I have long been a
staunch admirer of Bernstein the conductor,
although some of his readings may have
been open to controversy. His commitment
and dedication, however, are never in
doubt. I am less sure about his achievement
as a composer, although – again – his
sincerity and honesty are never in doubt
either. He was generally rather uncritical
about his works and they often suffer
from a regrettable eclecticism. But,
and this is a big BUT, his music could
be as fine as anything else composed
during the 20th century,
provided he was ready to exert some
self-criticism. So, various of his concert
works, such as the Jeremiah Symphony
and the Serenade for Violin, Strings
and Percussion, are unquestionable
masterpieces of real substance. In these
works he succeeded in getting rid of
his tendency to indulge in whatever
was at hand. Although in a different
league, West Side Story
is another such successful, stylistically
coherent piece of music. His Symphony
No.1 "Jeremiah" is,
without doubt, the finest of his three
symphonies; and the most powerfully
moving. It is an utterly serious, deeply-felt
work that compares favourably with some
other noteworthy America symphonies
such as Harris’s and Schuman’s Third
Symphonies. It is – I firmly believe
– vastly superior to Copland’s popular
Third Symphony and gives a good idea
of what Bernstein’s compositional achievement
might have been.
The Concerto
for orchestra "Jubilee Games"
had a rather chequered genesis. The
final version was assembled from several
works written between 1986 and 1989.
Jubilee Games, a two-movement
piece, was composed to celebrate the
fiftieth anniversary of the Israel Philharmonic.
Opening Prayer was written for
the gala reopening of Carnegie Hall
(it was later renamed Benediction
and became the last movement of the
Concerto for Orchestra),
whereas the second movement Mixed
Doubles started its life as Variations
on an Octatonic Scale for recorder
and cello written as a Christmas present
for a friend and later re-worked and
expanded. With this background it is
hardly surprising that the Concerto
for Orchestra should ultimately
be a rather mixed affair, though with
many fine things. The resulting whole
is however no more than the sum of its
parts. The first movement Free-Style
Events may be the only Bernstein
piece of music using aleatoric techniques.
It must be fun to play, but does not
entirely convince. Mixed Doubles
(theme, seven variations and coda) is
a cleverly and expertly wrought set
of variations (often for two different
instruments with accompaniment), and
– on the whole – the most satisfying
part of the whole work. Diaspora
Dances is a brilliant Scherzo in
Bernstein’s extrovert and jazzy vein.
The final movement ends with a brief
blessing from the baritone. Though moving
and effective it does not make for an
entirely convincing conclusion.
I found Judd’s readings
excellent, although he has to face the
composer’s competition. Bernstein made
three recordings of Jeremiah of
which that with the New York Philharmonic
and Jennie Tourel is – I believe – his
strongest. Judd conducts a very fine
reading of Jeremiah, and
an equally fine one of the Concerto
for Orchestra. These have me
eagerly waiting what I hope will be
a forthcoming recording of Symphony
No.3 "Kaddish".
Hubert Culot
see also review
by Peter Wells
Helen Medlyn (mezzo-soprano)a;
Nathan Gunn (baritone)b