Leonard Bernstein, Jennie Tourel, Philippe Entremont, New York Philharmonic - Bernstein Century - Symphony No. 1 "Jeremiah" & Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Anxiety"

very interesting music

The Jeremiah Symphony, which I heard recently played by the Baltimore Symphony under Bernstein protego Marin Allsop, is a fascinating piece. Written when Bernstein was only 26, it shows astonishing assurance and mastery of the orchestra.
Divided into three movements, in the first we hear the prophet warning the people of Judea of impending disaster using a theme familiar from the daily Jewish liturgy. The second is in many ways the best movement based on the theme of the "haftorah" cantillation -- the excerpts from the writings of the prophets chanted in synagogues every Saturday. But how inventively Bernstein uses the material!
The final movement, after the disaster, features a soprano solo singing words from the Book of Lamentations.
Listening to this work I heard echoes of the later Bernstein but also of Copeland -- it is Jewish music but also American music. Strangely, I am chanting Jeremiah himself on the second day of the Jewish New Year this month. The selection is more upbeat. The prophet hears Rachel weeping for her dead children but tells her to dry her tears, assuring her that God will bring them back to Zion and Jerusalem, dancing with joy, old and young alike.
And so it came to pass. September 26, 2008

LB's best symphony--mournful, ironic, jazzy

After winning the Pulitzer Prize for his "Jeremiah" Sym., Bernstein remained in top form as a composer throughout the late Forties and Fifties. His 'Age of Anxiety' Sym. #2 is refeshingly jazzy, and Philippe Entremont plays as if to the manner born in the long piano solos. Both of LB's other symphonies capture a specifically Jewish-Biblical significance that meant much to the composer but hasn't worn well. The Age of Anxiety is more like his Ballet Fancy Free, a comment, wry and often witty, on modern city life. It captures Auden's mournful sophistication perfectly, even if you haven't read the poem that inspired the music.

One could ask for no better recording--LB's remake on DG is a contender but not the equal of this. Playing and recording are perfect. The two humorous song cycles sung by LB's great friend Jennie Tourel are a mere fillip to a CD that's stingy on timing but a gem otherwise. January 8, 2007

THE AGE OF ANXIETY is Lenny's greatest piece

I agree with zmusicman in regard to THE AGE OF ANXIETY. Regarding the 2-clarinet PROLOGUE: it took me a while to realize that it's actually an organ tune transcribed for clarinets. Very clever. But THE EPILOGUE is pretty corny & derivative. It's an obvious variation on the first motif that you hear in Copland's THIRD SYMPHONY. Philippe Entremont's pianism is right up there with Bud Powell's. My favorite passage is that brief high-register glockenspiel thingy in THE MASQUE. I think it's done twice. Lenny was writing psychedelia way back in 1949. September 10, 2005

Among Lenny's Less Known but Highly Respectable Works!

Leonard Bernstein, an American icon and perhaps the best known conductor, composer, and music teacher from the New World, may be famous for his Broadway shows such as the entertaining out-of-the-war feeling "On the Town", and the fun and at the same time brooding story of New York's star-crossed "West Side Story". Give him some time though if you only know the "American" side of the composer.
He never threw away his Jewish heritage, and this first symphony "Jeremiah" enclosed in the CD is one of the prime examples of witnessing Lenny's musician expression as a Jew.
I love this symphony because despite it's musical complexity easy enough to tell it's 20th century genre, the sheer tragic theme of this piece is strong enough to make me bow down in tears. The piece is in three movements; first tells of Jeremiah's pleading to the people, the nailbiting second the corruption done by the people, and the third the lamentation of Jeremiah to Jerusalem, "ruined, pillaged, and dishonored after his desparate efforts to save it". Ms. Jennie Tourel sang brilliantly in the movement.

The second symphony "The Age of Anxiety" is another example of Lenny's serious and musically dark and modern side of music. Based on the poem by W.H. Auden with the same name, it will take you through this spiritual and moral journey.

I was quite charmed with Lenny's two easy song cycles "I Hate Music!" and "Four Recipes". And once again, kudos to Ms. Tourel. Just take a listen and you'll feel like you're a little innocent child again. The songs are as elementary and bright as a Mother Goose rhyme. September 8, 2004

No, this isn't going to be another West Side Story......

....or On the Town or Candide or any other famous broadway/operettas you've heard from it. But it's not bad. Bernstein has a completely different approach to his symphonic works then from his others you know of. I really felt the music in the first symphony, Jeremiah, fit the Lamentations chapter of the bible and the soprano in the final movement only added to the passion. Age of Anxiety was in an awkward format for a symphony, and seemed to be more of a piano concerto/work then a symphony. If I hated music, I would still hate it after hearing Bernstein's I Hate Music. These are just a few 'ditties' he drew up for children which very in style and speed. La Bonne Cuisine was funny (and fast), but you have to follow along in the book to get the humor because the soprano sings so fast. Recording was great. None of this music really stands out among my collection, but it's is still good music. July 14, 2000

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