I’m pushing the envelope here and presupposing a familiarity with R.E.M.’s 1987 hit. Happy birthday, Leonard Bernstein!
Tag: Leonard Bernstein
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Bernstein’s Ecstasy Aired on WPRB
Making music threw Leonard Bernstein into ecstasies. And he wasn’t ashamed to let you know it.
Join me this Thursday morning on WPRB as we anticipate the 99th anniversary of Bernstein’s birth (on August 25, 1918) with highly charged performances of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No. 4 and Jean Sibelius’ “Pohjola’s Daughter,” alongside Robert Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat major, with Bernstein at the keyboard, playing with joyful abandon.
Along the way, we’ll salute The American Boychoir, the Princeton-based organization that closed its doors on August 15th after 79 years, with a recording of Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms.” Bernstein’s last major work, “Arias and Barcarolles,” will be heard in its original (and better) version for mezzo-soprano, baritone and piano four hands. The world premiere recording features Judy Kaye and William Sharp, the latter no stranger to Princeton audiences, thanks to frequent guest appearances singing Bach with The Dryden Ensemble. We’ll also appreciate the talent of the late Barbara Cook with selections from “Candide.”
In addition, there will be some real rarities along the way (Nikolai Lopatnikoff’s Concertino for Orchestra, David Diamond’s Symphony No. 4). We’ll hear Bernstein the conductor, the pianist and the chamber musician, the composer of concert works and musical theater pieces.
Celebrate the genius of this musical hydra, this Thursday morning from 6 to 11 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. Lenny goes for broke, on Classic Ross Amico.
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Bernstein’s 99th Birthday Celebration on WPRB
August 25th (Friday) marks the 99th anniversary of the birth of Leonard Bernstein. Join me this Thursday morning on WPRB as we hop aboard the Bernstein Centenary Bandwagon, kicking off an inevitable two-year celebration of his genius as composer, pianist and, of course, conductor.
Along the way, we’ll salute The American Boychoir, the Princeton-based organization that stunned everyone on August 15th by shutting down its school, effective immediately, after 79 years. The choir will perform Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms.” We’ll also hear Bernstein’s last major work, “Arias and Barcarolles,” in its original (and better) version for mezzo-soprano, baritone and piano four hands. The late Barbara Cook will sing selections from “Candide.” In addition, there will be a full roster of great orchestral recordings from all across the repertoire.
I hope you’ll join me in raising a stein to Leonard Bernstein – surveying 40 years worth of his recordings – this Thursday morning from 6 to 11 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and wprb.com. We’ll get all liquored up for Lenny, on Classic Ross Amico.
PHOTO: “I never drink… beer.”
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Barbra Streisand’s Classical Experiment
My mom was a big Barbra Streisand fan. I remember this album, which even then seemed to come out of left field. (It was recorded in 1973, but not release until 1976.) But beauty is beauty. “Classical Barbra” received mixed reviews, with some hailing it as “rare and risky” and others deriding it as “hideous camp.” It did receive stamps of approval from Leonard Bernstein and Glenn Gould.
I’m not surprised that Streisand would be attracted to this music and want to share it with her fans. Even if it were the worst-selling Streisand album of all time (I don’t know; it achieved Gold Record status), it probably reached more listeners than the best-selling Debussy album. Good on her. Not everything is idiomatic, but this chanson is seductive enough.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Rnjl-s8dPs
Streisand is 75 today. Happy birthday.
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Presidents Day Music on WPRB
I realize that the mere mention of “president” these days is the equivalent of dropping a torch on a powder keg. Nevertheless, tomorrow morning on WPRB, I will go forward with my annual observance of Presidents Day. I trust everyone is adult enough to celebrate our democracy with music inspired by Washington, Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Chester Alan Arthur, JFK, and Richard Nixon without having a meltdown in the comments section.
New this year will be “A White House Cantata,” derived from Leonard Bernstein’s final, failed musical (written with Alan Jay Lerner), “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” which flopped loudly in 1976. The work parallels a century’s worth of American presidents, from Washington through Theodore Roosevelt, with commentary from African American White House servants. After the show folded, the composer recycled several of the numbers in his later concert works. (And yes, I am aware that Adams was the first president to occupy the White House.)
Join me as we follow our precedent of being presidential, tomorrow morning from 6 to 11 EST, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com. I’ll be practicing arithmetic on the back of a coal shovel and hurling silver dollars across the Potomac, on Classic Ross Amico.
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