Essential Bernstein

The New York Philharmonic This Week: The Year 1958

The New York Philharmonic This Week celebrates the Bernstein Centenary with a five-part series of broadcasts dedicated to their former music director. In episode 3, host Alec Baldwin explores a tumultuous year in Leonard Bernstein’s life.

In 1958, Dimitri Mitropoulos passed the baton to the forty-year-old Leonard Bernstein, who served as the Philharmonic’s Music Director for the next eleven years. It was also a time of political upheaval and innovation, as we’ll hear.

The Year 1958

In this episode:

SCHUMANN: Manfred, Op. 115: Overture (November 14, 1943)
Leonard Bernstein, Conductor

SCHOENBERG: Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Op. 4 (March 3, 1958)
Dimitri Mitropoulos, Conductor

COPLAND: Orchestral Variations (December 6, 1958)
Leonard Bernstein, Conductor

PROKOFIEV: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16 (November 29, 1958)
Leonard Bernstein, Conductor
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Piano

GERSHWIN: Cuban Overture (September 7-8, 1990)
Zubin Mehta, Conductor

COPLAND: Danzón Cubano (March 8, 1963)
Leonard Bernstein, Conductor

00:00:00 Introduction
00:05:02 Manfred Overture
00:17:48 Introduction to Schoenberg
00:19:10 Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht
00:44:11 Introduction to Copland
00:45:08 Copland: Orchestral Variations
00:58:06 End Part 1

00:58:35 Interview with Bernstein; Introduction to Prokofiev
01:04:47 Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2, I. Andantino – Allegretto
01:16:36 Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2, II. Scherzo: Vivace
01:19:09 Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2, III. Intermezzo: Allegro moderato
01:25:08 Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2, IV. Finale: Allegro tempestoso
01:35:35 Introduction to Gershwin
01:36:59 Gershwin: Cuban Overture
01:47:21 Introduction to Copland
01:49:11 Copland: Danzón Cubano
01:56:15 Closing and Credits

Host: Alec Baldwin
Producer: Mark Travis
Executive Producer: Vince Ford
Underwriters: Kaplen Brothers Fund; Audrey Love Charitable Foundation; The National Endowment for the Arts; MetLife Foundation

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Used by permission, courtesy of The New York Philharmonic.

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