Bernstein in London
- Program
- Bernstein in London
- Producing Organization
- WNET (Television station : New York, N.Y.)
- Richard Price Television Associates
- Contributing Organization
- Thirteen WNET (New York, New York)
- Library of Congress (Washington, District of Columbia)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/75-06sxktdj
- NOLA Code
- BERL
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- Description
- Program Description
- Leonard Bernstein conducts the Vienna Philharmonic and solos in the Ravel Concerto for Piano and Orchestra during this special concert tape before a capacity audience at London's 7,000-seat Royal Albert Hall. The concert, a benefit performance for the United World Colleges Fund given in March 1971, was attended by the Queen Mother and by Prime Minister Edward Heath, who are seen on camera. It was what one critic termed "a musical occasion extraordinary." The program consists of Haydn's 102nd Symphony, Schumann's Fourth Symphony, and the Ravel piece, for which Bernstein abandoned the podium to fill the virtuoso role at the keyboard, conducting as well from his seat at the piano. It was the concerto "that showed the man's flair at its most daring," said London critic Edward Greenfield about Bernstein, "The rhythms were so free, the expressive' so molto,' that any baton waving conductor would have jibbed at securing discipline. But the Vienna Philharmonic plainly adored the challenge of not being conducted." Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic have performed together many previous times in Europe, but this was their first joint appearances in England. Several critics praised the match-up in ecstatic terms. "Was there ever an orchestra that so consistently caressed the listener's ear? Is there another conductor today with musical caressing powers to match Leonard Bernstein?" asked Greenfield rhetorically. Gillian Widdicombe in the London Time said Bernstein proved "he is the only symphonic conductor who can do both roles (conductor and soloist) at once with success." Of the orchestra, he said its "splendors were most clearly revealed in the Haydn symphony that began the concert with its slow movement scored in a dozen string colors that Haydn may have imagined but never would have heard - not in Esterhazy, Paris or London." The American telecast of this concert includes a special segment filmed in New York in which composers Aaron Copland and Virgil Thomson, and John Corigliano, former concert master of the New York Philharmonic, discuss Bernstein's career and their personal associations with him. The discussion is hosted by Robert Sherman, who is the regular host of WNET's "Vibrations." It runs about 18 minutes. Among the group's recollections is the auspicious debut which Bernstein made with the New York Philharmonic, on a night when the great Bruno Walter was supposed to conduct but was taken ill. Bernstein, who had just joined the orchestra as an assistant conductor, stepped forward to lead the orchestra that evening. After the program, Corigliano said, "the audience just stood up and gave him a standing ovation." Then Thomson added, "And a week later there were 300 little girl bobbysoxers outside the stage door screaming "Oh, Lennie!'" "Bernstein in London" is a production of the national programming division of WNET/13, in association with Richard Price Television Associates. Discussion segment was produced by Mary Feldbauer. WNET executive producer for cultural affairs: Curtis W. Davis. This program runs approximately an hour. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Broadcast Date
- 1972-05-15
- Asset type
- Episode
- Genres
- Talk Show
- Performance
- Topics
- Music
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Credits
-
-
Executive Producer:
Davis, Curtis W., 1928-1986
Guest: Corigliano, John
Guest: Copland, Aaron
Guest: Thomson, Virgil
Host: Sherman, Robert
Performer: Bernstein, Leonard
Producer: Feldbauer, Mary
Producing Organization: WNET (Television station : New York, N.Y.)
Producing Organization: Richard Price Television Associates
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
Thirteen - New York Public Media (WNET)
Identifier: wnet_aacip_1791 (WNET Archive)
Format: 2 inch videotape: Quad
Duration: 00:57:42?
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2132851-1 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 2 inch videotape: Quad
Generation: Master
Color: Color
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2132851-2 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 1 inch videotape: SMPTE Type C
Generation: Master
Color: Color
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2132851-3 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: U-matic
Generation: Copy: Access
Color: Color
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2132851-4 (MAVIS Item ID)
Generation: Master
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2132851-5 (MAVIS Item ID)
Generation: Copy: Access
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2132851-6 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 2 inch videotape
Generation: Master
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- Citations
- Chicago: “Bernstein in London,” 1972-05-15, Thirteen WNET, Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed June 7, 2026, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-75-06sxktdj.
- MLA: “Bernstein in London.” 1972-05-15. Thirteen WNET, Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. June 7, 2026. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-75-06sxktdj>.
- APA: Bernstein in London. Boston, MA: Thirteen WNET, Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-75-06sxktdj