Fabulous Bernstein Google doodle! Google celebrates a round birthday for a change. Do a Google search today, or enjoy the animation here.
https://www.vox.com/2018/8/25/17779096/leonard-bernsteins-100th-birthday-greatest-works
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Bernstein’s 100th Birthday Google Doodle
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Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms on Musical Saw
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Now here’s something you don’t hear every day: a selection from Leonard Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms,” played at Bernstein’s grave on the MUSICAL SAW.
Natalia ‘Saw Lady’ Paruz – musical saw player shared this video on WWFM’s Facebook page yesterday afternoon, in celebration of “Uncle Lenny” for the 100th anniversary of his birth. Bernstein was born on this date in 1918.
We’re still soliciting listener anecdotes and observations. Our hosts will be happy to share your Bernstein-related thoughts over the air, interspersed with classic Bernstein recordings, right up until 5:00 p.m. today. Send your Lenny stories to WWFM via the station’s Facebook page at WWFM – The Classical Network or by email at info@wwfm.org. Make sure to type “Bernstein” in the subject line.
Sure, playing Bernstein on the musical saw is quixotic, but who knew it would be so beautiful?
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My First Bernstein Record
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Do you remember your first Bernstein record? Mine was this LP of famous overtures, including “William Tell” and “Poet and Peasant” – great cartoon music! It was sent home with me by my uncle at the end of a Saturday visit, after I picked it out of his collection and listened to it transfixed through his headphones.
My uncle was an audio nut. Until my cousins were born, he was constantly upgrading his system. He always had the latest equipment. You’d think he’d be a natural candidate for a classical music lover – Richard Strauss or Shostakovich would have given his system a hell of a work-out – but he wasn’t. He was into classic rock before it became “classic.” The fact that he even had Bernstein in his collection demonstrates just how remarkable and pervasive Lenny was. He was the people’s conductor.
My uncle loves “Rhapsody in Blue.” He’s got many recordings – even one made on a Moog synthesizer – but Bernstein’s remains his favorite.
The overtures LP was one of my first classical records. Who knew where it would lead?
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Celebrating Leonard Bernstein at 100
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Get ready to cozy up to Bernstein.
On this, the eve of the centennial of the birth of American music’s greatest polymath, The Classical Network will pull out all the stops, as WWFM hosts share representative performances from the conductor-composer-pianist-teacher’s extensive recorded legacy, alongside a number of his original compositions.
Here are just a few of today’s featured highlights:
Alice Weiss (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.) – Carl Goldmark’s “Rustic Wedding” Symphony
Carl Hemmingsen (12:00 – 3:00 p.m.) – Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 5
Carl Hemmingsen & Ross Amico (3:00 – 3:45 p.m.) – Charles Ives’ Symphony No. 2
Rachel Katz (3:45 – 4:00 p.m.) – A selection of Bernstein’s settings of Jewish texts and prayers, including “Yigdal”
Ross Amico (4:00 – 7:00 p.m.) – Works by Camille Saint-Saëns, Roy Harris, Robert Schumann, Gustav Mahler, Franz Joseph Haydn, and Bernstein himself. “Picture Perfect” (6 p.m.) will include selections from the rediscovered audio for Bernstein’s only orginal film score, “On the Waterfront.”
Bill McGlaughlin (7:00 p.m.) – “Exploring Music” concludes its week-long salute to Bernstein with selections from “Mass.”
Rob Kapilow (8:00 p.m.) – “What Makes It Great” will focus on the genius of Bernstein the songwriter.
Our centennial salute will continue on Saturday, with Bill Jerome (8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.) and David Osenberg (1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.). Among David’s featured highlights will be recorded excerpts from Bernstein’s legendary Harvard lectures.
You’ll likely encounter even more Bernstein throughout the weekend, including the second half of a two-part tribute to the composer’s theater music on “The Dress Circle” with Ted Otten and Michael Kownacky (Sunday at 7 p.m.). If you missed Part One, you can enjoy it as a webcast, along with Jed Distler’s survey of Bernstein’s recordings as pianist, which aired this past Tuesday on “Between the Keys.” Both programs may be heard by following the link:
http://www.wwfm.org/term/webcasts
Also, it’s not too late for you to leave your Leonard Bernstein impressions and anecdotes on our Facebook page, at WWFM – The Classical Network, or by emailing us at info@wwfm.org (put “Bernstein” in the subject line). We’d love to share your experiences on the air. Help lend a personal touch to our celebration of Leonard Bernstein at 100.
You’ll find more details about our special programming by visiting our website at wwfm.org. While you’re there, consider supporting us. Without you, few of these treasures would be heard outside of our individual listening rooms. Thank you, as always, for doing your part to sustain classical music on the air, 24/7!
Happy Birthday, Leonard Bernstein!
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Bernstein’s Waterfront A Champion Score
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“I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody – instead of a bum, which is what I am.”
We’ve all had those kinds of days, haven’t we?
Yet Leonard Bernstein’s score for “On the Waterfront” (1954) was always a contender, even if at times the composer found himself on the ropes.
“On the Waterfront” was the only original film score composed by Bernstein (the screen adaptations of his stage musicals were adapted by other hands). Narrative film, of course, is a collaborative effort, in which music is usually the last to the table and the first to go. Bernstein’s score was edited and dialed down to suit the overall needs of the film.
Unused to such rough treatment, Bernstein found his brush with Hollywood to be dispiriting, to say the least. He arranged his music into a concert suite, over which he had complete control, and the work has gone on to become one of his better-known pieces. That said, what can be heard in the film remains a powerful statement, and one of the great film scores.
The original recordings, as they appear in the film, were long believed to have been lost. However, in the course of restoration of “On the Waterfront” for release on BluRay, it was discovered that audio had been preserved on acetate discs used for playback during the original recording sessions. Material from these were issued for the first time in 2014, on the Intrada label.
Bernstein’s music would be nominated for an Academy Award, one of “On the Waterfront”s twelve nominations. The film would be recognized with wins in eight categories, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Marlon Brando), and Best Director (Elia Kazan). Bernstein may have lost out to Dimitri Tiomkin for his work on “The High and the Mighty.” However, like Brando’s Terry Malloy, his score to “On the Waterfront” proves itself a champion.
We’ll hear selections, alongside some of Aaron Copland’s music for “The Red Pony” (1949), once again, from the film’s original elements; dances from the only film score ever to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music, “Louisiana Story” (1948), by Virgil Thomson; and the music that lends “Picture Perfect” its signature tune, “They Came to Cordura” (1959), by Elie Siegmeister.
New York composers visit Hollywood this week, as we celebrate the centennial of the birth of Leonard Bernstein, on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies. This Friday evening at 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
Tune in to The Classical Network all day today and tomorrow for more great music and recordings in honor of Bernstein at 100!
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