Search - Various Artists, Leonard Bernstein :: Reaching for the Note

Rising beyond the limited categories of conductor, composer, or pianist, Leonard Bernstein always preferred the simple appellation: musician. And he was perhaps the consummate musician of the 20th century. In conjunction with the PBS-TV documentary by the same name, this double-CD set brings together the disparate strands of Bernstein's three musical identities. The balance is weighted towards Bernstein's own compositions (from West Side Story, On the Town, Candide, Symphony No. 3, and others), but also features an eclectic collection of orchestral exerpts with "Lenny" at the helm including a ravishing Adagietto movement of Mahler's Fifth Symphony with the Vienna Philharmonic. And just for good measure: one track of Bernstein at the keyboard in a Gershwin Prelude. In the end, what emerges from the collage of musical snapshots is a poignant portrait of a man whose musical legacy the world is only just beginning to grasp. Collections like this help one understand that legacy, while providing no small amount of inspiration in the process. --Jeremy Eichler