"Bernstein-Beethoven" - Leonard Bernstein and Maximilian Schell on Beethoven's Symphony No. 6

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"Bernstein-Beethoven" - Leonard Bernstein and Maximilian Schell on Beethoven's Symphony No. 6

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Күн бұрын

On March 1, 1982, I recorded, on a VHS cassette, a rebroadcast of this 1978 performance of the 1st movement of Ludwig Van Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Leonard Bernstein. I made my recording from a Newark's Channel 13. On that telecast, the performance was introduced by a discussion of Beethoven's Sixth between Leonard Bernstein and actor/director Maximilian Schell. This performance of the entire symphony can be seen and heard (in stereo) at:
• Ludwig van Beethoven -...
However the above-mentioned posting does not include this interesting introductory discussion. You would be advised to migrate to that posting at the conclusion of Bernstein's remarks; although, I did include the 1st movement, which is one my personal favorites of classical music). You will note that viewers were encouraged to turn their FM radios to a simulcast on WNYC-FM to hear the symphony in stereo. My primitive 1980-vintage VCR would not allow me to record in stereo.

Пікірлер: 25

@HermanIngram Жыл бұрын

“You don’t write music when you’re suicidal.” Lenny underestimated Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky was a master of drama. None of us in this day can’t understand what he went through.

@novagerio Жыл бұрын

Lenny demonstrates empathy, in his usual theatrical way.

@marylkap6498 Жыл бұрын

Of course one can do brilliant things, even satisfying others and such, BEING suicidal! Know it first hand. Someone I knew.

@Mister.Unknown 2 ай бұрын

Yet he was absolutely right. You write music when you are sad, when you are gloomy, when you feel deep melancholy. . . yes, but when you are genuinely, clinically depressed and suicidal, you don't write/do a thing, you simply hoover through life expecting not to wake up the next day. And yes, sadly I speak from past, personal experience.

@HermanIngram 2 ай бұрын

The final breaths and heartbeats are just a funny coincidence.

@solicitor73 Жыл бұрын

If you know that Beethoven was a huge admirer of Bach, you should understand that he could take a simple melody and varying it for ten or fifteen minutes, setting counterpoints, building a bow to come back in the end. Look at the first movement of the 9rh symphony, for example.

@arman.kashef 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing this

@quinnsine1650 11 ай бұрын

The last movement Tchaikovsky’s sixth cannot ever strike me as being about suicide. What it sounds like to me is the dying throes of someone desperate, desperate to live.

@zackstaboy 3 жыл бұрын

Beethoven wrote incredibly beautiful melodies - just not all the time, probably because a beautiful melody was often not what he wanted in terms of making some musical point. Gorgeous melodies are all over the place throughout his 32 piano sonatas, for example (what I’m most familiar with as a player). My gosh, I can’t understand why Bernstein would say such an absurd thing as that Beethoven was not good melodist. He was an extraordinarily good melodist.

@pianopappy 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your comment, Zack. I remember Bernstein saying, in a different documentary about Beethoven, (I have to paraphrase, because I can't recall it perfectly) that Beethoven had the capability to write the perfect next note--which came straight from God!

@annedwyer797 2 жыл бұрын

@@pianopappy That's from another part of the Bernstein/Schell documentary, when Bernstein talks abt the 7th symphony: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/la54fMVq2cnHaZc.html

@danyluk1 Жыл бұрын

I have to accept Leonard's opinion here.

@novagerio Жыл бұрын

Not melodies, themes.

@zackstaboy Жыл бұрын

@@novagerioThe opening of his 5th symphony is a theme, or motive, and they necessarily abound in sonata form music. Nevertheless, the opening of the third movement of the 6th symphony is a melody - an extraordinarily beautiful one (Bernstein should have been so fortunate as to have written a melody of comparable beauty). Similarly with Beethoven’s piano sonatas.

@novagerio Жыл бұрын

It's not the Vienna Symphony, It's the Vienna PHILHARMONIC !!!!

@pianopappy Жыл бұрын

Thank you very much for your comment. I corrected my reference to the orchestra (in English) in my description above. I also replaced the link to a now-defunct video which contained the full symphony in stereo, The new link takes one to a different post, where, by the way, the orchestra is called its real name, "Wiener Philharmoniker".