Just a few months before his final illness and death, Leonard Bernstein conducted three masterworks by Gustav Mahler in a concert at Vienna’s Musikvereinssaal with the Vienna Philharmonic. The program consisted of the “Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen”, the “Rückertlieder” and the “Kindertotenlieder”. The soloist was the American baritone Thomas Hampson. The trade publication “Musik & Theater” wrote: “I know of no other baritone today who can profess a similar mastery of these three Mahler song cycles on a vocal, emotional and textually sensitive level. […] a singular vocal accomplishment and a worthy conclusion of Bernstein’s extensive Mahler discography.”
Mahler, Rückertlieder
Just a few months before his final illness and death, Leonard Bernstein conducted three masterworks by Gustav Mahler in a concert at Vienna’s Musikvereinssaal with the Vienna Philharmonic. The program consisted of the “Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen”, the “Rückertlieder” and the “Kindertotenlieder”. The soloist was the American baritone Thomas Hampson. The trade publication “Musik & Theater” wrote: “I know of no other baritone today who can profess a similar mastery of these three Mahler song cycles on a vocal, emotional and textually sensitive level. […] a singular vocal accomplishment and a worthy conclusion of Bernstein’s extensive Mahler discography.”
Mahler, Kindertotenlieder
Just a few months before his final illness and death, Leonard Bernstein conducted three masterworks by Gustav Mahler in a concert at Vienna’s Musikvereinssaal with the Vienna Philharmonic. The program consisted of the “Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen”, the “Rückertlieder” and the “Kindertotenlieder”. The soloist was the American baritone Thomas Hampson. The trade publication “Musik & Theater” wrote: “I know of no other baritone today who can profess a similar mastery of these three Mahler song cycles on a vocal, emotional and textually sensitive level. […] a singular vocal accomplishment and a worthy conclusion of Bernstein’s extensive Mahler discography.”
Bernstein, Prélude, Fugue and Riffs
Leonard Bernstein was one of the greatest and most universal musical personalities of our time. He secured an international reputation as a performing artist (conductor and pianist) and as a composer. With regard to his creative activity, it should be noted that he was just at home in the world of serious, “avant-garde” music as in that of sophisticated “light” music. His first works betrayed the distinct influence of Aaron Copland, Igor Stravinsky and Paul Hindemith. However, they already included stylistic traits derived from jazz. Bernstein’s music is stamped by exceptionally expressive melodies and striking rhythms. This and their primeval vitality helped them become popular all over the world.
Mozart, Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622
Composed two months before Mozart’s death, the Clarinet Concerto K. 622 marks the beginning and climax of clarinet literature. It set standards, was never equaled, and became the undisputed landmark on which Weber, Strauss, Debussy and Busoni guided themselves. Mozart masterfully exploited the particular sound quality of the instrument and the various timbres of its registers to produce a work of ethereal beauty and lyrical elegance. The Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Leonard Bernstein lives up to its usual high standard in this interpretation of “its” Mozart. Incidentally, the soloist Peter Schmidl, who has been solo clarinetist of the Vienna Philharmonic since 1968, is the son and grandson of former solo clarinetists of this same orchestra!
Sibelius, Symphony No.7 in C major, op.105
Conceived in one sole movement, the Symphony No. 7 is a triumphant display of “organic-thematic growth,” with melodies and rhythms blending into one another, giving birth to new elements and branching out to develop in passages reminiscent of symphonic movements. Sibelius’s last symphony was given its first performance in Stockholm on 24 March 1924 and was first heard in Finland in 1927. 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.
Sibelius, Symphony No.5 in E flat major, op.82
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.
Mozart, Violin Concerto No.4 in D major, K. 218
The violin concertos K. 211, 216, 218 and 219 were all composed within a few months, between June and December 1775, while Mozart was in the employ of the Archbishop of Salzburg. K. 218 opens with a long orchestral introduction after which the soloist introduces new themes that are developed with virtuoso elements such as trills, arpeggios and pizzicati. The Andante cantabile stands out for its poetic and intensely lyrical violin melodies. The final movement is an imaginative fusion of rondo and sonata first-movement form. The entire work dazzles with its bravura writing that makes it so believed among soloists. After having devoted himself to Baroque music for many years, Nikolaus Harnoncourt began turning increasingly to the orchestral works of Mozart in the 1980s. Here, too, Harnoncourt’s views differed radically from those of traditional Mozart reception. For him, Mozart is “the most romantic composer of all”, his music “dramatic, dynamic, often strikingly and exceedingly emotional”. In Gidon Kremer, Harnoncourt found a partner who shared his views. The German-Russian violin virtuoso has also sought his own path in his Mozart interpretations. In 1970 the then 23-year-old virtuoso attained the first peak of his career by winning the first prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. He has since become one of the most sought-after violinists in the world. It should also be noted that the Vienna Philharmonic, celebrated for its natural and graceful Mozart style, initially opposed Harnoncourt’s unconventional concepts. However, the orchestra was soon won over by the unusual stylistic approach often concertizes with Harnoncourt today.
Mozart, Violin Concerto No.5 in A major, K. 219 “Turkish”
The violin concertos K. 211, 216, 218 and 219 were all composed within a few months, between June and December 1775, while Mozart was in the employ of the Archbishop of Salzburg. The Violin Concerto No. 5 is the most refined and accomplished of Mozart’s early works for this instrument. It explores all the resources of the violin and integrates the orchestra much more thoroughly and organically into the concerto structure than in the previous works. A particular original touch is the Adagio entrance of the violin after the traditional Allegro introduction by the orchestra. The slow movement unfolds a variety of modulations in minor which give the movement a tragic touch. The last movement is beloved above all for its minor-mode “Turkish” or “Hungarian” episode, with marked leaps and basses which hit the strings with the wood of the stick – a delightful idea that comes at the close of what is arguably Mozart’s most popular violin concerto. After having devoted himself to Baroque music for many years, Nikolaus Harnoncourt began turning increasingly to the orchestral works of Mozart in the 1980s. Here, too, Harnoncourt’s views differed radically from those of traditional Mozart reception. For him, Mozart is “the most romantic composer of all”, his music “dramatic, dynamic, often strikingly and exceedingly emotional”. In Gidon Kremer, Harnoncourt found a partner who shared his views. The German-Russian violin virtuoso has also sought his own path in his Mozart interpretations. In 1970 the then 23-year-old virtuoso attained the first peak of his career by winning the first prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. He has since become one of the most sought-after violinists in the world. It should also be noted that the Vienna Philharmonic, celebrated for its natural and graceful Mozart style, initially opposed Harnoncourt’s unconventional concepts. However, the orchestra was soon won over by the unusual stylistic approach often concertizes with Harnoncourt today.
Schumann’s Symphonies – A TV essay by Klaus Lindemann featuring Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic performing Robert Schumann’s symphonies
Produced in 1987, the one-hour television special “Schumann’s Symphonies – An Essay by Klaus Lindemann on the Schumann Cycle with Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra” explores Schumann’s romanticism in the light of the literature and visual arts of the times. The paintings of Caspar David Friedrich – the epitome of German romanticism – provide revealing parallels with Schumann, as well as the works of William Turner, Delacroix, the Nazarene School, Constable, Géricault¿ “With Schumann,” says Lindemann, “we stand in the full flowering of Romanticism and gaze from one peak to another.” In addition to many new insights on Schumann and his relationship to the visual and literary arts of his day, the program also contains many excerpts from Schumann’s four symphonies.