After the premiere of the musical comedy ‘Candide’ (based loosely on Voltaire’s story) in 1956, Variety wrote: ‘It’s a spectacular, opulent and racy musical, verging on operetta.’ 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 the Jahrhunderthalle in Hoechst, Germany, in 1976.
Aaron Copland (1900-1990), one of the most “American” of American composers, developed his unmistakable style by assimilating influences from popular and folk music of North and South America, as well as from European art music. He became friends with Bernstein in 1937 and, as his composition teacher, exercised perhaps the strongest influence on Bernstein, the composer. Copland’s Third Symphony is a very special work for Leonard Bernstein, since he conducted it several times with the Israel Philharmonic during his triumphal tour of Israel in 1948.
Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin – 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. For his senior thesis at Harvard University, for example, Bernstein set out to show that Gershwin and Copland had created a national musical style by responding creatively to jazz and Latin-American influences. And when his musical “On the Town” was premiered in 1944, one critic described it as “an energetic blend of Stravinsky and Gershwin.” If anyone could do justice to Gershwin’s spirited, swinging style, it was unquestionably Leonard Bernstein.
Avowedly popular in style, spirit and feeling – and proud of it – was John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), whose march The Stars and Stripes Forever of 1897 not only brought him lasting fame among band lovers the world over, but also the handsome sum of $300,000 in royalties! Sousa, incidentally, wrote not only march music, but also successful operettas, books and poetry as well. Leonard Bernstein conducts the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. The concert was recorded at the Jahrhunderthalle in Hoechst, Germany, in 1976.
Sir Georg Solti (1912-1997), one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, was a testament to the elegance and impeccable tastefulness of Central European music-making. Born in Budapest in 1912, he studied with Béla Bartók, Ernö von Dohnányi, Zoltán Kodály and Leo Weiner. In 1937, Toscanini chose him to be his assistant at the Salzburg Festival. After the war, Solti was appointed Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera. Further stations in his career were the Frankfurt Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the London Philharmonic. His remarkable partnership with the Chicago Symphony began in 1954; 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. Solti died in September 1997, just before his 85th birthday. This recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was made in 1976 at the Orchestra Hall in Chicago.
Liszt had discovered Goethe’s Faust in a French translation just before the premiere of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, and it was Berlioz who drew his attention to it. Though he initially contemplated writing an opera on this topic, he ultimately decided on a symphonic work which he called “A Faust Symphony in Three Character Pictures” which evoke Faust, Marguerite and Mephistopheles. His goal was to create psychological portraits that capture the character from within and, through recurring motifs and melodies, show that the three figures are interconnected. The work was premiered in Weimar on 5 September 1857 under the direction of the composer. In this performance, Leonard Bernstein conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra and tenor Kenneth Riegel at Boston’s Symphony Hall.
Quotes from Artur Rubinstein’s interview with Robert MacNeil: “There isn’t such a thing as the greatest pianist, not anytime, or anyone, or anything. Nothing in art can be the best. it is only different.” “… I’ve thought about the reason for any success I have had in my life… There is a certain antenna: there is a certain secret thing…which goes out, emanates from me, from my emotion, from the feeling. This…projects something which I do feel. It suddenly puts the audience into my hands. I can do anything. That is a great, great moment.” “I do think that we have reached the point of too much technique and perfection and there will be a reaction… Make music instead of having too much technique.” “The piano must be played with a feeling, to get the legato, to turn it into an instrument of singing.”
