In early October 1986, Leonard Bernstein conducted a benefit concert for the restoration of Vienna’s Musikvereinssaal. In this program he led the Vienna Philharmonic in Shostakovich’s Sixth Symphony and Sibelius’s Second Symphony.
Sibelius, Symphony No.2 in D major, op.43
Written not long after his celebrated tone poem “Finlandia,” Sibelius’s Second Symphony is a work that is still unabashedly in the romantic vein and soon became considered by the Finns as a battle hymn against the Russian oppressor and the musical expression of their nationalist aspirations. It was premiered in Helsinki on 8 March 1902. 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. They were recorded live at Vienna’s Musikvereinssaal and were the object of stellar reviews. Bernstein, in the words of a leading Austrian daily, “painted a canvas of late-romantic splendor with the Philharmonic’s sound – the incomparable brilliancy of the strings, the glowing intensity of the brass – in a way that only the greatest conductors can.” (Symphony No. 1) And in its review of the Second Symphony, a major Viennese newspaper wrote: “For the sake of Jean Sibelius, Leonard Bernstein leaps with fanatical zeal into the heaving waves of late romantic emotions. “It is not surprising that Leonard Bernstein felt so passionately about Sibelius’s music. In many respects, it strikingly parallels that of Gustav Mahler. In fact, Sibelius’s oeuvre is seen along with Gustav Mahler’s as the most important symphonic legacy between late romanticism and modernity. And as Mahler’s glowing advocate, Bernstein was suited like none other to disseminate the music of his great colleague Jean Sibelius. In early October 1986, Leonard Bernstein conducted a benefit concert for the restoration of Vienna’s Musikvereinssaal. In this program, recorded by Unitel, he led the Vienna Philharmonic in Shostakovich’s Sixth Symphony and Sibelius’s Second Symphony.
Berlioz, Te Deum
Berlioz may have originally wished for a thousand performers, but he would no doubt have been satisfied with this superb performance given by the combined Chorus of the Orchestre de Paris and the Maîtrise de la Sainte- Chapelle accompanied by the Orchestre de Paris. Recorded in May 1981, this performance in Paris’s celebrated Notre-Dame Cathedral was conducted by Daniel Barenboim and featured the tenor David Rendall. In the words of the Paris daily France-Soir, Rendall’s singing was characterized as being “a sound of total purity, profound, moving; power and suppleness; he is a perfect musician.” One of the great conductors of our time, Daniel Barenboim was music director of the Orchestre de Paris from 1975 to 1989.
Franck, Symphony in D minor
The great D minor Symphony by César Franck (1822-1890) shared a fate common to many of Franck’s works: it was as highly praised as it was virulently condemned. What particularly seemed to disturb the French audience at the world premiere in 1888 was the vaguely “Germanic” quality of the work, which could not hide its admiration for the Viennese tradition and occasionally even stole covetous glances at Wagner. Leonard Bernstein conducts the Orchestre National de France in a concert recorded live at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées on 21 November 1981 featuring French works of the late 19th and early 20th century.
Berlioz, Harold in Italy, op.16
In November 1976, one year after his triumphal performance of the Berlioz Requiem, a bearded Leonard Bernstein returned to Paris to conduct the Orchestre National de France. In two highly publicized concerts given at Paris’ Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, he conducted Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique” and “Harold in Italy”, in addition to two works by Darius Milhaud, Bloch’s “Schelomo Rhapsody” and Schumann’s Cello Concerto, the latter two featuring the celebrated cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. The concerts were unanimously hailed in the press, both for the dynamism and brio of a conductor at the peak of his artistic powers, and for the unmistakable signs of rejuvenation of the Orchestre National de France.
Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique, op.14
In November 1976, one year after his triumphal performance of the Berlioz Requiem in September 1975 (also recorded by Unitel), a bearded Leonard Bernstein returned to Paris to conduct the Orchestre National de France. In two highly publicized concerts given at Paris’ Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, he conducted Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique” and “Harold in Italy”, in addition to two works by Darius Milhaud, Bloch’s “Schelomo Rhapsody” and Schumann’s Cello Concerto, the latter two featuring the celebrated cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. The concerts were unanimously hailed in the press, both for the dynamism and brio of a conductor at the peak of his artistic powers, and for the unmistakable signs of rejuvenation of the Orchestre National de France.
Haydn, Symphony No.98 in B flat major
Like all the other works in Haydn’s series of twelve London symphonies, the Symphony No. 98 was first performed as part of a series of concerts featuring the violinist Johann Peter Salomon. Haydn conducted these concerts from the piano in 1792 and was accorded a rapturous reception by the London audience. Whilst the Allegro in the first movement bears the unmistakable stamp of Mozart’s influence, the extravagant swagger of the Minuet already anticipates Beethoven’s Scherzi. Haydn’s energy and dramatic wit are then seen at their best in the finale, which is packed with musical jests and playful flourishes. The work is one which deserves more attention that it has hitherto received. Leonard Bernstein began conducting Haydn’s orchestral works when he was still Music Director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Since then, his interpretations of the symphonies have consistently met with unreserved critical acclaim. He, of all conductors, possessed precisely the qualities which Haydn’s music requires: grace, charm and a generous measure of wit. This production with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra was recorded in 1984.
Bernstein, Mahler Rehearsals (Symphonies 5&9)
Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto in D major, op.35
This recording of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto Op. 35 documents the fruitful, long-standing relationship between conductor Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. From 1936 to 1980, Ormandy shaped this orchestra into a fine instrument which set standards particularly in its performances of late-Romantic and early 20th-century music. Israeli-born violinist Itzhak Perlman began his career in the United States and is widely acclaimed both as a chamber musician (with Barenboim and others) and as a soloist with the world’s leading orchestras.
Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto in E minor, op.64
The violinist Kyung-Wha Chung made her international breakthrough at her London debut performing the Tchaikovsky concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra under André Previn. She has since concertized with all the world’s greatest orchestras and most eminent conductors, such as Sir Georg Solti. “The last of the great international orchestral and operatic maestri” (The Times), Sir Georg Solti is a living testament to the elegance and impeccable tastefulness of Central European music-making. Solti’s remarkable partnership with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra began in 1954, when he first led the orchestra at the Ravinia Festival. After returning to conduct the ensemble several times during the following years, he was named Music Director in 1969 and held this post for a phenomenal 22 years. He is credited with greatly extending and enhancing the orchestra’s worldwide reputation. His recordings of Mendelssohn’s works with the Chicago Symphony date from the late 1970s and represent a mellower, more lyrically accented phase in the partnership between Solti and his orchestra.