Leonard Bernstein discusses and gives his thoughts on the monumental 9th Symphony by Ludwig Van Beethoven. He also talks about what the music means to him and to the history of the world.
Bernsteins message is timeless and at the same time the exact message for our situation now in world history. We need more Bernsteins, more Beethovens and Schillers today!! We need peace and brotherhood among people more than anything else! Dear maestro thanks for your ongoing inspiration!
Again? Ok. That will probably be over 400 times. Oh wait, that means 74 minutes each time. Did you know they designed the CD to be the perfect length to hold the 9th Symphony. Hmm, 400 times 1 hour and 14 minutes. I won't take the time to calculate how much I've listened to the 9th. I'd rather use that time to listen to the 9th again.
@@wakeupfool7734 To each his own I suppose, but I can’t help but love Leonard Bernstein. He’s a brilliant musician with a brilliant mind discussing brilliant music, music that I hold extremely dear to my heart!
In my haste to disagree with those who disagreed with you, I forgot to actually agree with you😂 You are 100% correct! Leonard Bernstein is such a brilliant person. Who can possibly get bored listening to him discuss great music?
Beethoven's music is a miracle. It is amazing that something so complex can be exactly correct so much of the time. Beethoven wrote his music in order to spread his message long after he died, and it does indeed do its work on every succeeding generation.
Today is May 7th 2024 in Australia... 200 years old ❤🎉 how wonderful to be blessed with this magnificent piece... takes the listener on a magical journey of life... thankyou Beethoven
I also remember the first time i heard it, many years ago, in the radio while my sister was cooking... also couldnt help but cry by the end of it - to this day, it never fails me to astonish me
I can't remember the first time I heard any of Beethoven's symphonies. My father loves classic music, I probably heard them in utero, and I'm a bit jealous of people who have been able to experience the discovery. You are very lucky !
I am not embarrassed to say "I love this man!" He gave me something very precious. A love and understanding of fine music! The best music teacher I ever had!
why embarrassed ?? -- Man literally uses - LOVE in every sentence as possible : I loved him - I fell in love with him - our bond lasted a life time - we loved each other - we cried and played piano all nit long n loved each other so much , loved her and studied with her for yrs -- these are all his phrases from various vids -- ahahha.... jus sayin ... such a noble soul -- its because of him and betthov of course - I wanted to make steps to learnin music n understand the heart of beethov n others ... jus syain...
First saw the series this comes from - with Bernstein conducting all 9 symphonies with the Vienna Phil - in 1982 or '83. Forty years later (oh my!) the amazing depth and profundity of what Bernstein packed into these brief talks *STILL* takes my breath away.
No limits to Leonard Bernstein! A natural leader in so many ways, he retained humility and openness to an extent political leaders would do well to follow. The archetypal showman who never shows off, but demonstrates integrity in every moment. And what a legacy of amazing music and lectures he's left us with! Live on, Lenny!
When I was young I put little thought into what peace really is. Dates indeed Mr. Bernstein. I was 20 at the end of Viet Nam 1974 and just completed a tour in the navy. Peace? Almost 50 years now and I'm just beginning to learn. Finally huh. This much I know. If you really do listen to Beethoven's 9th Symphony you sense, feel, somehow touch peace. It's fleeting and it touches the core of ones very soul. Now, if only that moment could be captured and nurtured, to be used and practiced. We as humans will have finally evolved. Not yet however. It's silly some would say to talk of this peace. For me it is far sillier to keep making the same errors over and over and suffering in the silence of it all, as the shouts of peace go unheeded. Peace.
I liked your comment very much. As a misanthrope, I’m skeptical of humans’ capacity for peace in all but a fleeting sense. I consider man walking on the moon this planet’s finest moment - but you’re right, music does have the capacity to unite in a way that little else does. Any real peace would have to start there.
While one might assert with confidence that the sapien has moved forward from say the medieval age, there is little evidence available to suggest he has moved any further and when people casually name animals in derision as man descending to their level, I am astonished as no animal is remotely as vile and evil and full of malice and cruelty and mendacity and arrogance as this pathetic creature the sapien, and those among them in positions of power are the worst, from bankers to lawyers to politicians the triad that actively and tirelessly works to take us all deeper and lower into the abyss. Redemption is far away still, perhaps not even attainable as one lunatic or another among so many may well bring this home of ours to a violent and quick conclusion. So tarry not, fill your soul with the music and the great reading and the masterpieces that others before us have bequeathed to humanity. Immerse yourself in it, till the bell tolls. Bonne chance.
This is MARVELOUS!!! So talented, so intelligent and God clued him, Bernstein, into what the meaning of the symphony Beethoven wrote when he was completely DEAF! Just listening to Mr. Bernstein speak Hebrew like a native, quoting Bible scriptures with Hebrew pronunciations, just made me excited. Godsays He wants everyone in Heaven. Hell was created for the Fallen Angels. And I'm always astounded, despite my music training of the talent it takes to write such a piece fully deaf. I haven't finished this yet, but just had to post this. I mean really, how many of you recognized those dates. I actually did remember the good ones. This is my favorite recording of this piece. My other favorite conductor for this is Sir George Solti and the Chicago Symphony. Be blessed everyone. I remember them tearing down the Berlin Wall at this time and people taking home pieces of it. Enjoy and look up meaning in your own language of the meaning of the 4th movement lyrics. Impressive.
I had just turned 5 when Bernstein came as guest conductor of the local symphony orchestra. It was the first concert I ever heard. My parents took me because I wanted to go. I was on the third row seated directly behind the maestro. What an extraordinary moment and memory! I think my parents liked it too.
Leonard, nearly another fifty years after your impassioned plea for peace, love, and brotherhood, I am saddened to report we may be little closer to this blessed state of being. Perhaps we've even regressed on this journey. Whichever the case, I am thankful for you, Ludwig and the others whose gifts must surely light our darkened path, lift our heavy heart, and point us toward a peace not fleeting, but forever.
when he conducted the 9th in 1989 when the Berlin wall fell, for me that is the ultimate rendition of the 9th, the most perfect piece of music ever written. this year, when 19 children and 2 teachers were murdered in Uvalde, Texas, while police did NOTHING, i find myself in my shock and grief turning to Bernstein's final performance of the 9th, i cry all of the way through it and i laugh out loud at the same time for his delightful expressions, the way he hopped up and down on the podium, 77 and terminally ill and having the time of his life, joy for the sake of joy. thank you, Mr Bernstein.
Previous comment, filled with joy for finding this video... this one after watching it is wordless, I cannot express with words how magnificent this disertation is... love it
Artists deal in that which transcends conflict, and is a deeper part of humanity. It is not artists who don't understand war and humanity, it is you who do not understand the artist.
If we find life on another planet, hopefully recordings like this (and I suppose Lenny's Beethoven cycle) can be shown to the inhabitants. Lenny is one of the greatest ambassadors of humankind in the history of the modern world.
Academic thinking is called “comparative analysis” by the great art historians. It’s a wonderful way to understand the synergy of history as a whole gesamtkunstwerk!
If you put any piece pf art into historical context you will get s completely different understanding of that specific art.9th is something I can't explain. I sang it with my choir and every time I hear or sing those lyrics I burst in tears. Every time!
I fully respect Leonard Bernstein, what a genius and great speaker Whom can dislike this message? dislike I believe just proves Bernstein's point of our mad world
Sometimes I ask "Why does the Beethoven's music is so beautiful?" I think with my own, the Beethoven's music bring a subject of peace to the world, however, year after year the human race are always making the same mistakes, again and again. The real brotherhood cannot exist if the human being is just think in getting power. On the other hand, I think if the world were a better place, and the people were good, maybe, the Beethoven's music would not be so wonderful!
Beautiful speech, deep and emotional. But I don't think about dates when I listen to the 9th S. I think about the fact that he was completely deaf, and he never heard this music he made, this incredible gift he left for all of us, I got to hear it, but he never actually got to. It's so sad. Yet his symphony is full of hope and happiness.
Beethoven wasn’t “deaf” in the way that you are thinking. He had a severe form of tinnitus which drowned out the outside auditory stimuli with internal ringing of the ears. So it’s not that he heard “silence” instead he heard a tormenting ringing that all but drowned out the external world.
A Brilliant Oral Essay, by a Brilliant Polymath. (The overriding concept: It's All Connected.) The title seems to be appropriate, and then it seems to be misleading, and then its appropriateness is reprised in its summation. Teachers of Composition and Rhetoric will find many riches in this dissertation, whose duration is a mere six minutes-and-change.
The thing I loved most about Beethoven's 9th was the way it builds and builds and builds until the orchestra can't build anymore and the voices spring forth to complete the sound of joy.
Uffda. I vaguely remember watching this when it first broadcast on PBS at least 40 years ago. Gen Xers had such a treasure trove of influence to broaden our thinking ability. Pity you phishers who come along now.
How would you rank Beethoven's symphonies? I'd go with: 1. 9th 2. 3rd 3. 5th 4. 6th 5. 7th 6. 8th 7. 4th 8. 1st 9. 2nd 9th and 3rd are so universally acclaimed, that's it's not a surprise, 9th has more of the grandeur that I find more appealing. I had a harder time picking between 5th, 6th, and 7th. 5th has absolutely legendary outer movements, so I picked it 3rd, while the 6th is strong overall with a more gentle mood when, 7th maybe has the most rousing final movement after incredible movements 1 and 2. 8th is very cleverly composed, but lacks any proper slow movement, 4th has an amazing fast part of the 1st movement, but it doesn't strike that deeply emotionally. Symphonies 1st and 2nd aren't as good as the rest, they have more classical period characteristics. Early piano sonatas by Beethoven are already very strong musically, but he truly found his very own orchestral language in the 3rd symphony. 1st has more compelling subjects than the 2nd for me. , I know you like the 2nd more.
1. 9th 2. 5th 3. 6th 4. 7th 5. 8th 6. 3rd 7. 2nd 8. 4th 9. 1st This is based on the symphonies as a whole, rather than each specific movement. I personally think 9 and 5 have almost perfect 10/10 movements and they both tell a story as each movement progresses, so i find them the most enjoyable to listen too. Symphony 6 has amazing movements that have a coherent story as well. The 7th movement also has strong movements, but i find the other three symphonies to have more enjoyable movements. I think the 8th symphony is the most underrated. Each movement is really strong and i love to listen to them, although the third movement is just ok. I love the 3rd’s first and last movements, but i dont find the inner movements very interesting or enjoyable to listen too. The second movement has an amazing first movement, and i think its where Beethoven starts to get his own symphonic style. The second movement is really good to, but the last two movements aren’t very enjoyable for me. The 4th movement has an exciting first movement and fourth movement, but i think this is not a very creative symphony, and the inner movements aren’t too fun to listen to. Beethoven’s first sounds exactly like what you would expect a first symphony to sound like. Not the most creative, but still a pleasant listen, although i don’t really enjoy the inner movements at all.
My Mom was an older woman when I was born, and my children were born when I was older. My daughter asked about my Grandparents, born around 1888, her Grandmother was born in 1915, before Leonard Bernstein. She survived the Spanish Flu. And she remembered Armistice Day, In fact, the last conversation we had she talked of the memories she had of that day. People were shouting, hugging, crying, singing, dancing...and crying. She was barely 3, and almost 90 years later she remembered that day. My daughers are barely out of school. 1888. Three Generations away for them, two for me. They have many of their friends that have 6 or 8 generations seperating them from those dates. Beethoven's 9th. Listen to it. Share it.
berny surely made an accurate indictment about the human race! but there is good news.Lord God Almighty Became one of us in every way and defeated our foe as absolutely as our foe defeated our parents not so really long ago. in so doing the human family is united with the God by flesh and bone! And humanity vindicated through through Him! The second Adam. Praise our Humble creator of the universe and everything thats in it.
Uh...I wasn't being facetious, if that's what you're implying. Bernstein was notorious for pointing out the subtle bits of info regarding pieces that allows many to appreciate it all the more. However, I will admit I was being playfully sardonic when I mentioned he have another Kent (the brand he used to smoke). His voice sounded like a lawn-mower in his later years.
If this was indeed 1982, that means he was 64 when this was filmed, but he looks 84. Sadly, this is what happens after years of smoking, drinking, and stress.
In 2006 Daniel Barenboim conducted the 9th. Just wonderfully done. It's on youtube. It's unfortunate that Mr. Bernstein did not have access to the book "American Invasions: Canada to Afghanistan 1775-2010" by Rocky Mirza. He'd have understood that all wars are bankers wars.
