Shostakovich, Symphony No.6 in B minor, op.54

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.

Thomas, Overture to “Raymond”

Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896) composed the sparkling, Rossini-like overture to “Raymond” in 1851 and it has been delighting the public of “promenade” concerts for generations now. Today, Thomas is best known for his comic opera “Mignon,” which maintained itself in the repertoire in France for over a century. His many other works, comic operas above all, have since fallen into oblivion. 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.

Saint-Saens, Le rouet d’Omphale

The succinctness of the symphonic poem “Le rouet d’Omphale” (1872) by Camille Saint- Saëns (1835-1921) belies its importance: it is one of the very first French symphonic poems. The impulse for Saint-Saëns’ delightfully descriptive work perhaps came from Franz Liszt, whose symphonic poems Saint-Saëns was the first to perform in France. 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 centuries.

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.