My office this morning overlooks the lake. The temperature is 65 degrees Fahrenheit. There is a slight breeze out of the East. I’m sipping a Breakfast Blend coffee from Bagel Beanery, munching on Dry Roasted & Salted Almonds from Trader Joe’s, and pondering why in the hell I like Leonard Bernstein’s performances so much.
I mean, there’s something about Lenny’s music that instantly touches my soul, from the very first notes. His performances crackle with energy and pushes every button in me.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
I first encountered Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) on these days in my Beethoven project:
Each time, I awarded his performance with an unequivocal “Huzzah!” rating.
(Just to save you the suspense, today is no exception. An instant “Huzzah!”)
From the liner notes by Jed Distler,
In the Fourth Symphony, the orchestra is also completely in its element, from the starkly sustained first movement introduction to a brisk finale that may lose sight of Beethoven’s non troppo directive, yet remains effortlessly lithe and precise.
Beethoven wrote his symphonies in four parts (except for the Sixth, which is in five). The time breakdown of this particular one (Symphony No. 4 in B flat Major), from this particular conductor (Bernstein, at age 60) and this particular orchestra (Wiener Philharmoniker), at this particular time in history (February, 1978) on this particular record label (Deutsche Grammophon) is as follows:
I. Adagio – Allegro vivace…………………………………………………………………11:29
II. Adagio…………………………………………………………………………………………..10:02
III. Allegro molto e vivace – Trio. Un poco meno allegro………………..5:57
IV. Allegro ma non troppo………………………………………………………………..6:49
Total running time: 33:37
My Rating:
Recording quality: 5 (occasional, but forgivable, tape hiss)
Overall musicianship: 5
CD liner notes: 4 (intro by Bernstein, only one English essay – but a darn good one)
How does this make me feel: 5 (“Huzzah!”)
As I wrote above, I don’t know what it is about Leonard Bernstein. But his work with a baton – and I presume it was his remarkable charisma and passion for the source material – seems to ignite something in his orchestras. They seem to play with more energy than I detect in other performances with other conductors.
I especially like his Movement I. It was a total magical ride from start to finish that hooked me from the first 60 seconds.
It would be hard for me to pick out one movement or passage that especially moved me. The entire symphony was lively, engaging, and worthy of repeated listenings – which is what I gave it, nearly all morning long.
“Huzzah!” I say. “Huzzah!”
Worthy performance. Highly recommended.
And now here is Leonard Bernstein himself introducing Beethoven’s Fourth: