Leonard Bernstein conducts his New York Philharmonic Orchestra in New York City, July 9, 1959. (AP Photo)
Originally broadcast on Sept. 18, 2008
New York City is taking some hard blows this season as the titans of Wall Street come tumbling down.
But there was a time, in the heart of the American Century, when New York was on top of the world. The colossus of world wealth and energy and culture.
And at the pinnacle of that energy and culture was Leonard Bernstein. From Broadway and “West Side Story,” to Carnegie Hall and Shostakovich, to CBS and the television nation, Bernstein — conductor, composer, magnetic showman — was everywhere.
This hour, On Point: New York looks back on Leonard Bernstein and the American Century.
Do you remember how he glowed? How New York and the country glowed when Bernstein took the podium? You can join the conversation right here.
-Tom Ashbrook
Guests:
Joining us from New York City is Barbara Haws, archivist and historian of the New York Philharmonic since 1984. She’s co-author of the new book “Leonard Bernstein: American Original.” The Philharmonic’s Bernstein festival begins on September 24.
Also with us from New York is Clive Gillinson, executive and artistic director of Carnegie Hall, and former managing director of the London Symphony Orchestra. A cellist, he played under Leonard Bernstein for the LSO. Carnegie Hall’s website features a special section devoted to this season’s Bernstein festival.
Joining us from Los Angeles is Tim Page, former music critic for The Washington Post, where he won the Pulitzer Prize in 1997. He’s now a visiting professor of musicology at the University of Southern California. He contributed an essay to “Leonard Bernstein: American Original.”
And from Hanover, New Hampshire, is Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst and senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly.
Tags: Music
I sang under Leonard Bernstein’s last performance of his Chichester Psalms. The choir was large, but after the performance, he stood back stage and shook the hand of everyone of us.
Posted by Claudia Frost, on May 25th, 2009 at 10:53 am EDTAs a musicologist, I was doing research on Mahler in 1984 in Vienna when I attended a performance of Mahler’s 4th Symphony at the Musikverein by the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Bernstein. When a member of the Tolzer Boy’s Choir, selected by Bernstein, stood on a balcony above the stage, gripped the railing, looked down at us and sang the soprano solo of the final movement, it was as near heaven in music making as imaginable.
Sue Taylor
Posted by Sue Taylor, on May 25th, 2009 at 9:56 pm EDTIt has been four days and this programme still has not been put up on the NPR server. Does anyone at NPR check that web pages and your servers have been updated correctly? Unfortunately it is a common occurrence.
Posted by Bill, on May 28th, 2009 at 10:18 pm EDT