Post by ellynmacg on Aug 25, 2018 18:16:32 GMT
Here's a place for anybody who's interested to drop by and leave a comment relating to a man who has been called (appropriately, I feel) "America's classical rock star".
I first became aware of this extraordinary individual through his multiple-Emmy-award-winning series, the New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts. (1958-1972); I am not sure exactly when I began watching the YPC, but I believe it was circa 1966. To tell the truth, I was not always enchanted with the choice of material (I have never been a fan of Haydn or Hindemith, for example), but I was always captivated watching and listening to Maestro Bernstein. It didn't take me long to develop quite a teenage crush on the man; if custom-made tee-shirts had been available (and if I had had the wherewithal), I would probably have had one printed to read "I <3 Lenny"! Because, of course, I had to call him by that affectionate nickname--it just seemed to fit. When I became a raving Gilbert & Sullivan fan, and subsequently an 11th-hour Beatlemaniac, I was delighted to discover that Lenny also liked both G & S and the Fab Four...he was the opposite of a musical snob.
Well, so far this post has been mostly about my giddy adolescent attraction to the Maestro. I won't apologize for that, but I will go on to list my five favorite Bernstein works. I encourage (though of course I do not/cannot require) other posters to follow a similar pattern: a paragraph on personal reminiscences--if you ever actually met the man or attended one of his concerts, I would especially love it if you shared your experiences--followed by a list of favorite LB pieces (if you have only three or have more than five, that's fine too).
In no particular order:
West Side Story (especially the Prologue, the Balcony Scene, "America", "Somewhere" (particularly the Ballet, which, alas, did not make it into the film version), and "A Boy Like That/I Have a Love"
Candide (esp. the Overture, "The Best of All Possible Worlds", "Oh, Happy We", "It Must Be So", "Glitter and Be Gay", and "Make Our Garden Grow"
On the Town (esp. "New York, New York", "I Can Cook, Too" (not in the film), and "Come Up to My Place")
Fancy Free (the ballet that inspired OTT)
The New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts
