One of the great orchestral conductors in modern times. The NYPO was legendary under his direction ! Amazing window back into one of their most celebrated recording. Thank you SO MUCH for posting this !
Finally someone who understood that the army is not running down the Appian Way. Respighi told ue how fast it should go -- 66 to the quarter, but for some reason that is beyond me, many conductors do it faster. Bernstein is right on the money. He also understood that the pulse of the last mvt has to be absolutely unwavering, sharp, accurate and increasingly emphatic. Great performance. Wonderful to see all those faces from my youth -- Gomberg, Saul Goodman, Chambers, Lorne Munroe, Drucker, etc.
I saw the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, directed by Jonathan Hayward, perform this over the past weekend and it's a piece you can't really appreciate until you see it live. Hayward the the BSO NAILED it. See a good orchestra do it live if you get the chance. Do not pass it up.
I had the great pleasure of attending a Leonard Bernstein summer concert at the Forest Park muni opera. It was absolutely fantastic. It’s been so long ago. I don’t know what year it was or what music was played, but it was fabulous.
His gesture was toward his left so it might have been Saul. He once told me, "It's better if they tell you' re playing too loud than if they ask, 'What are you playing'?"
Almost. There was a female harpist from 1922-1932. The woman who really opened the door for others was double bassist Orin O'Brian who joined in 1966 during Bernstein's tenure. Today, women make up just under half of the orchestra. You can see Orin in the back around 12:50
I was looking to see if I could find any women, glad this observation made it to the comments. Were women prohibited or discouraged from auditioning? Seems like an old white man's symphony orchestra. Nevertheless, a remarkable performance.
