Don’t miss it! Playing right now: the original CBS radio broadcast of Leonard Bernstein’s legendary 1943 debut with the New York Philharmonic. We’re remembering Bernstein on his birthday until 11 a.m. EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com.
PHOTO: Bernstein in a hair-raising performance from 1946
Our birthday salute to Leonard Bernstein is underway!
Featured highlights this morning will include that dark horse among great American symphonies, the “Symphony for Classical Orchestra,” by Harold Shapero (now playing), a powerhouse recording from Lenny’s later years of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 “Leningrad,” and a concert broadcast of his debut with the New York Philharmonic, from 1943. Bernstein was a brash (and severely hungover) 25 year-old at the time. We’ll get to hear that around 8:00 this morning. Bernstein was perhaps the greatest of American conductors, but he was touched by genius in so many areas – as composer, pianist, and teacher among them. Ideally we’ll have time for representative recordings of those, as well.
I hope you’ll be on hand, from 6 to 11 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM or at wprb.com. We’ll try not to get ash on the keyboard, on Classic Ross Amico.
Leonard Bernstein conducts Miklós Rózsa? No way. YES, WAY!
On November 14, 1943, a 25 year-old Bernstein strode onto the podium to replace an ailing Bruno Walter – without rehearsal – for what became his New York Philharmonic debut. The rest, as they say, is history. On the program was Robert Schumann’s “Manfred Overture,” Richard Strauss’ “Don Quixote” and Miklós Rózsa’s “Theme, Variations and Finale.” The concert was broadcast nationwide. The New York Philharmonic issued the CBS transmission on CD in 1996. To my knowledge, this is the only document of Bernstein conducting Rózsa, who is best known for his film scores – especially that for “Ben-Hur,” but in 1943, Rózsa was chin-deep in his film noir phase.
You’ll be able to enjoy this historic concert broadcast and much more, as I salute Bernstein on his birthday anniversary, tomorrow morning from 6 to 11 EDT, on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com. We’ll go loony for Lenny, on Classic Ross Amico.
Once upon a time, a trip to the Pole required dog sleds, pack animals, and an unimaginable surplus of grit. Now all you need is a radio.
I hope you’ll join me this morning on WPRB as we armchair travel to the Arctic, subarctic, and Antarctic, with musical evocations by John Luther Adams, Wilhelm Peterson-Berger, Paul Moravec, Einar Englund, Nigel Westlake, George Lloyd, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Uuno Klami, Geirr Tveitt, and perhaps even Billy Mayerl. Our itinerary includes stops in Alaska, Lapland, Antarctica, Siberia, and the Arctic Ocean.
We strike camp at dawn. Grab a thermos and some mukluks, and tune in from 6 to 11 EDT on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com. Expect a chilly reception, on Classic Ross Amico.
Right now on WPRB, we’re listening to the Symphony No. 4 by the underrated English composer George Lloyd, a work which grew out his experiences serving in the Royal Marines during WWII.
Lloyd’s vessel was struck by a torpedo while he was manning the transmitting station deep within the ship’s hold. He nearly drowned, as many of his shipmates and close comrades actually did, in fuel oil. Though he survived the ordeal, he suffered from shell shock and could not speak for nearly a year.
As he recovered, he began to compose again, hoping to exorcise his demons. The result was his Symphony No. 4, subtitled the “Arctic,” a surprisingly optimistic work, considering its genesis. But, as the composer points out, he also experienced much beauty during his service in the North Sea, including a memorable trip up the Norwegian coast.
Of the infectious marches that characterize the work’s final movement, the composer remarked wryly, “… perhaps I was trying to end the symphony by reaffirming the old convention that when the funeral is over the band plays quick, cheerful tunes to go home.”
Coming up in the 9:00 hour, we’ll have another English symphony, suggestive of the opposite pole, the Symphony No. 7 by Ralph Vaughan Williams, subtitled “Sinfonia Antarctica.” Vaughan Williams’ opus grew out of his film score for the Ealing Studios adventure “Scott of the Antarctic,” which starred John Mills as doomed explorer Robert Falcon Scott.
Vaughan Williams’ symphony captures a sense of foreboding in the face of punishing elements and the desolation of the Antarctic landscape. Along the way, he evokes chill winds, crashing ice slides, and the play of penguins and whales.
Sir Adrian Boult recorded the work twice. The earlier recording featured spoken prefaces by Sir John Gielgud, who reads from English poets and Scott’s diary. The performance itself is quite good, though expectedly not as vivid as the later, stereo remake. So as to share the best of both worlds this morning, I will interpolate the Gielgud readings into the stereo performance.
Stick around, and you’ll also get to hear music inspired by the aurora borealis, by Uuno Klami and Geirr Tveitt. We’ll go to any lengths to keep cool, until 11 EDT on WPRB 103.3 FM and at wprb.com.
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