Copland - Billy the Kid (Bernstein/NYPO 1970) 

Thanks for this posting of a classic by Aaron Copeland. i enjoy watching Leonard Bernstein perform. There will never be another composer, conductor, performer like him. Sometimes it takes a lot of searching on the internet to find lost gems like this one. The audio is superb and the video even though it isn't high definition, it brings the audio to life and gives it meaning.

The collaboration between Bernstein and Copland is legendary

The way Bernstein delicately conducts Billy's death scene is as beautiful as the music.

There is a superb analysis as well that Bernstein gave just before this performance.

A lovely performance that stunningly cut, CUT the fight section! Was that editing for television? I can't imagine Bernstein doing so. That percussion is the grist of the entire suite, the climax of the ballet itself. No wonder it seemed short.

At 11:12 we see and hear the late great Saul Goodman on timpani

Nobody conducted Copland like Bernstein and if i dare say it not even Copland himself.