One of the most powerful finales of all the symphonies. My little son loves this, and I love this after all my years of music studies. Who could not love this one??? So simple and so deep at the same time!
Some comments that it is too fast, I guess they mean the beginning. I actually felt that the tempo is perfect to create the tension and excitement needed to provide sharp contrasts with the later parts. I enjoyed looking at his facial expressions and the movements. That much sweat is from his boiling blood and out pouring emotion, not from the exercise! This is such a passionate performance. Fantastic!
I heard this one last wednesday. It's one of my favourite pieces of Sibelius and actually one of my favourite symphonic finales generally! My 5 years kid loves this one also. I can't wat to go to concert to hear this with him one day.
Opening was swift right enough but whole tempo slow as the movement progressed. The wonderful conclusion was faithful. It's as if Sibelius did not want this symphony to end. I just love it.
For those who say Bernstein is too fast pay attention to his deliberate oscillation of tempo. It is majestic.... The allegro molto is such. A tempest interluded with the calm.
I have listened to this magnificent symphony so many times... conducted by many great conductors and performed by amazing orchestras... and this rendition, despite its tempo is absolutely fantastic in my humble opinion. This symphony is so hardwired into my brain, that it (my brain) just adjusts... and given I've a rather large smile on my face, I can't fault this in any way. Lol. Music speaks to the listener, and that's all that matters.
Many comments saying it is too fast....actually at the beginning yes but he later slows down right when needed and allows the music to open. I thing the challenge I this movement is to create tensions and dynamics and at the same time let the music breathe when it needs to.....Bernstein I believe achieves both. Berglund also amazing with his dynamics and but not as emotional. Salonen also great and with a slower tempo let's place for the misterioso of then piece to show. Sibelius is amazing really.....to have all this music flowing in your head must be incredible. I read somewhere that sibelius music is born from the darkest and moves towards the light. I see his music also like this. I love his music!
Magnificent!.......Musicians and composers with such passion, integrity and compassion are simply not created in the dark age in which we now live.......................
Ive always admired the flamboyancy of Bernstein us older musicians were brought up on this style of conductor.They had that sense of the dramatic that seemed to make you play that little bit above your capabilites.Thank you for the upload Allan.
You should! My favorite Sibelius symphonies are 4, 5 and 7.....then 2, 3, 6.....then 1......but I love them all! Top 3 composer for me, carved in stone and marble forever.
My God, that was just magnificent. Magnificent. The look on Lenny's face when the swan theme enters for the first time at 1:08 -- pure unadulterated joy.
cufflink44 my favourite bit, makes me choke up every time seeing the total joy on his face, feel like we share the moment albeit over space and time... Magnificent indeed.
One of the greatest endings in Western music history! He did it in an unusually quick tempo which is rare but probably is preferred by some. It all depends on one's personal taste.
Barry Tuckwell is the First Horn player (second from the right at 0:41). It looks like there is an assistant 1st & an assistant 3rd Horn player. The scoring is for four Horns.
Back then conductors at this level actually conducted on the beat. They weren't half a second ahead of it as seems to be, for some unfathomable reason, the norm nowadays...
Excellent. However, these are my Sibelius' Fifths in order - Finnish/Erik Tuxen - Finnish/Paavo Berglund - Karajan/Berlin - Maazel/Vienna - This is my Fifth Fifth
Yes indeed . I have played the timpani part and the composer indicates on my timpani part 2 distinct grace note strokes.It is the the timpanist s peragative as how much to space the grace notes.It is more dramatic when the grace notes are well spaced.
@@Opoczynski Well observed. There is a video of him conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra on TH-cam in which the timpanist plays the ending 2 grace notes with a distinct Separation that is most effective!!!
tetrisclock In my opinion, yes, overall he achieved more consistent success over a larger repertoire than Karajan did. I also think Bernstein was more often attentive to the needs and demands of the music itself than Karajan was, who by the middle of his career had developed an idiosyncratic and, far too often, uncompromising sound that was heard nowhere else. Sometimes this worked and sometimes it didn't. Karajan was a great conductor, don't get me wrong. I cherish many of his recordings. When I began collecting classical music as a kid, a lot of it was Karajan, and I don't mean to take away from his successes. I just don't think he was as consistently fine a conductor as Bernstein was. And in the area where Karajan devoted so much attention-German symphonic music-I again think Bernstein is more consistent and exciting and interesting. Of course, it's only an opinion. I guess I just think Karajan is overrated.
Joseph Charles That's quite a statement to make - not for being particularly extreme or outlandish but merely because it's not something I've often heard. Karajan has a pretty major following; often I'll see TH-cam uploads where he is the only person credited. Take Sibelius' 5th symphony for instance. I'm listening to an upload currently in which the uploader did not even bother to cite the name of the orchestra. In short, there are some people - maybe even more than I think - who, when suggesting that Karajan falls short of any other conductor on any piece of music, react as though you have committed an act of musical heresy. As for Bernstein, the main criticism I hear of him is that his preferred tempos are too slow. Perhaps this is just the TH-cam comments section talking, but I've heard people go as far as to be angry at him for taking pieces too slowly, accusing him of disrespecting the composers. I don't wish to assert such things; it just takes me by surprise when people have such a harsh reaction; frankly such comments baffle me.
tetrisclock In some of his late recordings and performances, I think Bernstein could be too slow (his second, late Brahms cycle, with the Vienna Philharmonic, is almost impossible for me to endure now). I'm sympathetic to that complaint if it's not made dogmatically. Some of the menuettos in his Haydn recordings are slowish to slow but then I think he makes up for that in every other aspect of Haydn's ingenious music. As for Karajan's fans, well, first let me say I AM a fan of Karajan, but I don't think he's the alpha and omega of classical music recordings that some people seem to make of him. But thank you for your comments about this. I find my online experience is pretty much the same as what you describe.
tetrisclock And let me add that it is always heartening to talk to intelligent, articulate people! On TH-cam you just never know if you are going to step into some despairing trench war between fandoms. :-)
In response to several comments: Bernstein has often been detested for bizarre tempi, for example his Tchaikowsky Pathetique with the NY Phil in which the final movement runs to 17 minutes while more traditional interps come in between 10 & 12. As for Sibelius's enigmatic conclusion of his Fifth: I've always heard it as a man who didn't want conclude his composition, who was either unwilling to end or OR afraid to end it. Nonsense, probably, but there it is.
Brilliant performance. And that conclusion is one of the most enigmatic endings in all of music. I still don't get it. Or how you make it "work". But while it is strange, I suppose there is no other way to end this work, either.
How do you bring to a close a symphony that is geared to end with a triumphant climax? An interesting comparison would be with Shostakovich’s Fifth. We have come to understand that his Finale was a "half-hearted" triumph, or even, triumphs to the extent that it refuses to do so on command, in spite of its climax as it were. And how does it end? With an almost bombastic overpowering of force upon force and with timpani hammering upon the key aspired to and conquered. (The Bernstein rendering of it is on TH-cam.) We did get it, as it were - and got it, if and only if, refusing to "get it"... But not so with Sibelius: there is no "false" triumph, there is real triumph, of the synthesis of the Thor hammer swaying with the flowing Swan theme, in a "communion with eternal nature". The key does not need to be hammered upon, but a few hammer strokes will suffice, off-beat on the dominant until we believe it is on-beat and then the return to the key and to the beat sounds as (false) off-beat to the (false) on-beat we by then got used to. One exceedingly masterful way of ending the "hammering on the key" one finds so often, and often unsatisfactorily, in romantic symphonies. Shostakovich solves it by insisting on its "falseness" under its sounding right, Sibelius by turning it into a conceptual shorthand for what those endings are meant to be, and by doing so he actually even improves upon the grandiose harmonic progression that preceded. Now, the odd thing with Bernstein’s rendering of it is that, probably because his is a highly romantic, narrative rendering of the entire Finale, he removes this conceptual flavour and keep the last strokes in a romantic colouring, slowing down the tempo. That is why, in spite of Bernstein’s heart-felt confession, I prefer the icier, steelier version of von Karajan (with the Philharmonia orchestra, from 1960, also on TH-cam), where the last chords are exactly on tempo and release the intellectual energy of the pent-up return to the key dramatically, classically. No more emotional warmth, but spiritual clarity.
It already says so in the information provided under the video! It was the London Symphony Orchestra in the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, a short train ride from London.
Perfectly judged tempo. there needs to be a difference between taking off and flying and Lenny is magnificent. My only quibble (which surprises me) is the final notes could have had longer pauses.
I totally agree with you. He really got it right with the taking of, more fast paced, and later the flying at a slower tempo and letting the wings of the swans really open and flying up high. Also agree that the ending con ha longer strokes and a bit longer pauses. I also like Berglunds versions but I think Bernstein nailed it in this one.
@@karldelavigne8134 never heard any one call the ending silly- but youre actually right- This symphony needed more of the grandeur of the 2nd symphonies finale.
Yeah there is definitely some weird tempo stuff here. It's like LB starts it faster than he ends up wanting it. Much prefer his recording with the Vienna Phil from the 80s.
As with many top orchestras, the LPO had a policy of men only (apart from harpists) until far too late. The rule for LPO changed in 1963 - so I would have expected a few women in this concert. The Berlin Phil didn't admit women until 1982, and the Vienna Phil not until 1997!!
Was that a semi truck and trailer I saw driving through the rest between the first two isolated final chords? I do think the ending, after all the excitement, does get a big stretched out. Otherwise, what an exciting performance!
@@OuterGalaxyLounge I've lisened to them. I own them. Watched Lenny conduct a beautiful dress rehearsal once, and the next night saw him leaping about the podium as only Lenny seemd to like to do. Have often felt he got carreid away with showiness and lost the intention of a composer creating a work that was more Bernstein than that of the original composer. So, there it is, another lame comment from someone who didn't complete the doctorate in music he began. Which is to say, I think my opinion is an informed opinion. And don't tell me I'm being pretentious just bvecause I think sometimes Lenny was. Perhaps a listen to more of Lenny's performances would be a good idea.
@@hillcresthiker I have no problem with Sibelius's writing. I think Bernstein ges too grand with it. Sibelius was an excellent composer. I had to analyze some of his 2nd symhony for a course many years ago and was very impressed with his abilities.
Bernstein's only other recording of the Sibelius 5th was with the Vienna Philharmonic. Presumably you mean that, as he never made any recordings at all with the Scottish National Orchestra.
Some of the camera work - the extreme close-up of Bernstein's sweaty face especially - is vulgar. (Not his fault or his doing.) Whenever the director shoots a conductor so close we cannot see the actual conducting, we are in the realm of personality, not musicianship. The fellow who says he is "easily" the greatest 20th century conductor certainly does not know what he is talking about. There is no one who fits that category.
I'd like to think there was something wrong with the sound transmission, as Bernstein is probably my favorite conductor along with Karajan and Solti. But this above was Awful! ( And I probably have the biggest Sibelius collection of anyone in Fresno)
One of the most powerful finales of all the symphonies. My little son loves this, and I love this after all my years of music studies. Who could not love this one??? So simple and so deep at the same time!
Sibelius 5 is my favorite symphony and Bernstein my favorite conductor. Many thanks.
My grandpa is sitting on the 3rd desk on the first violins on the left 😮wow 1966
Dang, that's so cool! Has he ever talked about Bernstein?
Yes he has a bit its amazing 😊
Awesome! Way to go grandpa! 🤍👴
What an elemental piece and conductor and grandfather
This is the best ending of the 5th finale that exists. Special moment for Bernstein and the orchestra and I think he knows it.
What an great orchestra in those days but watching Bernstein`s every gesture is a music lesson in itself !
Some comments that it is too fast, I guess they mean the beginning. I actually felt that the tempo is perfect to create the tension and excitement needed to provide sharp contrasts with the later parts. I enjoyed looking at his facial expressions and the movements. That much sweat is from his boiling blood and out pouring emotion, not from the exercise! This is such a passionate performance. Fantastic!
Sibelius's tempo marking is "Allegro molto" which means "Very fast," so I think Bernstein didn't want it to drag!
I totally agree with you.
I heard this one last wednesday. It's one of my favourite pieces of Sibelius and actually one of my favourite symphonic finales generally! My 5 years kid loves this one also. I can't wat to go to concert to hear this with him one day.
I always love watching Bernstein conduct. It is as if the music is actually flowing through him.
Opening was swift right enough but whole tempo slow as the movement progressed. The wonderful conclusion was faithful. It's as if Sibelius did not want this symphony to end. I just love it.
For those who say Bernstein is too fast pay attention to his deliberate oscillation of tempo. It is majestic.... The allegro molto is such. A tempest interluded with the calm.
Just brilliant! Thanks for posting this wonderful performance with Bernstein! Swans opening their wings and flying away!
I have listened to this magnificent symphony so many times... conducted by many great conductors and performed by amazing orchestras... and this rendition, despite its tempo is absolutely fantastic in my humble opinion. This symphony is so hardwired into my brain, that it (my brain) just adjusts... and given I've a rather large smile on my face, I can't fault this in any way. Lol. Music speaks to the listener, and that's all that matters.
It fires up every one of your cells and you simply cannot escape! Simply magical!
Powerful and beautiful!
Many comments saying it is too fast....actually at the beginning yes but he later slows down right when needed and allows the music to open. I thing the challenge I this movement is to create tensions and dynamics and at the same time let the music breathe when it needs to.....Bernstein I believe achieves both. Berglund also amazing with his dynamics and but not as emotional. Salonen also great and with a slower tempo let's place for the misterioso of then piece to show. Sibelius is amazing really.....to have all this music flowing in your head must be incredible. I read somewhere that sibelius music is born from the darkest and moves towards the light. I see his music also like this. I love his music!
Goddamn those beautiful horns... My dad's favorite classical piece of all time, and I agree with him. Gorgeous.
Simply incredible. The atmosphere is so tangibly electric.
I was never quite sure about Bernstein before hearing this and now I am - totally breath-taking!
Wow. Bernstein at his best firebrand mode. Many thanks and deeply appreciated.
Nice to see a young Bernstein
Great,his enthusiasm while the conductings is mesmerizing
Magnificent!.......Musicians and composers with such passion, integrity and compassion are simply not created in the dark age in which we now live.......................
Really wonderful playing by the London Phil!!!!!!!!
It is the London Symphony Orchestra
Ive always admired the flamboyancy of Bernstein us older musicians were brought up on this style of conductor.They had that sense of the dramatic that seemed to make you play that little bit above your capabilites.Thank you for the upload Allan.
A truly great conductor is a master of rubato. The building and releasing of music tension is a great skill. Leonard Bernstein was a true master.
Allegro molto! Brilliant performance.
This is breathtaking. Why don't I listen to this symphony more often?
You should! My favorite Sibelius symphonies are 4, 5 and 7.....then 2, 3, 6.....then 1......but I love them all! Top 3 composer for me, carved in stone and marble forever.
Absolutely sensational performance!!
My God, that was just magnificent. Magnificent.
The look on Lenny's face when the swan theme enters for the first time at 1:08 -- pure unadulterated joy.
cufflink44 my favourite bit, makes me choke up every time seeing the total joy on his face, feel like we share the moment albeit over space and time... Magnificent indeed.
There's a missed note when it first enters. Is his initial face not at that?
@@msdawg2 What the heck are you saying?
One of the greatest endings in Western music history!
He did it in an unusually quick tempo which is rare but probably is preferred by some. It all depends on one's personal taste.
If you think it's too fast, listen to Colin Davis conducting it.
everbody says why he is sweatin bla bla . He is in zone right now and performing ! You see everything in his eyes. He feels every tone by heart
Yes, but he's also sweatin, bla bla. You try conducting that without sweatin.
The leader was the late, great, Mr. John Georgiadis. (RIP)
I wish I had been there.
Fantastic performance
i love it ❤
Welche Sammlung, welche Spannung. Großartig! Danke.
Barry Tuckwell is the First Horn player (second from the right at 0:41). It looks like there is an assistant 1st & an assistant 3rd Horn player. The scoring is for four Horns.
Don't you think -- all things considered -- that Bernstein took this a bit too fast?
wow - different than some of my favs but just incredible!
Back then conductors at this level actually conducted on the beat. They weren't half a second ahead of it as seems to be, for some unfathomable reason, the norm nowadays...
Fabulous
What a gem!
goosebumps ✨💕
Agree is very fast in parts.... but I love it.......
maravilloso
Excellent. However, these are my Sibelius' Fifths in order - Finnish/Erik Tuxen - Finnish/Paavo Berglund - Karajan/Berlin - Maazel/Vienna - This is my Fifth Fifth
My go to rendition. Masterful. So what if it starts quickly? Get over yourselves.
1:10 - LB in a state of pure musical happiness. So amazing.
On the last 2 dramatic chords ,he looks in the direction of the timpanist !!!!
One of the slower themes was adopted by first class for the second half of "beach baby"
Double timpani strokes in the final two chords?
that's how it's written.
Grace notes.
Yes indeed . I have played the timpani part and the composer indicates on my timpani part 2 distinct grace note strokes.It is the the timpanist s peragative as how much to space the grace notes.It is more dramatic when the grace notes are well spaced.
@@richardwilliams473 Exactly. Salonen has a keener sense of drama so he separates those strokes with longer pauses. What a difference!
@@Opoczynski Well observed. There is a video of him conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra on TH-cam in which the timpanist plays the ending 2 grace notes with a distinct Separation that is most effective!!!
That certainly is fast
Easily the greatest conductor of the 20th century, and just possibly the greatest conductor.
Better than von Karajan?
tetrisclock In my opinion, yes, overall he achieved more consistent success over a larger repertoire than Karajan did. I also think Bernstein was more often attentive to the needs and demands of the music itself than Karajan was, who by the middle of his career had developed an idiosyncratic and, far too often, uncompromising sound that was heard nowhere else. Sometimes this worked and sometimes it didn't. Karajan was a great conductor, don't get me wrong. I cherish many of his recordings. When I began collecting classical music as a kid, a lot of it was Karajan, and I don't mean to take away from his successes. I just don't think he was as consistently fine a conductor as Bernstein was. And in the area where Karajan devoted so much attention-German symphonic music-I again think Bernstein is more consistent and exciting and interesting. Of course, it's only an opinion. I guess I just think Karajan is overrated.
Joseph Charles That's quite a statement to make - not for being particularly extreme or outlandish but merely because it's not something I've often heard.
Karajan has a pretty major following; often I'll see TH-cam uploads where he is the only person credited. Take Sibelius' 5th symphony for instance. I'm listening to an upload currently in which the uploader did not even bother to cite the name of the orchestra. In short, there are some people - maybe even more than I think - who, when suggesting that Karajan falls short of any other conductor on any piece of music, react as though you have committed an act of musical heresy.
As for Bernstein, the main criticism I hear of him is that his preferred tempos are too slow. Perhaps this is just the TH-cam comments section talking, but I've heard people go as far as to be angry at him for taking pieces too slowly, accusing him of disrespecting the composers. I don't wish to assert such things; it just takes me by surprise when people have such a harsh reaction; frankly such comments baffle me.
tetrisclock In some of his late recordings and performances, I think Bernstein could be too slow (his second, late Brahms cycle, with the Vienna Philharmonic, is almost impossible for me to endure now). I'm sympathetic to that complaint if it's not made dogmatically. Some of the menuettos in his Haydn recordings are slowish to slow but then I think he makes up for that in every other aspect of Haydn's ingenious music. As for Karajan's fans, well, first let me say I AM a fan of Karajan, but I don't think he's the alpha and omega of classical music recordings that some people seem to make of him. But thank you for your comments about this. I find my online experience is pretty much the same as what you describe.
tetrisclock And let me add that it is always heartening to talk to intelligent, articulate people! On TH-cam you just never know if you are going to step into some despairing trench war between fandoms. :-)
In response to several comments: Bernstein has often been detested for bizarre tempi, for example his Tchaikowsky Pathetique with the NY Phil in which the final movement runs to 17 minutes while more traditional interps come in between 10 & 12. As for Sibelius's enigmatic conclusion of his Fifth: I've always heard it as a man who didn't want conclude his composition, who was either unwilling to end or OR afraid to end it. Nonsense, probably, but there it is.
Brilliant performance. And that conclusion is one of the most enigmatic endings in all of music. I still don't get it. Or how you make it "work". But while it is strange, I suppose there is no other way to end this work, either.
How do you bring to a close a symphony that is geared to end with a triumphant climax? An interesting comparison would be with Shostakovich’s Fifth. We have come to understand that his Finale was a "half-hearted" triumph, or even, triumphs to the extent that it refuses to do so on command, in spite of its climax as it were. And how does it end? With an almost bombastic overpowering of force upon force and with timpani hammering upon the key aspired to and conquered. (The Bernstein rendering of it is on TH-cam.) We did get it, as it were - and got it, if and only if, refusing to "get it"... But not so with Sibelius: there is no "false" triumph, there is real triumph, of the synthesis of the Thor hammer swaying with the flowing Swan theme, in a "communion with eternal nature". The key does not need to be hammered upon, but a few hammer strokes will suffice, off-beat on the dominant until we believe it is on-beat and then the return to the key and to the beat sounds as (false) off-beat to the (false) on-beat we by then got used to. One exceedingly masterful way of ending the "hammering on the key" one finds so often, and often unsatisfactorily, in romantic symphonies. Shostakovich solves it by insisting on its "falseness" under its sounding right, Sibelius by turning it into a conceptual shorthand for what those endings are meant to be, and by doing so he actually even improves upon the grandiose harmonic progression that preceded. Now, the odd thing with Bernstein’s rendering of it is that, probably because his is a highly romantic, narrative rendering of the entire Finale, he removes this conceptual flavour and keep the last strokes in a romantic colouring, slowing down the tempo. That is why, in spite of Bernstein’s heart-felt confession, I prefer the icier, steelier version of von Karajan (with the Philharmonia orchestra, from 1960, also on TH-cam), where the last chords are exactly on tempo and release the intellectual energy of the pent-up return to the key dramatically, classically. No more emotional warmth, but spiritual clarity.
OMG!
Such a great horn piece. Copied in pop songs Since Yesterday and Beach Baby.
Anyone who can play an instrument is to be envied -- I don't have an ounce of that talent, must've stayed home when it was passed around.
He must have really wanted to get to the pub after the concert in a hurry.
Geeeeeeeeeeenius
“ Kaunis!” J Sibelius
He was so much indulged in his own "creation" of this Dramatic Music/Musical Drama.
Which Orchestra is this? Which hall?
It already says so in the information provided under the video! It was the London Symphony Orchestra in the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, a short train ride from London.
Oh yes!!! I couldn't read the information on my iPad. Thanks!!!
Che rapido, Madonna!
Perfectly judged tempo. there needs to be a difference between taking off and flying and Lenny is magnificent. My only quibble (which surprises me) is the final notes could have had longer pauses.
I totally agree with you. He really got it right with the taking of, more fast paced, and later the flying at a slower tempo and letting the wings of the swans really open and flying up high. Also agree that the ending con ha longer strokes and a bit longer pauses. I also like Berglunds versions but I think Bernstein nailed it in this one.
I think the pauses have to be judged by the acoustics of the venue. It's a very silly ending anyway.
@@karldelavigne8134 never heard any one call the ending silly- but youre actually right- This symphony needed more of the grandeur of the 2nd symphonies finale.
Where are the double strokes of the timpani in the final two chords? Listen to Salonen and Swedish Radio Orchestra.
1:10 Is that where Mirrors by Justin Timberlake came from?
I can't hear it? :S
@@prto2243 listen to the song first and then hear this
It's also where Since Yesterday by Strawberry Switchblade comes from - horns and everything
No hay otro igual
🤬Grammarly advert right in the middle of the movement
These ads are so counter-productive and Grammarly is the worst of them.
Use Brave browser man - No adverts. Enjoy.
Just go to Russia, man - any adverts at all😅
Yeah there is definitely some weird tempo stuff here. It's like LB starts it faster than he ends up wanting it. Much prefer his recording with the Vienna Phil from the 80s.
The VPO is like watching molasses dry up. Too slow.
Wonderful! I don't agree that it's "too fast " ever. (No women in the orchestra! Imagine, in 1966, no talented female orchestral players!)
You’re out of your mind if you think the issue was lack of talented women…
As with many top orchestras, the LPO had a policy of men only (apart from harpists) until far too late. The rule for LPO changed in 1963 - so I would have expected a few women in this concert. The Berlin Phil didn't admit women until 1982, and the Vienna Phil not until 1997!!
Troppo vitalistica, poco lirica. Meglio l'esecuzione con la NYP
Sorry all I can hear is strawberry switchblade. I know I am a heathen given granted
Most definitely NOT a heathen, just a great 'borrow' from the girls.
Hearing them on Boom Radio today made me come to this - glad I did - wow!
It good but a little too fast, which takes away from its grace and majesty.
Was that a semi truck and trailer I saw driving through the rest between the first two isolated final chords? I do think the ending, after all the excitement, does get a big stretched out. Otherwise, what an exciting performance!
That's how it goes, son. Listen to more recordings before making lame comments.
@@OuterGalaxyLounge I've lisened to them. I own them. Watched Lenny conduct a beautiful dress rehearsal once, and the next night saw him leaping about the podium as only Lenny seemd to like to do. Have often felt he got carreid away with showiness and lost the intention of a composer creating a work that was more Bernstein than that of the original composer. So, there it is, another lame comment from someone who didn't complete the doctorate in music he began. Which is to say, I think my opinion is an informed opinion. And don't tell me I'm being pretentious just bvecause I think sometimes Lenny was. Perhaps a listen to more of Lenny's performances would be a good idea.
If you dont like the ending with those 5 chords, listen to Sibelius 1915 version, which he eventually discarded in favor of this ending.
@@hillcresthiker I have no problem with Sibelius's writing. I think Bernstein ges too grand with it. Sibelius was an excellent composer. I had to analyze some of his 2nd symhony for a course many years ago and was very impressed with his abilities.
Way, way, way too fast........
I wonder why Bernstein sweated so much. was it all bright lights..excessive physical exertion or something else?,
It's of course the physical exertion. Waving your arms around like that for even five minutes will break you into a sweat.
This is a good tempo compared with his much later recording with the Scottish National, which is ponderous and lifeless by comparison.
Bernstein's only other recording of the Sibelius 5th was with the Vienna Philharmonic. Presumably you mean that, as he never made any recordings at all with the Scottish National Orchestra.
Some of the camera work - the extreme close-up of Bernstein's sweaty face especially - is vulgar. (Not his fault or his doing.) Whenever the director shoots a conductor so close we cannot see the actual conducting, we are in the realm of personality, not musicianship. The fellow who says he is "easily" the greatest 20th century conductor certainly does not know what he is talking about. There is no one who fits that category.
alla fine manca di enfasi
Rushed
Because everything has to be the same in the world, I guess, huh?
To fast...hot date after concert? Watch concert with VPO when he was older...much better.
Allegro molto!
nd (as a bernstein lover) too slow
Arthritis.
I'd like to think there was something wrong with the sound transmission, as Bernstein is probably my favorite conductor along with Karajan and Solti. But this above was Awful! ( And I probably have the biggest Sibelius collection of anyone in Fresno)
You may have the biggest collection ; if this is awful; then your perspective is clouded by spiders' webs.
I agree- the sound was awful...no Sibelian grandeur
IT’S TOO GODDAMN FAST SIR. I hate this interpretation.
No it's not.... Karajan is too goddam slow.
Far to quick what on earth was he thinking . Disroyed the piece..so self indulgence..
He is rushing it at first, but thankfully slows it down then. The orchestra plays beautifully though.
Way too fast.............brian Oosterbeek Nederland
have you seen swans taking off?
The opening is too fast. It immediately takes on a false "Flight of the Bumblebee" aspect. He's obviously pushing his 'age of anxiety' shtick...😊
Hahaha agreed, it’s almost like the swans are being chased and fleeing for their lives…..
What does the score say ?
@@neilford99 It's too fast no matter what the score says, which is subjective.
@@James-ll3jb whatever!
@@neilford99 lol