Bernstein – Overtures To Candide

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Every summer, the Cultural District in Pittsburgh, PA fills with music and art lovers similar for The Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival. This festival brings in thousands of artists and visitors supplying free admittance to most events like concerts, art showings and events for the entire family. The reasonable is disseminate out over Point State Park and Hertz Gateway Center and the whole city comes to join in the festivities.

The Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival is ten days of music, arts and events celebrating Pittsburgh’s deep cultural roots. Deep in the city along the Ohio River, local businesses will be preparing to host visitors and venders alike. Downtown Pittsburgh has more to offer than just a festival, the cultural district sits right in the heart of the city with restaurants, hotels and museums that are rich in Pittsburgh’s history. The festival trails along Point State Park, a big area within the city, walking distance to everything downtown.

On the south side of the park there is a long stretch of local and national artists with their work on display. Artists may buy a booth and trade their works but the quality of the art has to be high. Before an artisan may register for a booth, it is judged to be sure it’s of the most eminent quality, and then they are invited to participate.

There has also been an stimulating addition to the festival, lately the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra rejoined the festival after a lengthy time of not participating. The Orchestra last preformed at the Festival in 1977 and was one of the main musical attractions since it joined in 1965. After being absent for more than 30 years, Dollar Bank and Peoples Natural Gas have returned them to the show for a special, free to the public concert in Point State Park.

The concert is being sponsored in percentage by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra musicians. The company made the decision to share in the fees related with bringing them back to the festival because they felt it was an essential part of the musical and cultural line-up. They are excessively affected emotionally to return to a culturally rich event where all music and arts venues are celebrated.

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Music Director Manfred Honeck is the conductor of the concert which will open with Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to Candide and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, followed by works by Johann Strauss Jr., Hummel, Khachaturian, Shostakovich and Dvorak. The concert will conclude with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. The featured soloist will be Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s primary trumpeter George Vosburgh. This gifted group is world famous and very seldom does a performance of this caliber come at such a low cost to the public.


This release comes from Sony’s tremendous backlog of famous recordings of Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. In fact, these works trace the evolution of the New York Philharmonic into a world-class orchestra in the late 1950s underneath Bernstein’s hand. At this remove in time, we may closely listen New York in these works. Bernstein deftly captures the shimmering glamour of his music, in particular in Overture to Candide and the astonishing Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. If you don’t own this music–and these performances–you should. –Paul Cook

Fancy Free provided Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden, and Adolf Green with the inspiration for the his hit musical On the Town. The ballet describes the adventures of three sailors on 24-hour shore leave in New York City, and does so with music specifically jazzy and frequent in style. Coupled with the marvelous dance music from West Side Story and the suite from Bernstein’s only film score, On the Waterfront, this disc must quickly become the cornerstone of any Bernstein collection. One of the troubles Bernstein’s music has faced both on disc and in public performance arises from the simple fact that no one played it better than he did. As you may listen for yourself, he’s a tough, but perchance not wholly impossible, act to follow. –David Hurwitz

Bernstein Overtures To Candide 2

Bernstein Overtures To Candide 2 Pic

Bernstein Overtures To Candide 2

Bernstein Overtures To Candide 2 Photo

Bernstein Overtures To Candide 2

Bernstein Overtures To Candide 2 Picture

Bernstein Overtures To Candide 2

Bernstein Overtures To Candide 2 Pic

Bernstein Overtures To Candide 2

Bernstein Overtures To Candide 2 Picture

Bernstein Overtures To Candide 2

Bernstein Overtures To Candide 2 Photo


Most helpful customer reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful.
5The definitive version
By Jonathan Blumhofer
My initial encounter with the Candide overture was a result of my blundering into a recording of it on the radio one day. The performance turned out to be this one (the first of Bernstein’s two readings of it), and having heard several other attempts at it since, I’ve always found this early ’60s version to be the definitive edition. It’s breathtakingly quick and the NYPO plays it with such panache and joie de vivre that every other recording (including LB’s 1989 run-through with the London Symphony) comes off sounding stale and flat. This disc also contains Bernstein’s only recording of the Symphonic Dances from WSS, and here, too, I feel that I have found my definitive reading. The “Mambo” is frenetic, the percusion riffs at the climax of “Cool” are phenomenal, and the last “I have a love…” movement is gorgeous. The score to “On the Waterfront” was nominated for an Academy Award, but lost; this music is still wonderful and very worthy to hear. “Fancy Free” was written by a 25-year old LB in 1944 and is the piece which established him as a composer. From the first four quick rim-shots to the final chords, it’s the most endearing, energetic picture of on the go, wartime NY you can imagine. Once again it’s the definitive recording: nobody has proven that they can top Lenny and the Philharmonic yet.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
5An amazing Bernstein snapshot
By Bruce Hodges
If I had to choose five recordings to represent Leonard Bernstein at his absolute best, this would be one of them. Made in the mid-1960′s, these recordings have been reissued a number of times, but never sounding as natural as they do here. They show off some of Bernstein’s best work as a composer, as well as his inimitable conducting talent and legendary rapport with the New York Philharmonic during that time.

The disc opens with the rollicking overture to “Candide” – totally infectious – and although some other versions (including Bernstein’s later one for Deutsche Grammophon) may be its equal, I can think of none that surpass this one in sheer excitement and precision. Ditto for the sizzling suite from “West Side Story,” which will probably remain definitive for many years.

The sweeping music from the film “On the Waterfront” is stirringly conducted, and the addition of the sparkling ballet “Fancy Free” makes this disc a serious contender for many “Desert Island” lists. As for the recording itself, the 1960′s sound is excellent and quite listenable. Obviously great care has been taken to preserve the original source material after all these years.

If you want to experience the Bernstein legend, this is probably an essential recording.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
5Wonderful Music!
By Noah Lambert
This CD contains some of the most wonderful music ever written. I love Fancy Free and Candide, and the recordings here are just as they should be, lots of “punch”!

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