVEN\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003e String Quartet No. 16.\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eHAYDN \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eMissa in tempore belli\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Leonard Bernstein, cond; \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eVienna PO; \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eJudith Blegen (sop); \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eBrigitte Fassbaender (mez); \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eClaes Ahnsjö (ten); \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eHans Sotin (bs);\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e 2\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eBavarian Radio Ch \u0026amp; O \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e C MAJOR 711604 (Blu-ray: 93:00); C MAJOR 711508 (DVD: 93: 00) Live: \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eVienna 09\/13-19\/1989, \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003eOttobeuren 09\/30\/1984 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThis arrangement for string orchestra of Beethoven’s final quartet, the op. 135, was previously reviewed by Mortimer H. Frank in 16:4 on a DVD that paired it with a similar arrangement of the Quartet No. 14, op. 131. While his assessment was positive overall, he had reservations about “a Mahlerian malaise” that he thought infected some portions of the performance and “indulgent adjustments” to some of the rhythms, comparing them unfavorably to Toscanini’s more taut account of the second and third movements with the NBC Symphony. As someone inclined to romantic readings of the Beethoven symphonies (favoring Bruno Walter and Wilhelm Furtwängler as opposed to Toscanini), I have no such reservations. The conductor here is actually far less self-indulgent than he was wont to be at this twilight stage of his career, and leads a performance of rapt intensity, with the incomparable advantage of the string section of the Vienna Philharmonic at his command. The arrangement, originally published by Eulenburg and retouched by Bernstein, was first heard by the latter when he attended a performance of it with Dmitri Mitropoulos and the Boston Symphony at Harvard in 1936, when he was only 18 years old. He immediately sought out the conductor, borrowed his copy of the score, and added it to his repertoire early on, so this performance represents the culmination of over five decades of commitment to the work in this guise. For those who want a string orchestra version of the quartet, but in a less romantic interpretation, there is also a recording with the smaller forces of the Amsterdam Sinfonietta on Channel Classics. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eThe Haydn Mass has also been released before, though it has not previously been reviewed in these pages. Bernstein was a noted Haydn conductor, and many critics (including several who write for \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eFanfare\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e) still consider him the reference standard for the “Paris” and “London” symphonies. I do not have the same degree of enthusiasm for those recordings, being partial instead to Georg Solti on modern instruments and Sigiswald Kuijken on period ones, but I have found Bernstein’s recordings of the late Haydn masses to be both effective and affecting. Bernstein made a previous recording of this work at the Washington Cathedral in January 1973, as part of a peace protest against the Vietnam War. It featured a pickup orchestra, the Norman Scribner Choir (an \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003ead hoc \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003eensemble put together for the occasion by the now longtime director of the Choral Arts Society of Washington), and an uneven quartet of soloists (Patricia Wells, Gwendolyn Killebrew, Michael Devlin, and Alan Titus). James H. North reviewed it in 16:4, commending its spirit but noting problems with the recorded sound. I would add that the obviously heartfelt commitment of the performers to the occasion does not overcome a lot of rather scrappy orchestral and choral work. Here, with digital recorded sound, a stellar solo vocal quartet, and a world-class orchestra and chorus, with everyone in fine fettle, there are no such reservations. The performance—more relaxed than the Washington version—is also a feast for the eyes as well as the ears, as it was given in the massive, ornate, soaring Baroque basilica of the Ottobeuren Abbey in the far southwestern corner of Bavaria. It’s a visual knockout, like having a free museum tour thrown in with the concert, and certainly gives one a great deal more to watch than does the typical concert video. There are no other versions of this Mass presently available on DVD; there are of course several excellent performances on CD, conducted by such notables as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Richard Hickox, and Helmuth Rilling. Since (including Bernstein) these run the interpretive gamut from period instruments to modern full orchestra and choir, there is something out there to please every taste. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan\u003eAs usual, the Blu-ray release creates a crisper visual picture than appears on a regular DVD, though the difference here between the two is marginal. A brief (4:32) talk by Bernstein about the Haydn Mass is included as a bonus. The soundtracks of both of these performances were also released on separate CDs by Deutsche Grammophon, so if you don’t see the need to duplicate them on DVD, or if you’re one of those people who doesn’t care to watch videos of concert performances, you have that alternative as well. As someone who does watch concert videos with pleasure, I thoroughly enjoyed this, and recommend it unhesitatingly. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: James A. Altena \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"C Major Entertainment","offers":[{"title":"DVD","offer_id":46025391505642,"sku":"814337011154","price":26.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2031922.jpg?v=1778312343"},{"product_id":"library-of-congress-vol-5-schumann-bernstein-136180","title":"Library Of Congress Vol 5 - Schumann \/ Bernstein, Juilliard","description":"\u003cp\u003eIncludes work(s) by various composers.  Ensemble: Juilliard String Quartet.  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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.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e 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.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e 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”.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e 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.\"\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Sony Masterworks","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027478335722,"sku":"190758536125","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3809402_d00c8766-9c04-49e5-8b90-fcf870b92399.jpg?v=1778279082"},{"product_id":"bernstein-symphony-no-2-shostakovich-symphony-no-146061","title":"Bernstein: Symphony No 2; Shostakovich: Symphony No 5 \/ Bernstein, New York Philharmonic","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn that same year - the last before the opening of the new \"Great\" Festspielhaus - Leonard Bernstein came as a guest with the New York Philharmonic, of which he was chief conductor. Thus one of the most impressive musical personalities of the age arrived together with one of the American orchestras richest in tradition. Bernstein's own work The Age of Anxiety, his Second Symphony for Piano and Orchestra (with Seymour Lipkin as piano soloist, negotiating agilely a musical language that ranged from Romanticism to jazz), impressed the public as much as did Dmitri Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, in which Bernstein realized brilliantly its grandiose climaxes and plumbed its musical depths.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Orfeo","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027580571882,"sku":"4011790819129","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/2056250.jpg?v=1778290480"},{"product_id":"rossini-suppe-overtures-bernstein-ny-philharmonic-261726","title":"Rossini, Suppé: Overtures \/ Bernstein, Ny Philharmonic","description":"ROSSINI, SUPPE: OVERTURES  BER","brand":"CBS Masterworks","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027639423210,"sku":"5099704471921","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3892141_bd22e94d-2726-4f80-9a88-c82adabe2a14.jpg?v=1778279904"},{"product_id":"the-royal-edition-bruckner-symphony-no-9-223716","title":"The Royal Edition - Bruckner: Symphony No 9 \/ Bernstein","description":"THE ROYAL EDITION - BRUCKNER:","brand":"Sony Masterworks","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027679629546,"sku":"5099704754222","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3816380.jpg?v=1778246064"},{"product_id":"the-royal-edition-r-strauss-zarathustra-etc-141185","title":"The Royal Edition - R. 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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.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- Michael Jameson, BBC Music Magazine\u003cbr\u003e   \u003ci\u003ereviewing these performances previously reissued as part of Sony 87329\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Sony Masterworks","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027813290218,"sku":"5099704761923","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3816389.jpg?v=1778246025"},{"product_id":"bernstein-century-bernstein-on-jazz-handy-brubeck-261401","title":"Bernstein Century - Bernstein On Jazz - Handy, Brubeck","description":"Bernstein's lecture \"What is Jazz?\" was recorded in New York City in July 1956. (Timing: 42:49)\u003cbr\u003eOriginally broadcast on October 15, 1955 as part of CBS's \"Omnibus\" series, Leonard Bernstein's eloquent deconstruction of jazz attains the near impossible: it achieves an understanding and appreciation of the essence of jazz that is attractive and informative to both lay persons and more experienced listeners.  Using interesting musical examples, Bernstein abandons the usual historical approach and gets inside the elements of jazz.  The most delightful aspects of the first half of this CD are the terrific performances by Louis Armstrong, Teo Macero, Coleman Hawkins, Buster Bailey, Buck Clayton, and Bessie Smith, among others.  And where else could you here a modernist rendition of \"Sweet Sue\" by Miles Davis and John Coltrane?\u003cbr\u003eThe disc is rounded out by a live recording of Alfredo Antonini's concerto grosso setting of W. C. Handy's \"St. Louis Blues\" featuring Louis Armstrong's Sextet backed by Bernstein and the Lewisohn Stadium Symphony Orchestra (the New York Philharmonic in its summer setting) and Howard Brubeck's \"Dialogues for Jazz Combo and Orchestra.\"  The former features Armstrong at the height of his powers in 1956, while the latter is a delightful piece of \"third stream\" jazz featuring the delicately swinging Brubeck Quartet.","brand":"Sony Masterworks","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027844747498,"sku":"074646056622","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4318122-3187263.jpg?v=1778238703"},{"product_id":"bernstein-century-vivaldi-the-four-seasons-new-261423","title":"Bernstein Century - Vivaldi: The Four Seasons \/ New York Po","description":"Vivaldi: The Four Seasons \u0026amp; Other Concertos","brand":"Sony Masterworks","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027845370090,"sku":"074646316122","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4318288-3187269.jpg?v=1778202297"},{"product_id":"the-royal-edition-haydn-the-paris-symphonies-261834","title":"The Royal Edition - Haydn: The Paris Symphonies \/ Bernstein","description":"These large-scale performances make some of the movements sound as though they had been written twenty years later by Beethoven. The New York Philharmonic seems to be present in full strength, and many will think Dorati's versions, SDD482-4, 8\/76) more in keeping with the period. And yet Haydn was commissioned to write these six symphonies for an unusually large orchestra; there were said to be forty violins available, and even if the writer meant forty string players that's still a large number even by today's standards. I have no doubt that it was with decibels in mind that Haydn planned the rather empty-looking passages near the start and right at the end of No. 86, and why not? Sheer volume can be very exciting, a thought that must have occurred to Beethoven when rounding off his Fifth Symphony. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Thus there are good arguments for Bernstein's approach, especially as the orchestra is so superbly competent. The strings play the quick finales with astonishing precision, and the woodwind (sometimes aided by the balance engineer) come through with unfailing clarity, their phrasing always polished, their staccato notes always slaccalissimo. Tunes on the lower strings are never drowned by the violins as they so often are in live performance, and one's admiration for such a balance is only slightly dimmed by one's awareness than others besides the conductor are giving it their attention (though no one gives much attention to the horns in Nos. 82 and 83).\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Symphony No. 82, Bear, sounds the most Beethoven-like of the six, and in spite of its number it may have been written last. I think myself that the pounding accents and almost military exactitude are rather oppressive, but there is certainly excitement here. Bernstein has taken great care over details, and the first movement of No. 85 is mesmerically gripping (and the second surely too fast). Many movements are played with a sensitive expertise to which one cannot fail to respond. But there are some during which I lose sight of Haydn and see only the 'Great Conductor'. In No. 84 he suddenly slows down the tempo for the last six bars of the slow movement, which is the sort of trick conductors used to indulge in before the war but have grown out of since. In No. 86 the slow movement is much slower than usual and too much in the grand style, too much of an interpretation; nearly marvellous but just overdone. And strange things can happen in the trios of the minuets, over which Bernstein takes great trouble, as indeed did Haydn. Those in Nos. 82 and 83 are most delicately managed. But what is one to think of those in Nos. 85 and 86? He plays them slower than the minuets and with the extremes of rubato he would rightly bring to Ländler-type music in a Mahler symphony. It's beautifully done, but it's not Haydn.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e I've mentioned the movements in which Bernstein's exaggerations worried me, but I must add that many will like these movements very much indeed; also that elsewhere there is very little exaggeration, just good playing. A resonant acoustic adds to the grandeur of these interpretations which are of their kind first-rate.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- Gramophone [9\/1976]\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Sony Masterworks","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027849564394,"sku":"5099704755021","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3558638-2423932.jpg?v=1778278993"},{"product_id":"the-joy-of-christmas-leonard-bernstein-260831","title":"The Joy of Christmas \/ Leonard Bernstein","description":"Bernstein leads the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in this entertaining, sophisticated, and merry collection.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  – All Music Guide","brand":"Sony Masterworks","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027850547434,"sku":"074646330326","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4318306-3139892.jpg?v=1778215385"},{"product_id":"leonard-bernstein-the-royal-edition-vol-67-194392","title":"Leonard Bernstein - The Royal Edition Vol 67 - Stravinsky, Rimsky-Korsakov","description":"...\"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... \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- Erik Levi, BBC Music Magazine [reviewing the Firebird Suite]\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e ----------------------\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- Andrew Quint, FANFARE [5\/1999, reviewing Scheherazade]\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Sony Masterworks","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027855298794,"sku":"5099704760520","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/3816386.jpg?v=1778281541"},{"product_id":"bernstein-century-the-age-of-anxiety-serenade-261581","title":"Bernstein Century - The Age Of Anxiety, Serenade","description":"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.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  -- Ivan March, Gramophone [12\/1998]","brand":"Sony Masterworks","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027858084074,"sku":"074646055823","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4334117-3177769.jpg?v=1778215536"},{"product_id":"bernstein-century-brahms-symphony-no-1-serenade-261589","title":"Bernstein Century - Brahms: Symphony No 1, Serenade No 2","description":"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.\u003cbr\u003eThough 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.\u003cbr\u003eBernstein 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.","brand":"Sony Masterworks","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027858116842,"sku":"074646097021","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4334112-3177772.jpg?v=1778215844"},{"product_id":"the-royal-edition-tchaikovsky-symphony-no-3-261849","title":"The Royal Edition - Tchaikovsky: Symphony No 3 \/ Bernstein","description":"The excitement and passion Bernstein brought to Tchaikovsky is well known, but what strikes me even more forcibly on rehearing [this interpretation] is [the] intelligence and thoughtfulness... [W]itness the clarity of the canonic exchanges between lower strings and woodwinds in Romeo and Juliet's initial fight sequence... The New York Philharmonic also gives the conductor 100 percent effort. Ensemble isn't always perfectly tidy (note the occasionally slightly \"off\" cymbal crash in Romeo), but when Bernstein drives the players hard..., they respond with extreme bravura. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com [reviewing Romeo and Juliet, reissued as part of Sony 93076]\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e ------------------------------------------\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Among Tchaikovsky's symphonies the Polish too often appears as the charmless one. I have long been hoping for a new version which would present the music with balletic flair, with a Beechamesque swagger. After Bernstein's disappointingly brutal account of the Little Russian last December (CBS 73047) I was not counting too much on this issue, but in fact far more than the two versions listed above Bernstein does give the music charm, disguises the rather square structure and encourages resilient rhythms. Bernstein is at his best in the first movement. Some may feel that after the superb panache of the first subject Bernstein relaxes too much for the second, which after all is marked merely pow meno mosso. But more than his rivals Bernstein relates this music to the Tchaikovsky ballets. That oboe melody is pure Swan Lake (a work contemporary with this), and so is the 'little swans' music of the trotting bassoon a couple of pages later. There are also hints of The Nutcracker in the delicate string scoring as the climax of the exposition is reached... Arguably Bernstein is too gentle in the second movement Alla tedesca, which is far slower than usual with a gentle flexibility which allows such moments as the reprise after the central triplet-based Trio to emerge with delightful delicacy. When for the coda Bernstein slows unashamedly, I personally am convinced by this approach, but anyone who prefers a straight approach to Tchaikovsky might object.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The remaining three movements are not given quite such a distinctive reading, but they are never less than persuasive. Bernstein again opts openly for dual speeds in the slow movement (for that matter so does Maazel) and though the opening tempo is slow for Andante elegiac° it is perfectly apt for the introductory idea with its hints of lazy fanfares in the distance. The surprisingly Elgarian second idea then comes in at a genuine Andante. The scherzo brings some splendid woodwind playing (the oboe here and elsewhere outstandingly good), and the tempo allows clean definition, which is more than one can say for the HMV Russian version. The finale again has plenty of space round it, a genuine tempo di polacca. The relaxed tempo means that the contrapuntal development which immediately follows the first theme runs the risk of sagging (Maazel is altogether faster, which makes things easier). The principal theme returns with splendid swagger after a very delicate conclusion to the central episode, and the patriotic theme returns with no apology, only just skirting the cliff-edge of vulgarity.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e -- Gramophone [9\/1973, reviewing the LP release of the Third Symphony]\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Sony Masterworks","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027858673898,"sku":"074644763225","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/0136123.jpg?v=1778215576"}],"url":"https:\/\/arkivmusic.com\/collections\/artie-bernstein.oembed","provider":"ArkivMusic","version":"1.0","type":"link"}