Leonard Bernstein: Young People’s Concert Series

/ The Little Martian

Prologue

OK.  I know I am a bad student. Whenever Teacher starts yakking about history of this and history of that or making a speech in musical terms, he sounds like Charlie Brown’s teacher making that “Wah Wah Wah” sound. Nothing registers in my head and I just want to escape. But then sometimes there are things in this world that just suck me in like the Black Hole.

//The Great Escape to the Black Hole (1)//

Leonard Bernstein – Young People’s Concert Series

I don’t remember how I stumbled upon this. But I ended up spending many late nights watching this series. Besides being a world-renowned conductor and composer, Leonard Bernstein was also a great educator. He wrote the script and conducted a total of 55 Young People’s Concerts with New York Philharmonic from 1958 to 1972. The 1-hour long concerts were also televised globally. The topic of his concerts varies widely. Here are some examples:

  • What is a Concerto?
  • Musical Atoms: A Study of Intervals
  • The Anatomy of a Symphony Orchestra
  • Who is Gustav Mahler?
  • Bach Transmogrified
  • Jazz in the Concert Hall
  • Humor In Music

Here’s a quick introduction of the series and a clip of the first concert “What does Music Mean?” posted in the Official Leonard Bernstein YouTube channel:

Immediately you would notice many in the audience were young kids, very young kids. Bernstein explained abstract concepts using simple words and distinct examples with the help of the piano, the orchestra, and sometimes guest musicians. As I watched his “lecture”, I often found myself murmuring “Oh! So that’s what it is.” or “Wow! I didn’t know.” I certainly felt like one of the kids in the audience exploring a whole new world for the first time. In fact, I only learned about the Sonata A-B-A form from his “What is Sonata Form?” concert.

Bernstein’s gentle demeanor and ingenious presentation made even complex topics approachable for his students. I never understood music by Debussy or Ravel until I watched his “What is Impressionism?” concert. A clip of this concert can be found at the official channel:

There are many delightful surprises in the series. For example, the “Young Performers No. 3” concert featured a 26-year-old Seiji Ozawa, his youngest assistant conductor at the time, conducting Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro Overture:

One of my favorite concerts was “A Birthday Tribute to Shostakovich”. I was in awe as Bernstein led a lively and insightful tour of Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony. I would never be able to pick up on all the tricks Shostakovich planted in that symphony on my own.

Thank you, Maestro Bernstein, for teaching us and future generations with his Young People’s Concerts.

Resources:

  1. You can read more about the Young People’s Concerts on: https://leonardbernstein.com/about/educator/young-peoples-concerts
  2. Digital collections of the Young People’s Concerts including photos and manuscripts (some handwritten) are available at the Library of Congress
  3. List of concerts with airdates https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_People%27s_Concerts

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