From The New World　bernstein

Electrifying conductor, brilliant composer, gifted pianist, inspiring teacher: Leonard Bernstein is one of the most famous and influential musicians of all time. Highlights of this two-disc sampling of the Maestro’s legendary recordings for Deutsche Grammophon include his incandescent interpretations of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Mahler, composers for whom he felt a profound affinity. And Bernstein’s lifelong dedication to American music is vividly illustrated with Gershwin, Barber and, of course, his own iconic West Side Story.

Tout commence un soir de janvier 1937, à Boston où le chef Dimitri Mitropoulos achève son deuxième séjour par la Symphonie en ut de Schumann. Invité à suivre répétitions et concert, l’étudiant Bernstein sent, au cours de l’Adagio espressivo, son « coeur éclater dans un mélange terrible de fierté et d’abattement ». Conçue au fond du gouffre, achevée au retour de la lumière en 1846, cette Symphonie no 2 le poursuivra longtemps. Bernstein chef d’orchestre est né par elle, commençons de même [CD I, 1-4]. L’influence de Mitropoulos ne s’arrête pas là. Une saison plus tôt, le chef grec avait soufflé Boston en dirigeant du piano le Concerto no 3 de Prokofiev, numéro de voltige que son admirateur reproduira en substituant Ravel à Prokofiev.

Celebrating the 175th Anniversary of the New York Philharmonic, America’s oldest symphony orchestra. 65 CDs of famous New York Philharmonic performances conducted by many of its most renowned music directors, from the very first recording in 1917 up to 1995.

Leonard Bernstein was an American composer, conductor, author, music lecturer, and pianist. His music was an eclectic mix of theatre music, jazz and neoclassicism. This diverse Modern period composer created works in virtually all genres. As already stated, Bernstein was an eclectic composer whose music fused elements of jazz, theatre music and neoclassicism, the latter inspired by composers like Copland, Stravinsky, Milhaud, and Gershwin. Some of his works, especially his score for West Side Story, helped bridge the gap between classical and popular music.

Franklin Mint's "100 Greatest Recordings Of All Time" is a unique collection of the greatest performances ever recorded and has been awarded by respected members of an international music jury. The collection contains 100 records of excellent quality. Franklin Mint's "100 Greatest Recordings Of All Time" was named Best Personal Library of Recorded Music. Each recording has been selected by renowned music critics (Martin Bookspan, Schuyler G. Chapin, Franco Ferrara, Irving Kolodin, William Mann, R. Gallois Montbrun, Marcel Prawy, Andre Previn, William Schuman and H. H. Stuckenschmidt).

On the eve of his centenary in 2018, Sony Classical releases the most important collection, Leonard Bernstein’s classic American Columbia recordings, remastered from their original 2- and multi-track analogue tapes. This has allowed for the creation of a natural balance (for example, between the orchestra and solo instruments) that brings the quality of these half-century-old recordings, excellent for their time, up to the standards of today’s audiophiles. In addition, there has been a meticulous restoration of some earlier masterings in which LP surface noise was too rigorously eliminated at the expense of the original brilliance.