New York Philharmonic

This recording comes from one of the earliest 'bootleg' classical recordings ever distributed to the public, and its entrance into the market was nearly instantaneous. Taped illegally at concert with conductor Leopold Stokowski and the New York Philharmonic, it remains the earliest surviving complete recorded performance of the Mahler Eighth.

This version of Handel's 'Messiah' could quite possibly be feasible today only as a Bernstein reissue. The quest for authenticity has overtaken the performance and recording of early music, and even a conductor recording 'Messiah' without attempting a historically-informed style of performance wouldn't dare introduce the level of revision that Bernstein did for this 1956 recording and the Carnegie Hall performances which preceded it.

On February 26, 2008 The New York Philharmonic and Maestro Lorin Maazel performed a concert in Pyongyang, North Korea. In front of party and military officials a group of musicians managed to do what politics failed to achieve during the last sixty years – bring people from two very different worlds together.

Record of American conductor, pianist and composer Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) leading the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in a work dedicated to the great French composer J. Maurice Ravel. Bernstein was one of the largest and most popular directors, one of the most powerful composers and a talented pianist of the last century. Gained fame over a long career of nearly five decades, marked with an endless list of awards, medals and other honors. He led the New York Philharmonic (one of the five major American symphony orchestras) between 1958 and 1969.

If you can get past the 1940s monaural sound (and if you are not already familiar with this performance, you will get a shock). This is the gentlest, most right sounding rendition I have ever heard. The tempi are uncommonly brisk, though they never sound that way. The third movement has never sounded more beautiful. Halban is perfect in the finale. Walter passed away before he could record this work in stereo. His later performances were very different and I'm still not sure whether or not his later slower tempos and even greater expression were an improvement.

Maurice Ravel: Bolero; Alborada del gracioso; La valse; Daphis et Chloe; Raspodie Espagnole –
Schola Cantorum; Orchestre National de France; New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein
Classical | 1 CD | EAC Rip | 315 MB | FLAC+LOG+Cue | Full scans | RS links
Publisher: Sony Classical | Recorded: 1975 | Published: 1998

Editorial Reviews- Amazon.com
What a potent combo: Maurice Ravel and Leonard Bernstein. Boléro slowly comes to a steady boil without any ingredients overflowing. By contrast, in Alborada del Gracioso and La Valse, Bernstein thoroughly revels in his French orchestra's watery brass and silvery string tuttis. Back in Manhattan, the Daphnis and Chloé suite and Rapsodie Espagnol are lusty without ever sounding vulgar. Some might find the miking a hair spotlit for their tastes, but Ravel's breathtaking orchestration can withstand such scrutiny. So can Bernstein and company. An ingratiating release. –Jed Distler

The New York Philharmonic and its conductor, Jaap van Zweden, continue the revered institution's partnership with Decca Gold with the release of their latest recording, featuring Debussy's orchestral masterpiece La Mer and Stravinsky s groundbreaking Le Sacre du printemps. Both pieces were performed and recorded live in 2018 in the opening weeks of van Zweden's tenure as the New York Philharmonic s Music Director.