Beethoven/ Bernstein - This Is Leonard Bernstein

In this year of Leonard Bernstein's centenary, Sony Classical is pleased to present a special edition of his American Columbia recordings from the 1950s and 60s. Many of the conductor-composer's most celebrated interpretations and works are collected here on these 15 carefully chosen original albums. There is, of course, the still-astonishing album that launched Leonard Bernstein's international reputation as the most dynamic and charismatic conductor of his era, Stravinsky's Rite of Spring recorded in January 1958 - two months after his appointment as the youngest music director in the New York Philharmonic's history. Reviewing a 2013 reissue, ClassicsToday. Com declared: "It has an excitement, spontaneity, and primal fury that no other version quite matches. " The Bernstein recording that launched the "Mahler Renaissance" in the 1960s is also here: his Third Symphony with the New York Philharmonic, which has arguably never been surpassed. Ditto for Carl Nielsen, whose great symphonies Bernstein brought to a wide new public with interpretations like his NYP recording of the Fifth, perhaps the most thrilling account of this 20th-century masterpiece ever committed to disc. His magnificent recording of Nielsen's Third with the Royal Danish Orchestra is also included. And while we're talking about Third Symphonies, Bernstein's "Eroica" still sounds "wonderfully vibrant" (Gramophone) a half century after it's first release. There are also his Beethoven overtures ("marvelous" - ClassicsToday. Com) as well as Dvorák's most popular symphony, and two from Haydn's magnificent "Paris" set: "It's debatable whether there have been better performances" (ClassicalNet). The great concerto recordings here include Beethoven's Third and "Emperor" with Rudolf Serkin. Bernstein himself conducts and plays Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Bernstein the pianist also accompanies Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, at the peak of his matchless career, in an acclaimed album of Mahler lieder. Bernstein the composer is also generously represented. The original Broadway cast recording of Candide from 1956 is included, as is the definitive version of his most famous work: the original Broadway cast recording of West Side Story from 1957. And there are two classic mono record premieres from the 50s, Bernstein conducting his Second Symphony, "The Age of Anxiety", with fellow composer Lukas Foss as piano soloist, and the Serenade, with violinist Isaac Stern.