Leonard Bernstein

I order my collection alphabetically by either composer or performer, but not by conductor. If I did order by the latter, I suspect that my collection of Leonard Bernstein CD's would have the largest number. This man was a prolific recording conductor with many, if not all, of the major symphony orchestras in the world. I find that I like recordings that he conducts most, and when faced with a number of conductors and ensembles for a particular work, I'll choose the Bernstein recording first.

A short biography can be found here.

However, he did more than just conduct; he also composed, and his works blur the line between opera and Broadway musical. I suppose his best known work was the music for West Side Story (which, sadly, I have not seen, though it is in the DVD queue). The closest he gets to opera is in Candide, the theatrical version of Voltaire's book of the same name. One of the CD's I have is entitled Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds, a reference to a character of the story, Dr. Pangloss, who maintains that we live in "The best of all possible worlds," an assertion that causes the impressionable young Candide no end of trouble. Bernstein's overture is one of the composer's most loved works.

The CD I mention is a double disc set, which is organized in a rather clever way. One of the discs contain original composed works, while the second disc contains works that Bernstein conducted.

The second disc set I have is entitled Essential Leonard Bernstein, which highlights his compositions from West Side Story, Candide, On the Town, Fancy Free, Wonderful Town, and On the Waterfront. There are additional concert works, such as Prelude, Fugue and Riffs.

I'm also lucky to have found some Bernstein videos. One is a special set of nine DVD's from his Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic. I've watched a few of these black-and-white shows, which aired on CBS from the late 1950's, and they are entertaining, as well as informative. The other set I have not watched, and are entitled The Unanswered Question, six lectures he gave at Harvard.

As usual, Wikipedia has a great entry on Leonard Bernstein that I'd rather reference than repeat.

To close, I found a YouTube entry of Bernstein conducting his Candide Overture.



(If it doesn't show, you can find it here.)