Classical Television

Leonard Bernstein and the Young People’s Concerts

In addition to being one of the most important conductors of the 20th century, Leonard Bernstein was a charismatic individual who cared deeply about telling the story of music in general and classical music in particular.

Leonard_Bernstein_1971
Leonard Bernstein

Perhaps his highest profile undertaking was a long series of television programs aimed at kids. The series, according to Wikipedia, was long standing before Bernstein’s involvement and continued after he left. The concerts trace their roots all the way back to 1895 and still exist in various forms. There also is a parallel series aimed at very young children.

Bernstein, of course, is by far the person most closely associated with the Young People’s Concerts series. That’s largely because he did such a great job. The close association also was because he arrived when television blossomed. Indeed, Wikipedia says that his first performance as musical director of the Philharmonic, in January, 1958, was one of these programs. It also was the first to be televised.

Wikipedia suggests that the programs were CBS’s response to FCC Chairman Newton Minow’s assessment that children’s television was “a vast wasteland.” (A funny side note is that the CBS trolled Minow by naming the boat in “Gilligan’s Island” the S.S. Minow.)

The video above, “What is a Melody?,” aired on December 21, 1962. What stands out is how well Bernstein communicates. It’s  noteworthy that he doesn’t pander to the children. Indeed, he could have been addressing an adult audience.

It certainly was a different age. Would kids today pay attention for the entire presentation? Perhaps not. It’s also fair to ask how many kids in that audience were bored and only sat quietly because that was the expectation. Which is better — catering to kids or forcing them to sit quietly until the grownup on stage is done — is not an easy question to answer.

The 53 episodes hosted by Bernstein, which were released in the 2000s on DVD, ran from early 1958 to the spring of 1972. It is interesting that the program above, which was the 21st, was not offered earlier in the series. After all, defining and classifying melodies seems like a building block that would fit with the first five episodes, which discussed music, American music, orchestration, symphonic music and classical music.

The Daily Music Break has posted previously on Bernstein and he appears in clips embedded in posts about various composers. The video above starts with an interesting 1960s view of what now is named David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, one of the crown jewels of New York City.

Our New Things: Links to Music Sites and Info on Analog Tech and Vinyl

TDMB has focused on music and musicians. We will continue to do that, of course. We're also expanding our coverage to include vinyl and analog equipment.

More specifically, we'll look at this huge and interesting world from the perspective of music lovers who want a better experience, not committed non-audiophiles.

Check out is some of what we've written so far:

-- Assessing the Value of Vinyl Records: An Overview

-- 7 Quick Tips on Optimizing Your Turntable Cartridge

-- Why Vinyl Records Continue to Thrive

-- Finding the Best Amplifier

-- Finding the Best Phono Preamp

-- What Speakers Do I Need for My Turntable?

Check out more articles on analog equipment and vinyl.

The site also is home to The Internet Music Mapping Project, an effort to list and describe as many music-related sites as possible.

Our Music

--A Tribe Called Quest to The Dick Hyman Trio (In other words, A to H)

--Indigo Girls to Queen Ida (I to Q)

--Radiohead to ZZ Top (R to Z)

Reading Music

The stories of the great bands and musicians are fascinating. Musicians as a group are brilliant, but often troubled. The combination of creativity and drama makes for great reading.

Here are some books to check out.

Duke Ellington brought class, sophistication and style to jazz which, until that point, was proudly unpolished and raucous. His story is profound. The author, Terry Teachout, also wrote "Pops," the acclaimed bio of Louis Armstrong. Click here or on the image.

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What else is there to say? Here is the story behind every song written by The Beatles. Click here or on the image.

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The Grateful Dead don't get enough credit for the profound nature of its lyrics. Many of the band's songs are driven by a deep and literate Americana ("I'm Uncle Sam/That's who I am/Been hidin' out/In a rock and roll band" and "Majordomo Billy Bojangles/Sit down and have a drink with me/What's this about Alabama/Keeps comin' back to me?").

David Dodd's exhaustive study tells the story, song by song. Click here or on the image.

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