The Final Years
Donald Macleod reveals how after his wife's death in 1978, Leonard Bernstein began thinking his own mortality and creating a legacy.
Donald Macleod discovers that Bernstein's final years were anything but quiet despite declining health with much of his work being autobiographical. Felicia Bernstein's death in June 1978, not long after the reconciliation with her husband, left a gaping void in Bernstein's life. He began contemplating his own mortality and leaving a legacy in his final decade is including a song cycle named after a remark by President Eisenhower who preferred music with a good tune, "not all them Arias and Barcarolles". Works featured in this programme include 'The Great American Opera' and 'A Quiet Place'.
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Leonard Bernstein
Arias and barcarolles for soprano, baritone and 2 pianos: No 1 – Prelude; No 2 – Love due
Performer: Judy Kaye (soprano), William Sharp (baritone), Michael Barrett, Steven Blier (pianos)
- KOCH 37000 2.
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Leonard Bernstein
Divertimento for orchestra
Performer: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop (conductor)
- NAXOS 8.559245.
- 7.
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Leonard Bernstein
A Quiet Place: Postlude to Act I
Performer: Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein (conductor)
- DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 429 231-2.
- 11.
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Leonard Bernstein
Concerto for orchestra 'Jubilee Games': Diaspora Dances
Performer: Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein (conductor)
- DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 429 231-2.
- 11.
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Leonard Bernstein
Missa Brevis
Performer: Richard Baker (counter tenor), BBC Singers, Richard Benjafield, Christopher Brannick (percussion), Justin Doyle (conductor)
- CHANDOS CHAN 10172.
- 11.
Broadcasts
- Fri 14 Mar 200812:00BBC Radio 3
- Fri 14 Mar 200820:45BBC Radio 3
- Fri 10 Sep 201012:00BBC Radio 3
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