Born in Geneva on July 24, 1880, Ernest Bloch left his native Switzerland in 1917 and emigrated to the United States. He left an impressive amount of high-quality works. Among his many symphonic pieces, however, only the cello rhapsody Schelomo (1915/16) has acquired a permanent place in the concert repertoire. He had apparently been inspired to write it when he saw a statue of King Solomon made by the wife of a fellow cellist in Switzerland. He wrote that “it is the Jewish soul that interests me, the complex, glowing, agitated soul that I feel vibrating throughout the Bible; the freshness and naiveté of the Patriarchs; the violence that is evident in the prophetic books; the Jew’s savage love of justice; the despair of the preacher of Jerusalem; the sorrow and the immensity of the Book of Job; the sensuality of the Song of Songs.” Although Bloch did not use any authentic Hebrew material in his “Hebrew Rhapsody”, the listener is immediately ushered into an exotic, archaic world in which the ancient prophets, the Scriptures and the construction of the Temple are virtually palpable. There is a sense of timelessness that is the expression of true art. The recording of Bloch’s Schelomo features the great Mstislav Rostropovich as the soloist, with the Orchestre National de France led by Leonard Bernstein.
Sousa, The Stars and Stripes Forever
Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) and George Gershwin (1898-1937), two musicians inseparably linked with America, form an exuberant and stimulating combination in this program with the New York Philharmonic. Gershwin was one of the American composers Bernstein revered the most and one who, along with Mahler, Copland and Blitzstein, exerted a great influence on him as a composer. This performance with the New York Philharmonic and Leonard Bernstein as soloist and conductor was
recorded at the Jahrhunderthalle in Hoechst, Germany, in 1976.
Beethoven, Symphony No.5 in C minor, op.67
“A rhapsody of genius” are the words the noted German poet, composer and painter E.T.A. Hoffmann used to describe the Fifth Symphony. One of the best known and most beloved in music literature, it was composed in the years 1804-1807, although sketches for the first three movements date back to 1800. The first performance took place on 22 December 1808 in Vienna with Beethoven conducting. Perhaps the most famous phrase in symphonic music opens the work and dominates the first movement, which then gives way to a set of variations on one long, extended theme in the second movement. The four-note introduction reemerges in the third movement, a Scherzo, with the double bass taking on a tremendous role. Finally, the fourth movement is a magnificent, joyous explosion of music, almost a triumphant march. Leonard Bernstein recorded this work in an all-Beethoven concert with the Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio at Munich’s Deutsches Museum in 1976.
Bernstein, Overture to “Candide”
Written in 1955/56 in collaboration with famed author Lillian Hellman, the musical comedy “Candide” (based loosely on Voltaire’s story) consists of nearly two hours of music and more than thirty different numbers including solos, ensembles, choruses and purely orchestral music. While Bernstein described it as a “Valentine card to European music,” it struck others as derisive of European opera and operetta. After the premiere, Variety wrote: “It’s a spectacular, opulent and racy musical, verging on operetta. It’s replete with eye-filling costumes, lavish settings, a big cast and fine musical score.” It was with the New York Philharmonic that Bernstein first conducted a full orchestra version of his “Candide Overture” in late 1956/early 1957. The critic Harold Schonberg described it as “a smart, sophisticated little piece.” It soon became Bernstein’s most popular concert work. This performance with the New York Philharmonic under the maestro and composer was recorded at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 1976.
Leonard Bernstein conducts Sibelius
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 unfortunately 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 disc, Bernstein’s unique and by now legendary interpretations of Sibelius are released for the first time on Blu-ray.
Tristan und Isolde
Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde is one of Bernstein’s finest opera recordings and still considered exemplary. Leonard Bernstein’s way of conducting this opera is unique and he makes orchestra and singers perform at their very best. The Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks was the only German orchestra with which Leonard Bernstein regularly collaborated for many years and it has numbered among the top ten orchestras in the world. A star cast of singers with Peter Hofmann and Hildegard Behrens in the title roles, completes this exceptional semi-staged production. Bernstein’s 1981 recording of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde is still considered an outstanding interpretation and has set the bar until this day. When he heard this performance Karl Böhm said, “Bernstein has conducted Tristan und Isolde the way that Wagner intended it to be conducted”.
Beethoven, Piano Concerto No.4 in G major, op.58
It was to have been the culmination of Leonard Bernstein’s Beethoven cycle: the recording of all five piano concertos with a leading pianist of the younger generation. What it became is an example of enlightened music- making, the document of an incredible empathy between conductor, soloist and orchestra – an empathy so strong that it overrode even the maestro’s death. In Krystian Zimerman, Bernstein had found a congenial partner. But the full extent of Zimerman’s congeniality emerged only after the maestro’s death on 14 October 1990. Concertos Nos. 3, 4 and 5 had been recorded. A decision had to be taken with regard to concertos Nos. 1 and 2: either a new conductor had to be found or, following the practice of the 18th and early 19th centuries, the orchestra would be entrusted to the soloist. The latter alternative was chosen – a decision applauded throughout the music world. Born in Zabrze, Poland, on 7 December 1956, Krystian Zimerman won the first prize in the Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1975. After expanding his repertoire and studying in London in 1980, he made a name for himself in numerous concerts and recordings as one of the most talented pianists of his generation.
Beethoven, Symphony No.4 in B flat major, op.60
The Fourth Symphony was first performed in Vienna in 1807 at the home of one of Beethoven’s patrons, Prince Franz Joseph Lobkowitz. Compared with the Third Symphony, the Fourth is more modest and traditional; its style and structure are closer to the Second. The Fourth Symphony is not a monumental work; on the contrary, the orchestra is the smallest for any Beethoven symphony. The gentle harmony and placidity of this symphony prompted the French composer Hector Berlioz to comment about the second movement: “…the being who wrote such a marvel of inspiration… was not human.” This recording is part of Bernstein’s complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies recorded with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra live in Vienna. The series won the Ace Award, the U.S. Cable TV Association’s top award for outstanding quality and entertainment value. Bernstein’s impassioned renderings of Beethoven move audiences in a unique way. “Beethoven has always meant universality to me, ever since my early adolescence, when I first heard that unforgettable cry of ‘Brüder!’. From that moment on, every… symphony came to mean heart-to-heart communication, travelling satellite-fashion via the cosmos itself. I offer [this cycle] to all music- loving ears as a testament of faith and of my most profound reactions to this greatest of all composers.” (Leonard Bernstein, 1980)
Mozart, Symphony No.25 in G minor, K. 183
The “little” G minor Symphony K. 183 (as opposed to the “Great” G minor K. 550) of 1773 is regarded as Mozart’s first symphonic masterpiece. New is the minor mode. New are also the passionate spirit, the abrupt changes of mood, the depth of the drama and the strong dynamic contrasts. Even the idyllic wind episode in the Trio of the Menuett cannot weaken the impression of implacability. The symphony is the brilliant stroke of a 17-year-old genius who is in the act of developing his own symphonic idiom and discovering new expressive domains in so doing. Leonard Bernstein leads the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in this performance recorded in 1988, two years before the maestro’s death.