Leonard Bernstein’s Young people’s concerts aired on TV in the United States between 1958 and 1972. They were an almost perfect project of musical dissemination. On the strength of his talent as a showman, Bernstein with the New York Philharmonic launched into lessons on often complex topics (some titles: what does music mean? What is sonata form? Musical atoms: a study of intervals) in front of an audience of young people magnetized by the spectacle. The concerts were full of examples, performed by the orchestra or by Bernstein himself on the piano: some were from the classical repertoire, others not.
My favorite concert is What is a modality?, from 1966, clear and very useful. The maestro points out that here we are not only talking about Bach or Stravinsky, but also about young pop music authors, always in search of original sounds. That’s how, after making us feel Holidays by Debussy, for the Doric way brings out a piece of #canzonedelgiorno, a hit by the Association a few months earlier. The mixed way is also very beautiful, with “a really terrific, barbaric song” by Kinks.
Here is the video of the concert: everyone at Lenny’s school!
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