Bernstein Conducts Ives (2024 Remastered Version) Leonard Bernstein

• Charles Ives (1874 - 1954): Symphony No. 3 "The Camp Meeting":
• 1 Ives: Symphony No. 3 "The Camp Meeting": I. Old Folks Gatherin'. Andante maestoso (2017 Remastered Version) 08:50
• 2 Ives: Symphony No. 3 "The Camp Meeting": II. Children's Day. Allegro (2017 Remastered Version) 07:24
• 3 Ives: Symphony No. 3 "The Camp Meeting": III. Communion. Largo (2017 Remastered Version) 08:46
• Central Park in the Dark (2017 Remastered Version):
• 4 Ives: Central Park in the Dark (2017 Remastered Version) 07:59
• A Symphony, New England Holidays:
• 5 Ives: A Symphony, New England Holidays: II. Decoration Day (2024 Remastered Version) 08:40
• The Unanswered Question (2017 Remastered Version):
• 6 Ives: The Unanswered Question (2017 Remastered Version) 05:33
• Variations on America (2024 Remastered Version):
• 7 Ives: Variations on America (2024 Remastered Version) 07:46
• Total Runtime 54:58

Info for Bernstein Conducts Ives (2024 Remastered Version)

In celebration of the Ives 150th anniversary: Leonard Bernstein was a towering figure of 20th century music and culture, known the world over as the composer of West Side Story, Candide, On the Town and other stage and orchestral works; as the celebrated conductor of the New York Philharmonic and other leading orchestras, with whom he created a trove of acclaimed recordings; as an educator whose televised Young People’s Concerts with the New York Phi lharmonic created more than one generation of music lovers; and as a lifelong humanitarian who spoke out whenever he witnessed injustice. Bernstein was born into a Russian immigrant family in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on August 25, 1918. At age 10, Leonard approached the upright piano left at his house by an aunt. As Bernstein tells it, he touched the keys, and his life was transformed. Bernstein attended the Boston Latin School and later graduated cum laude from Harvard College. After Harvard, Bernstein enrolled in the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied conducting with Fritz Reiner. In the summers, he attended the newly formed Tanglewood Music Festival, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer music institute, where he studied with the Russian conductor, Serge Koussevitzky, who became his beloved mentor. After Curtis, Bernstein moved to New York. There he befriended Adolph Green and Betty Comden, a sketch comedy duo with whom he soon teamed up, along with director/choreographer Jerome Robbins, to write their first hit musical, On the Town . As Bernstein’s composing career took off, so did his conducting career. On November 14th, 1943, the New York Philharmonic substituted 25-year-old Bernstein at the last minute after conductor Bruno Walter fell ill. The concert was broadcast live on national radio and made the young American-born conductor an overnight sensation. He was soon in demand as a guest conductor with leading orchestras around the world. In 1958, Bernstein became the first native-born Music Director of a major American orchestra – the New York Philharmonic. Simultaneously, Bernstein became one of the busiest composers of the postwar era. In addition to three symphonies, an opera, several ballets and his Broadway shows, Bernstein also wrote the score for Elia Kazan’s film On T he Waterfront . His 1957 musical West Side Story made a particularly large impact; the modern-day Romeo and Juliet retelling, with music by Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Arthur Laurents and choreography by Jerome Robbins, became a smash hit on Broadway, and its 1961 film adaptation won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Leonard Bernstein, William Vacchiano, Seiji Ozawa, Maurice Peress,
Digitally remastered

Leonard Bernstein
was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He took piano lessons as a boy and attended the Garrison and Boston Latin Schools. At Harvard University, he studied with Walter Piston, Edward Burlingame-Hill, and A. Tillman Merritt, among others. Before graduating in 1939, he made an unofficial conducting debut with his own incidental music to 'The Birds,' and directed and performed in Marc Blitzstein's 'The Cradle Will Rock.' Then at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, he studied piano with Isabella Vengerova, conducting with Fritz Reiner, and orchestration with Randall Thompson.

In 1940, he studied at the Boston Symphony Orchestra's newly created summer institute, Tanglewood, with the orchestra's conductor, Serge Koussevitzky. Bernstein later became Koussevitzky's conducting assistant.

Bernstein was appointed to his first permanent conducting post in 1943, as Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic. On November 14, 1943, Bernstein substituted on a few hours notice for the ailing Bruno Walter at a Carnegie Hall concert, which was broadcast nationally on radio, receiving critical acclaim. Soon orchestras worldwide sought him out as a guest conductor.

In 1945 he was appointed Music Director of the New York City Symphony Orchestra, a post he held until 1947. After Serge Koussevitzky died in 1951, Bernstein headed the orchestral and conducting departments at Tanglewood, teaching there for many years. In 1951 he married the Chilean actress and pianist, Felicia Montealegre. He was also visiting music professor, and head of the Creative Arts Festivals at Brandeis University in the early 1950s.

Bernstein became Music Director of the New York Philharmonic in 1958. From then until 1969 he led more concerts with the orchestra than any previous conductor. He subsequently held the lifetime title of Laureate Conductor, making frequent guest appearances with the orchestra. More than half of Bernstein's 400-plus recordings were made with the New York Philharmonic.

Bernstein traveled the world as a conductor. Immediately after World War II, in 1946, he conducted in London and at the International Music Festival in Prague. In 1947 he conducted in Tel Aviv, beginning a relationship with Israel that lasted until his death. In 1953, Bernstein was the first American to conduct opera at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan: Cherubini's 'Medea' with Maria Callas.

Bernstein was a leading advocate of American composers, particularly Aaron Copland. The two remained close friends for life. As a young pianist, Bernstein performed Copland's 'Piano Variations' so often he considered the composition his trademark. Bernstein programmed and recorded nearly all of the Copland orchestral works --many of them twice. He devoted several televised 'Young People's Concerts' to Copland, and gave the premiere of Copland's 'Connotations,' commissioned for the opening of Philharmonic Hall (now Avery Fisher Hall) at Lincoln Center in 1962.

While Bernstein's conducting repertoire encompassed the standard literature, he may be best remembered for his performances and recordings of Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Sibelius and Mahler. Particularly notable were his performances of the Mahler symphonies with the New York Philharmonic in the 1960s, sparking a renewed interest in the works of Mahler. Visit: www.leonardbernstein.com

This album contains no booklet.