Young People's Concerts

Young People´s Concerts Season 6

Episode 03 – Young Performers No.4

Leonard Bernstein introduces three young pianists: Joan Weiner (14), Claudia Hoca (12), and Pamela Paul (13), each performing a movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A Major. These movements are conducted by Yuri Krasnopolsky, Zoltan Rozsnyai, and Serge Fournier, respectively. The program concludes with 16-year-old André Watts playing Liszt’s Piano Concerto in E-flat Major, with Bernstein conducting.

Originally aired on CBS Television Network, January 15, 1963

Young People´s Concerts Season 5

Episode 04 – Young Performers No.3

Leonard Bernstein introduces Seiji Ozawa, who conducts the overture to Mozart's 'The Marriage of Figaro.' The program also features Maurice Peress and John Canarina conducting pieces with Gary Karr on double bass. Bernstein then discusses and conducts 'The Carnival of the Animals' by Camille Saint-Saëns, with guest soloists Ruth and Naomi Segal (piano duo), Tony Cirone (xylophone), David Hopper (glockenspiel), Paula Robison (flute), and Paul Green (clarinet).

Originally aired on CBS Television Network, April 14, 1962

Young People´s Concerts Season 5

Episode 03 – Happy Birthday Igor Stravinsky

Bernstein provides an overview of Stravinsky's musical career, highlighting the evolution of his style and directional shifts. The entire piece of 'Petrouchka' is performed, with each scene thoroughly analyzed.

Originally aired on CBS Television Network, March 26, 1962

Young People´s Concerts Season 4

Episode 04 – Folk Music in the Concert Hall

Leonard Bernstein explores the impact of folk music on orchestral compositions, conducting excerpts from works by Mozart, Chavez, and Ives, as well as "Songs of the Auvergne" performed by Marni Nixon.

Originally aired on CBS Television Network, April 9, 1961

Young People´s Concerts Season 4

Episode 03 – Young Performers No.2

In the annual Young People's Concert hosted by Leonard Bernstein, the spotlight shines on young performers. The lineup features cellist Lynn Harrell and conductor Elyakum Shapira showcasing music by Dvořák, pianist Jung Ja Kim and conductor Russell Stanger presenting pieces by Chopin, soprano Veronica Tyler and conductor Gregory Millar performing two arias by Puccini and Menotti, and Bernstein himself conducting with Henry Chapin narrating "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" by Britten.

Originally aired on CBS Television Network, March 19, 1961

Young People´s Concerts Season 4

Episode 02 – Aaron Copland Birthday Party

To commemorate Aaron Copland's 60th birthday, Bernstein explores his musical legacy and leads the Philharmonic in renditions of several iconic pieces. These include "An Outdoor Overture," the "Dogmatic" movement from "Statements," selections from the film "Our Town," "Hoe-Down" from "Rodeo," and stirring performances by baritone William Warfield, who sings "The Boatman's Dance" and "I Bought Me a Cat." To cap off the celebration, Aaron Copland himself conducts "El Salón México."

Originally aired on CBS Television Network, February 12, 1961

Young People´s Concerts Season 3

Episode 04 – The Second Hurricane

Students from the New York City High School of Music and Art perform Aaron Copland's opera The Second Hurricane. Leonard Bernstein conducts and provides narration for the opera, which concerns the fictional plight of students who became stranded during a relief mission to the site of a natural disaster. Notably, this specific episode had been lost at one time but was recently discovered, thus completing the archive

Originally aired on CBS Television Network, April 24, 1960

Young People´s Concerts Season 2

Episode 1 – Who is Gustav Mahler?

To mark Mahler's centennial, Leonard Bernstein leads excerpts from Gustav Mahler’s Fourth Symphony while delving into the concept of the 'double man' within him. The orchestra is joined by soprano Reri Grist for a rendition of the final movement of the Fourth Symphony, with William Lewis performing 'Youth' and Helen Raab singing selections from 'The Farewell,' both sourced from Mahler's 'The Song of the Earth' ('Das Lied von der Erde')

Originally aired on CBS Television Network, February 7, 1960

Leonard Bernstein explores the evolution of the "concerto form" from the era of Bach to the compositions of Bartok. Bernstein proceeds to illustrate this progression by conducting excerpts from early concertos, including Bach's Fifth Brandenburg Concerto and Vivaldi's Concerto in C Major. Moving into the classical period, he presents Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante, followed by the finale of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. Concluding his discussion, Bernstein conducts excerpts from the fourth and fifth movements of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra.

Young People's Concerts Season 2

Episode 3 - Humor in Music

Using excerpts from the likes of Shostakovich, Mahler, Prokofiev, Haydn and others, Leonard Bernstein demonstrates how classical music can be more than a "serious" composition but can take an unexpected humorous turn.

Originally aired on CBS Television Network, February 28, 1959.