Bernstein Favorites: Twentieth Century

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.
Though 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.
'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.
REVIEWS:
New 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..."

Berg: Violin Concerto & Chamber Concerto (Live)

Bach & Vivaldi: Concertos

This recording received a 1998 "Critic's Choice" award from Gramophone magazine.

"Yes, the pundits were right. This is the Rachmaninov Third to end all Rachmaninov Thirds, a performance of such super-human pianistic aplomb, pace and virtuosity that it makes all comparisons, save with Horowitz himself...a study in irrelevance...The ultimate wizard of the keyboard is in expansive mood in the Tchaikovsky...The perfomance ends in what I can only describe as a scream of octaves and an outburst by an audience driven near to hysteria." - Gramophone

Historic record of the year. (1998) - Classic CD - (Recordings from 1940 & 1941.)

A phenomenal technician and colourist who made melody communicate to a unique degree and played with great stylistic differentiation, Walter Gieseking was one of the most individual and consistently inspired pianists of our time. Although his commercial recordings encompass some of the great recordings ever made, he didn't live to record under ideal circumstances even a small part of his vast repertoire. The present disc of broadcast performances is therefore of special importance not only in increasing the Gieseking legacy but in chronicling the history of great pianism. The Concerto K488 and Sonata K545 appear on CD for the first time in this collection, while the Concerto K467 and the Sonata K576 are issued here in considerably improved sound over prior editions.