Litton said, "He used all the tools at his disposal." Bernstein's knack for combining genres meant "having Jewish music intermingled with jazz and serious romantic classical music, then throwing in difficult 12-tone writing."
Litton continued, "I think that when we look back, Bernstein will be one of the three or four most celebrated American composers of the 20th century. He stands with Copland, Gershwin and Samuel Barber.
"Bernstein wrote music that has become completely part of the fabric of our culture. For that he will always be remembered."
Terry Blain is a freelance classical music critic. Reach him at artsblain@gmail.com.
April 15, 1979 Maestro Leonard Bernstein conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in a special concert of “Mahler’s Symphony No. 8” on GREAT PERFORMANCES, Wednesday, April 18, 8:00 - 9:30 PM (ET) on PBS. The Vienna State Opera, The Vienna Singverein and The Vienna Boys’ Choir also are featured. GREAT PERFORMANCES is a presentation of WNET/THIRTEEN, New York, and is made possible by grants from EXXON and local PBS stations. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
BERNSTEIN ON BRAHMS - Leonard Bernstein conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in Brahms' Second Symphony Friday, April 17, 9:00 p.m. (ET) on GREAT PERFORMANCES. (Check local listings.) Presented on public television by WNET/New York, BERNSTEIN ON BRAHMS: SYMPHONY NO. 2 continues Bernstein's ongoing cycle of Brahms' orchestral works, which began on GREAT PERFORMANCES last year. The one-hour special was filmed in the historic "Golden Hall" of Vienna's Musikverein. ORG XMIT: MIN2017012320043515 (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
BERNSTEIN ON BRAHMS - Leonard Bernstein conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in Brahms’ Second Symphony Friday, April 17, 9:00 p.m. (ET) on GREAT PERFORMANCES. (Check local listings.) Presented on public television by WNET/New York, BERNSTEIN ON BRAHMS: SYMPHONY NO. 2 continues Bernstein’s ongoing cycle of Brahms’ orchestral works, which began on GREAT PERFORMANCES last year. The one-hour special was filmed in the historic “Golden Hall” of Vienna’s Musikverein. ORG XMIT: MIN2017012320043515 (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
BERNSTEIN ON BRAHMS - Leonard Bernstein conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in Brahms’ Second Symphony Friday, April 17, 9:00 p.m. (ET) on GREAT PERFORMANCES. (Check local listings.) Presented on public television by WNET/New York, BERNSTEIN ON BRAHMS: SYMPHONY NO. 2 continues Bernstein’s ongoing cycle of Brahms’ orchestral works, which began on GREAT PERFORMANCES last year. The one-hour special was filmed in the historic “Golden Hall” of Vienna’s Musikverein. ORG XMIT: MIN2017012320043515 (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
BERNSTEIN ON BRAHMS - Leonard Bernstein conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in Brahms’ Second Symphony Friday, April 17, 9:00 p.m. (ET) on GREAT PERFORMANCES. (Check local listings.) Presented on public television by WNET/New York, BERNSTEIN ON BRAHMS: SYMPHONY NO. 2 continues Bernstein’s ongoing cycle of Brahms’ orchestral works, which began on GREAT PERFORMANCES last year. The one-hour special was filmed in the historic “Golden Hall” of Vienna’s Musikverein. ORG XMIT: MIN2017012320043515 (The Minnesota Star Tribune)