Jamie Bernstein's Top Five: Bernstein the Conductor
In our hit IDAGIO Interactive course, "The Lenny Lens: Bernstein's Embrace of Music", Jamie Bernstein explores the legacy of her father, Leonard Bernstein, with some of his most celebrated and special works. In this exclusive playlist, Jamie presents a selection of her all-time favourite recordings from her father's extraordinary contribution as a conductor. Jamie writes, "Columbia Records (later Sony) was recording Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic all during the years of my youth. The choices below are all from that early, impressionable time of my life. No offense to Deutsche Grammophon’s excellent recordings with my dad! It’s just that they came later."
Read more…Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 1 – New York Philharmonic (Sony)
I was in my early teens when my father performed this piece with the NY Philharmonic, conducting from the keyboard. For a few weeks prior, I’d hear him practicing obsessively down the hall in his studio; as a result, I came to know the piece by heart. My father pointed out to me how Mozartian this work was; in that early work, Beethoven had not yet reached his full Beethovenian self.
Mahler, Symphony No. 4 – New York Philharmonic (Sony)
The summer I was nine, my father hauled the portable-ish stereo down to the swimming pool, so he could listen poolside to Bruno Walter’s recording of Mahler 4, sitting in his bathing suit and following along with the score on his lap. As my brother and I splashed around in the pool, our dad pointed out the kid-friendly elements in the symphony: “Listen! You hear the sleigh bells?” He explained that the text in the last movement described a child’s vision of heaven. My memory of that afternoon is my own vision of childhood bliss.
Stravinsky, Rite of Spring – London Symphony Orchestra (Sony)
To this very day, this piece makes my hair stand on end. It hasn’t lost a scintilla of its eerie, violent power. Performances of the “Sacre” conducted by my father gave me some of the greatest artistic thrills of my life. I recall when Columbia Records’ artwork for this album’s cover arrived at the house for my father’s approval. The image featured a rocky crag depicting my father’s face. He thought that was ridiculous, and he nixed the cover. In the end, the cover showed Stravinsky’s face looming out of a surreal landscape.
Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue – Leonard Bernstein conducting the Columbia Symphony Orchestra from the keyboard (Sony)
I suspect this is an iconic recording for a lot of people my age. The cover alone hurls me back in time. My father connected to Gershwin and his music at the deepest level. They had so much in common: sons of Jewish immigrants who were equally comfortable in the worlds of popular music, jazz, and the concert hall – and who both loved to mix the genres together whenever possible. And Bernstein sure could play this piece on the piano! On top of everything else, my father was a superb pianist.
Copland, Billy the Kid, Appalachian Spring, Rodeo – Leonard Bernstein and New York Philharmonic (Sony)
It’s an absolute dead heat between these three irresistible pieces, which all appear on the same recording – so I’m posting them all! Aaron Copland was a mentor to my father, as well as a deep friend. My siblings and I grew up with Aaron’s music, which felt as familiar and warm to us as our own dad’s notes. The chorale that follows the “Simple Gifts” section of “Appalachian Spring” is as sublime as music gets.