{"product_id":"bernstein-in-the-1940s-volume-1-blitzstein-gillis-ravel-1946-pasc526","title":"BERNSTEIN in the 1940s Volume 1: Blitzstein, Gillis, Ravel (1946) - PASC526","description":"overviewfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eBLITZSTEIN \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eAirborne Symphony\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eGILLIS \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eMotor Perpetuo\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003eRAVEL \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003ePiano Concerto in G\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eLive broadcast performances, 1946\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12px;\"\u003eTotal duration: 74:20\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eCharles Holland, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003etenor\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eWalter Scheff, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003ebaritone\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eMarc Blitzstein,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003e The Monitor (narrator)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eLeonard Bernstein, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003epiano\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eNBC Symphony Orchestra \u0026amp; Chorus\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003econducted by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 16px;\"\u003eLeonard Bernstein\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_titlefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_quotefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_bodyfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9main_samplefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fsamples\/PASC526.mp3578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fProducer's Note578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003eThis is the first of two volumes of previously unreleased broadcast performances by Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) from the 1940s. In this volume we find him as guest conductor in two broadcasts from the late spring of 1946 with the NBC Symphony Orchestra and a male chorus which might be assumed to be drawn from the Robert Shaw Chorale, though I cannot yet confirm this.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe first concert broadcast took place on 27 May and consisted solely of the \u003ci\u003eAirborne Symphony \u003c\/i\u003eby Marc Blitzstein (1905-1964). As our sleevenotes explain, Blitzstein originally wrote the work as an airman stationed in the UK during the Second World War, and rewrote it at the insistence of Leonard Bernstein having lost it at the end of the war. This was its second performance - Bernstein went to record it twice, with Orson Welles providing narration in both instances. Here we hear the composer himself as\"The Monitor\" alongside the same soloists, Charles Holland and Walter Scheff, who had premièred the work and would go on to make the first recording with Bernstein shortly afterwards.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe recording was preserved well on acetate discs, with a relatively broad frequency range and quiet surfaces, though there is some tendency to mild high frequency distortion at peaks during the music, which I've attempted to subdue whilst retaining as much of the upper \"air\" as possible. Comparison with the 1960s recording of the \u003ci\u003eAirborne Symphony\u003c\/i\u003e indicates that either some revision of the piece took place after the earlier performance or a handful of minor cuts were made for broadcast purposes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(Further information on the \u003ci\u003eAirborne Symphony\u003c\/i\u003e can be found here: http:\/\/marc-blitzstein.org\/work\/airborne-symphony\/)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBernstein's concert of 2 June 1946 featured three works, of which time permits us here to include only two. The missing work was a performance of Haydn's \u003ci\u003eSymphony No. 102\u003c\/i\u003e, and it is to be hoped we can find a home for this at some point during this Bernstein centenary year.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat we can hear is a unique recording of a short piece by prolific composer and radio producer Don Gillis entitled \u003ci\u003eMotor Perpetuo\u003c\/i\u003e, something of a play on words as it's based on an old popular tune\u003ci\u003e In My Merry Oldsmobile\u003c\/i\u003e. We have struggled in vain to find any other reference to a performance of this piece, let alone a recording, though we know from the radio announcement that this was its world première. One might tentatively suggest that Mr. Gillis might have had a number of short works like this up his sleeve for moments when a short orchestral work was needed to pad out a radio broadcast.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn both this and the final piece, Ravel's \u003ci\u003ePiano Concerto in G\u003c\/i\u003e, a certain amount of gain riding was taking place in the radio control room, leading to variations in volume which I've attempted to reverse. However there are moments, especially at the beginning of the second movement in the Ravel, where Bernstein's piano almost seems to vanish into the background. I've done what I can to counter this but listeners should be aware that there are a few notes which are particularly faint. That said, the overall sound quality is once again good, with perhaps a little less of the distortion present in the previous week's broadcast.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eAndrew Rose\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFull Track Listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5ftrack_listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eBLITZSTEIN  \u003c\/b\u003eAirborne Symphony\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1. Part One - The Theory of Flight  (4:36)\u003cbr\u003e2. Ballad of History and Mythology  (4:24)\u003cbr\u003e3. Kittyhawk  (2:44)\u003cbr\u003e4. The Airborne  (1:40)\u003cbr\u003e5. Part Two - The Enemy  (4:17)\u003cbr\u003e6. Threat and Approach  (2:20)\u003cbr\u003e7. Ballad of the Cities  (7:10)\u003cbr\u003e8. Morning Poem  (1:17)\u003cbr\u003e9. Part Three - Air Force: Ballad of Hurry-Up  (6:44)\u003cbr\u003e10. Night Music: Ballad of the Bombardier  (4:53)\u003cbr\u003e11. Recitative: Chorus of the Rendezvous  (2:08)\u003cbr\u003e12. The Open Sky (Finale)  (7:14)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCharles Holland\u003c\/b\u003e, tenor\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWalter Scheff\u003c\/b\u003e, baritone\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMarc Blitzstein\u003c\/b\u003e, The Monitor (narrator)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003e13. \u003cb\u003eGILLIS \u003c\/b\u003eMotor Perpetuo  (4:42)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 18px;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eRAVEL  \u003c\/b\u003ePiano Concerto in G major\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e14. 1st mvt. - Allegramente  (7:32)\u003cbr\u003e15. 2nd mvt. - Adagio assai  (9:01)\u003cbr\u003e16. 3rd mvt. - Presto  (3:38)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLeonard Bernstein\u003c\/b\u003e   piano\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNBC Symphony Orchestra \u0026amp; Chorus    \u003cbr\u003eLeonard Bernstein, \u003c\/b\u003econductor\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eXR remastering by Andrew Rose\u003cbr\u003eCover artwork based on a photograph of Leonard Bernstein\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBlitzstein Airborne Symphony\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBroadcast of 27 May, 1946\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGillis Motor Perpetuo\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRavel Piano Concerto\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBroadcast of 2 June, 1946\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTotal duration:  74:20\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fCover Art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcover_art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/thumbs\/PASC526.jpg578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers\/PASC526.pdf578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fSleevenotes578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f\u003cp\u003e\n\n\n2018 marks the centenary of the birth of Leonard Bernstein, who remains\nwell known as both a conductor and a composer. Some famous conductors\ncomposed a little (Furtwängler or Walter for example) but their works\nare rarely performed. Some prolific composers had glittering conducting\ncareers (Mahler and Richard Strauss spring to mind) but were not well\nserved by recordings. Bernstein made a large number of commercial\nrecordings, preserving his legacy as a conductor, and his most popular\nworks such as \u003cem\u003eWest Side Story\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eCandide\u003c\/em\u003e continue to\nbe regularly performed.\n\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nBernstein was one of the most influential American musicians of the\ntwentieth century. He had a long association with the New York\nPhilharmonic, including a spell as musical director in the 1960s, making\nhis conducting debut as a last minute replacement for Bruno Walter in 1943.\nThroughout his conducting career, and perhaps because he himself was a\ncomposer, Bernstein programmed a large amount of contemporary American\nmusic. It is entirely appropriate, therefore, that this release includes\ntwo such pieces, followed by a third showcasing Bernstein as performer.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nMarc Blitzstein wrote much of his \u003cem\u003eAirborne Symphony\u003c\/em\u003e while on\nactive service in London during World War II. This largely choral work\ncharts the history of human flight, and was closely associated with\nBernstein from the beginning. Much of the original score was lost when\nBlitzstein returned to the USA after the war and it was Bernstein who\npersuaded the young composer to write it out again. Bernstein premièred the\nwork with the New York City Symphony on 1 April 1946, broadcast on the\nlocal WNYC station. These forces would record the symphony commercially\nlater the same year, but before doing so Bernstein conducted it with the\nNBC Symphony Orchestra.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nThe work is in three movements. The first movement contains a brief history\nof flight, the second explores the impact of German air power during WWII,\nand the third depicts the Allied Air Force as ultimately triumphant. While\nobviously a product of its times, and reflecting its composer’s personal\nexperiences, the work is actually not that jingoistic. The terrible\ndestructiveness of airpower is not something to used lightly, Blitzstein\nwarns, but only in the most severe times.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nDon Gillis is perhaps best known as the producer of the NBC symphony\nbroadcasts between 1944 and 1954, but he was also a prolific composer. His\nbest known, and most often performed work, is the unusually titled \u003cem\u003eSymphony No 5½\u003c\/em\u003e but several of his other compositions were\nperformed by the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony and the NBC\nSymphony during the 1940s and 50s. ‘\u003cem\u003eMotor Perpetuo\u003c\/em\u003e’ was based on a\npopular tune ‘\u003cem\u003eIn my merry Oldsmobile\u003c\/em\u003e’ written by Gus Edwards in\n1905. It is a tribute to America’s love affair with the automobile,\nsomething that has not changed in the seventy years since it was written.\nThis broadcast with the NBC Symphony is the single known performance of\nthis short work, and there is some slight confusion over the title.\nMortimer Frank’s book on the NBC Symphony lists the title as ‘ \u003cem\u003eMoto Perpetuo\u003c\/em\u003e’ or perpetual motion, but the original manuscript\ncopy, in the library of the University of North Texas, confirms that the\nactual title is the more amusing ‘\u003cem\u003eMotor Perpetuo\u003c\/em\u003e’.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\nRavel’s \u003cem\u003ePiano Concerto in G\u003c\/em\u003e, although by a French composer, should\nperhaps be considered as an American work. Written between 1929 and 1931\nfollowing Ravel’s visit to the United States, it is clearly influenced by\nthe contemporary American music he heard (most obviously Gershwin), but\nalso by jazz. Bernstein plays the piano as well as leading the orchestra,\nat the time a relatively unusual thing for a conductor to do. Bernstein\nrecorded the work several times during his career, the first of which would\nbe just a few weeks after this live broadcast but with the Philharmonia\nOrchestra in London.\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab4_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f","brand":"Pristine Classical","offers":[{"title":"Ambient Stereo 24-bit FLAC","offer_id":54932331102547,"sku":"zfd1789302333409","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Ambient Stereo 16-bit FLAC","offer_id":54932331135315,"sku":"cea1789302333410","price":9.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"320kbps Ambient Stereo MP3","offer_id":54932331168083,"sku":"zqn1789302333411","price":6.89,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1068\/1833\/9155\/files\/bernstein-in-the-1940s-volume-1-blitzstein-gillis-ravel-1946---pasc526_1.jpg?v=1789302340","url":"https:\/\/vendnora.com\/products\/bernstein-in-the-1940s-volume-1-blitzstein-gillis-ravel-1946-pasc526","provider":"luckagni","version":"1.0","type":"link"}