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.

Bernstein, Chichester Psalms

Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms” were recorded live with the London Symphony Orchestra during the Leonard Bernstein Festival which took place at London’s Barbican Centre in May 1986. In the presence of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh, Leonard Bernstein conducted a gala concert on 6 May with three of his most important works: the Chichester Psalms, the Serenade for Violin and Orchestra, and the Second Symphony, entitled “The Age of Anxiety”. The soloists in these concerts were Gidon Kremer (violin), Krystian Zimerman (piano) and Aled Jones (voice).

Harris, Symphony No.3

American composer Roy Harris (1898-1979) wrote his Third Symphony in the late 1930s. When it was first performed in 1939, it was judged by many to be the most important symphonic work ever produced in the U.S. Some saw in it a reflection of the American West, of the vast horizons and open landscapes that have so little in common with the more European-flavored American music of the East coast establishment. Leonard Bernstein was one of the first musicians to hail the work as a great stroke of genius and, reviewing the first performance in February 1939 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Serge Koussevitzky, he wrote in “Modern Music” that the symphony was “mature in every sense, beautifully proportioned, eloquent, restrained, and affecting.” This performance with the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein was recorded at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 1976.

Ives, The Unanswered Question

“The Unanswered Question” is one of Charles Ives’ most famous works. Long before Stravinsky and other Europeans tried out the clashing keys technically referred to as ‘bitonality’ or ‘polytonality’, this independent Yankee businessman and artist had discovered these things for himself. Indeed, he was so bold, so radical in his experiments that he could find almost no one to take his music seriously until long after Stravinsky, Bartók, Hindemith and other Europeans had made such sounds fashionable and even popular. This work was recorded live at New York’s Carnegie Hall on 20 May 1976. Under Leonard Bernstein, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra gave a concert of American music in honor of the American Bicentennial.