The Unanswered Question - Six Talks at Harvard by Leonard Bernstein (1976)

Always absorbing and frequently brilliant, Leonard Bernstein's The Unanswered Question is a very lucid and convincing discussion of music's history and forms, with particular emphasis on modern music. It addresses the average intelligent listener who is not musically trained but wants to know what makes music work--what is meant, for example, by "tonal" and "atonal." It requires some concentration, but Bernstein, a superb teacher, keeps technical jargon to a minimum, illustrates what he means with musical examples and graphics, and repeats key points.

Delivered in 1973, the talks were transcribed for a book, but in it Bernstein insists "The pages that follow were written not to be read, but listened to," really an endorsement of the video edition. The talks are, in fact, performances. Television was always kind to Bernstein; he had magnetism and knew how to use it. To illustrate various points in his analyses, he plays the piano frequently, sings occasionally, and conducts significant works of key composers: Mozart, Beethoven, Berlioz, Wagner, Ravel, Debussy, Ives, Mahler, and Stravinsky.

Bernstein traces the development of music from its origins to the 20th-century struggle between tonality (championed notably by Stravinsky) and atonalism (represented mainly by Schoenberg). The last two talks, devoted to these composers, are particularly enlightening, but all six are outstanding. He argues persuasively that humans are born with an ability to grasp musical forms, and that rules of musical syntax are rooted in nature--in mathematically measurable relations between tones and overtones.

These talks are a key document. They coincide chronologically, as cause and/or symptom, with the movement of America's leading composers back from Schoenbergian forms toward a tonal orientation. Bernstein predicts and promotes this movement, which is still in progress. He is clearly an advocate of tonality, but he discusses atonal music with sympathy and understanding. --Joe McLellan Amazon.com

Learn How To Teach From The Master . . .

Bernstein was not only one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, and not only one of its best composers, but also one of its greatest teachers. Who better, then, to deliver lectures on music? Let's face it, few, if any of us, will ever have teachers as brilliant as this instructing us in real life. This set is required viewing for all people who want to learn how to teach, and, in fact, that is probably the greatest value of this set, apart from its musical insights. Watch this DVD series over and over, and you will learn how to teach from a master musician and instructional designer who spins out, over 6 DVDs, some of the most tightly constructed and brilliantly illustrated lessons ever created. If ever there was to be a Hall of Fame for Instructional Design, this set ought to be nominated as the premier entry. May 15, 2008

An achievement of stunning clarity & breadth

THE UNANSWERED QUESTION is, simply put, the most intellectually engaging, engrossing, and exciting series of lectures I've ever had the honor of hearing.

Bernstein presents a myriad of ideas, all of which are illustrated with remarkable lucidity and grace. Music, of course, constitutes the central theme of these lessons---the significant time spent on other disciplines (most notably, the evolution of words and their structural implications) is always at the service of a better understanding of our auricular art.

This set would be worth its price for the musical examples alone; in addition to the 10 hours or so of Mr. Bernstein's discourse, you're also getting a spectacular amount of full-length orchestral performances. These segments---under the incomparable baton of Mr. Bernstein (and played, in most cases, by the equally impressive Boston Symphony Orchestra)---are flawlessly produced, and sound wonderful. Mozart's 40th Symphony, Beethoven's 6th, and a complete production of Stravinsky's OEDIPUS REX are just three of many, many great works included here.

This set isn't just for musicologists, but for everyone with fertile minds and open ears. I watched these lectures as an experienced composer, musician, and theorist, and I was NEVER bored. Even mundane topics, like the harmonic series, are brilliantly re-illuminated. I've been watching them with my parents, both of whom are equipped with virtually no musical training, and they have been absorbing just as much as I've been.

Grammarians will find plenty of interesting material here, as well. Bernstein frequently utilizes techniques pioneered by Chomsky (relating to deep structures and the like) to illustrate abstract musical concepts, and the results are nothing short of astonishing.

If it seems I've been waxing hyperbolic about these DVDs, rest assured I haven't been. Buy them, watch them, and you'll see why. March 4, 2008

Fascinating and Self-challenging in Its Claims

These lectures begin with an intellectually ambitious attempt to use Chomskian linguistics to suggest that music has units of meaning analogous to language. I follow his argument with interest, but I never quite buy it. Music is simply not verbal, and Bernstein's effort with linguistics seems an exquisite but somewhat misguided exercise in metaphor. Bernstein seems out of his element in talking about linguistics, but one has to admire his work; as in most of his endeavors, he does it with verve, energy, and wit. The lectures then evolve into a history of western music that is decidedly romantic: Beethoven becomes (implicitly) a high point in musical evolution, and music that experiments with dissonance and tone rows is seen as finally an uncertain exploration. The "unanswered question" is: should music leave the gravity of familiar western tonalities and units of meaning? Bernstein is not reactionary in his meditations, as he plays Schoenberg, Berg, and directs Ives, who gives the title to the set, all in a spirited way. His own performances of 20th century music say more than he speaks in words about such music. But one may intuit that Bernstein's career as a maestro of a big city orchestra and its commercial responsibilities shaped his view that meaning must always be somewhat traditional. Still, Bernstein has to be one of the most charming figures of the twentieth century, and I find it a pleasure to pop one of these discs in in alternative to the mayhem and drek that is on the 180 channels I have in alternative, even as I puzzle over the justice of some of his claims. September 1, 2007

Still brilliant 3 decades later

I consider these 6 lectures to be compulsory viewing for anyone interested in Western music. Bernstein's flawless and articulate lectures illustrated with wonderful performances of well known works is still wonderfully relevant and insightful today. I watch these over and over and my appreciation of music in general, and the works that he speaks about in particular, has been profoundly deepened. January 11, 2007

The Unanswered Question.

These lectures given by Leonard Bernstein in the 70's are unique and fascinating even to those of us who are not true musicologists. Bernstein is witty, interesting and enthusiastic about the subjects that keeps you riveted for the hour and half of each lecture. Then there comes the bonus of the performance afterwards. A very good buy and a great piece of Leonard Bernstein's insight and vast knowledge of the music that he so obviously loves. He was a great man. November 11, 2006

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