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Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds from Carnegie Hall & New York Philharmonic, Fall 2008
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Carnegie Hall News
Back to Press Release List > 09/25/2008 - Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds from Carnegie Hall & New York Philharmonic, Fall 2008
Most current program information 
***ATTN: LONG-LEAD EDITORS AND WRITERS***
CARNEGIE HALL AND NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC PRESENT
BERNSTEIN: THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS
A CITY-WIDE FESTIVAL CELEBRATING LEONARD BERNSTEIN
September 24 to December 13, 2008
Festival Offers 50 Events, Including
Concerts, Musical Theater, Film Screenings, and Panel Discussions,
Celebrating 90th Anniversary of Bernstein’s Birth and
50th Anniversary of Appointment as New York Philharmonic Music Director
Carnegie Hall Launches 2008–09 Season with All-Bernstein Opening Night Gala Featuring
Michael Tilson Thomas Leading the San Francisco Symphony
With Soloists Dawn Upshaw, Thomas Hampson, and Yo-Yo Ma
New York Philharmonic Honors Bernstein at Avery Fisher Hall in
Opening Weeks of the Season
Music Director Designate Alan Gilbert Leads New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall
Marking 65th Anniversary of Bernstein’s Historic Debut
Encores! Production of On The Town Presented by New York City Center
Programs Reflecting Bernstein’s Commitment to Education Reach Thousands of Young People With Carnegie Hall’s The Bernstein Mass Project Featuring Marin Alsop and the
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Performing with New York City Public School Students;
New York Philharmonic’s School Partnership Program; and other Concerts for Families
Leonard Bernstein: American Original, How a Modern Renaissance Man Transformed
Music and the World During his New York Philharmonic Years, 1943–1976
New Book Published by HarperCollins in August 2008 to Coincide with Festival
(NEW YORK)—This fall, Carnegie Hall and the New York Philharmonic present Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds, a city-wide festival celebrating one of the most important international musicians of the 20th century and a quintessential New Yorker—Leonard Bernstein—in commemoration of the 90th anniversary of his birth and the 50th anniversary of his appointment as the Music Director of the New York Philharmonic.
Recognizing Bernstein’s many roles as performer, composer, educator, advocate, and idealist, this special festival, presented from September 24 to December 13, 2008, will feature 50 events at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, New York City Center, and venues throughout New York City. The celebration, reflecting Bernstein’s multi-faceted artistry and work in diverse musical genres, will include concerts, recitals, musical theater, lectures, and film screenings, as well as family and educational programming, illustrating the breadth of this legendary artist’s contributions to music history on both the American and international music scenes.
Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds launches on September 24 with the 2008–09 Opening Night Gala at Carnegie Hall featuring Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. The orchestra will be joined by soloists Yo-Yo Ma, Dawn Upshaw, and Thomas Hampson in a program showcasing highlights from Bernstein’s operatic and musical theater works, including selections from West Side Story, Fancy Free, A Quiet Place, The Madwoman of Central Park West, Mass, Trouble in Tahiti, Songfest, and On the Town. Thirteen/WNET New York will record Carnegie Hall’s Opening Night Gala performance for later broadcast on Great Performances on PBS, extending the reach of the festival to a national audience.
Marking the 50th anniversary of Bernstein’s appointment as Music Director, the New York Philharmonic will present three Avery Fisher Hall programs that showcase Bernstein’s three symphonies paired with works by fellow Philharmonic music directors and with other 20th-century American composers. Music Director Lorin Maazel will lead the Philharmonic in Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2, “The Age of Anxiety,” paired with works by Mahler, Boulez, and Maazel himself September 25–27. David Robertson will conduct a program featuring Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1, “Jeremiah,” alongside works by Copland, Elliott Carter, and Christopher Rouse October 30–November 1. On November 24, New York Philharmonic Music Director Designate Alan Gilbert will lead The Juilliard Orchestra in Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3, “Kaddish,” paired with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica.” This final concert with The Juilliard Orchestra symbolizes not only Bernstein’s lifelong commitment to education, but also a new era in collaboration between The Juilliard School and the New York Philharmonic.
On November 14, 1943, Leonard Bernstein stepped onto the stage of Carnegie Hall for the first time, substituting at the last minute for the ailing Bruno Walter and making his historic New York Philharmonic debut in a performance that grabbed national attention. On November 14, 2008, the 65th anniversary of that special occasion will be celebrated at Carnegie Hall with an all-Bernstein program by the New York Philharmonic, led by Music Director Designate Alan Gilbert and featuring Bernstein’s music for the concert hall, theater, and film, including the two suites from West Side Story.
Among other exciting musical festival highlights are a semi-staged production of the Bernstein/Comden and Green musical, On The Town, as part of New York City Center’s Encores! series (November 19–23); performances of Bernstein’s Mass with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (October 24–25); a one-night-only concert with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra led by Gustavo Dudamel at Carnegie Hall (November 16); pops and jazz salutes to Bernstein by the New York Pops (October 17), Michael Feinstein (October 22), and the Bill Charlap Trio (December 10); and a concert of Bernstein chamber and ensemble music led by pianist/conductor Robert Spano with mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, baritone Rod Gilfry, clarinetist Ricardo Morales, pianist Jeremy Denk, and members of the Brooklyn Philharmonic (December 13).
Reflecting Bernstein’s legacy as an extraordinary educator, a key component of the Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds festival will be The Bernstein Mass Project, an expansive education program for New York City public school students presented by The Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall (WMI). Starting in spring 2008, New York City public school students will be engaged in a variety of educational initiatives created by WMI to explore Bernstein’s Mass and its themes of faith, doubt, tolerance, and renewal of tradition. For the project’s grand finale in the fall, participating students will come together for two programs: the first on October 19, when original student compositions inspired by Bernstein’s Mass will be performed in Zankel Hall, and the second on October 25, when a massive choir of hundreds of young people will perform the Mass with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at the United Palace Theater in Upper Manhattan. Other Bernstein Festival WMI programs include a Carnegie Hall Family Concert (November 1); Discovery Day: Leonard Bernstein, featuring panel discussions and multimedia presentations (November 15); and LinkUP! classroom curriculum for nearly 20,000 3rd–5th grade students focusing on American music, including that of Bernstein.
Leading off the 85th season of the New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concerts, which Bernstein made famous with his television broadcasts, the October 18 concert, entitled Capitals of Music: Bernstein’s New York, celebrates New York and the music of Leonard Bernstein with daughter Jamie Bernstein as host and Delta David Gier conducting. The New York Philharmonic’s acclaimed School Partnership Program will bring the music and ideas of Leonard Bernstein into more than 20 partner elementary schools, involving 4,000 students. Throughout November and December, as part of a year-long curriculum, the Teaching Artists Ensemble of the Philharmonic will perform at least two dozen interactive in-school chamber concerts focusing on Bernstein. Twelve thousand students will hear Bernstein’s music with the full New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall at School Day Concerts in February.
A number of New York cultural partners will broaden the reach of the festival, presenting Bernstein-themed performances, film screenings, and panel discussions. Joining Carnegie Hall and the New York Philharmonic in these special festivities are Absolutely Live Entertainment, Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, The Jewish Museum, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York City Center, and The Paley Center for Media.
Bernstein festival events presented at partner venues include:
• NEWLY ADDED EVENT: Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, a performance of
Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 conducted by
Kent Tritle at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola (October 1)
• The Joy of Music: Leonard Bernstein on Film, an 11-program film series at the
Walter Reade Theater, presented by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in
association with the New York Philharmonic, Classifilms, and the Film Society
of Lincoln Center (October 15–November 1)
• Leonard Bernstein: Reaching for the Note, a screening at The Jewish Museum
of the Emmy Award-winning American Masters documentary on Bernstein’s life
(October 16)
• Leonard Bernstein: A Jewish Legacy, a performance at The Jewish Museum
(October 23)
• Bernstein’s Broadway, an exhibition of screenings at The Paley Center for Media
(formerly The Museum of Television and Radio) (November 8–23)
• Seminar: Bernstein’s Broadway, an examination of Bernstein’s contributions to
the Broadway stage at The Paley Center for Media, moderated by director Rick
McKay (Broadway: The Golden Age) that features archival footage from the Paley
Center collection (November 17)
• New York City Center Encores! Presents Bernstein’s On The Town; six
semi-staged performances of Bernstein’s breakthrough 1944 musical with book
and lyrics by celebrated collaborators, Betty Comden and Adolph Green
(November 19–23)
As a prelude to the festival and in conjunction with the Bernstein anniversaries, HarperCollins Publishers will publish Leonard Bernstein: American Original, How a Modern Renaissance Man Transformed Music and the World During his New York Philharmonic Years, 1943–1976 on August 19, 2008. The book, authored by Burton Bernstein and New York Philharmonic Archivist/Historian Barbara Haws, will examine some of Bernstein’s landmark achievements and activities, placing them in the broader cultural context of New York City from 1943 to 1976.
Also, throughout fall 2008, special exhibitions in Carnegie Hall’s Rose Museum and at Avery Fisher Hall will pay tribute to Leonard Bernstein, his contributions to music, and his artistic achievements as conductor, composer, educator, and media pioneer.
* * * *
Presented by Carnegie Hall and the New York Philharmonic—Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds, September 24–December 13, 2008—celebrates a quintessential New Yorker and one of the most important musicians of the 20th century. Renowned nationally and internationally as a leading musical figure in his own lifetime, most notably as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic from 1958 to 1969 and Laureate Conductor from 1969 to 1990, Leonard Bernstein brought his own particular New World sensibility to classical music. Equally at home in a Broadway theater (in such legendary musicals as West Side Story) or the concert hall, Bernstein—who performed at Carnegie Hall over 400 times and with the New York Philharmonic more than 1,200 times during his career—had an enthusiasm for and understanding of music far beyond the classical realm, extending into jazz, world music, American song, and 1960s pop and rock. His charismatic personality and remarkable communication skills through both words and music made him a natural ambassador for music as well as an international celebrity. Through television, Bernstein influenced millions of viewers, sparking excitement and love for classical music that remains with them to this day. With this festival, Carnegie Hall and the New York Philharmonic honor an extraordinary artist, revered as conductor, composer, educator, advocate, and media pioneer.
A number of New York cultural partners will broaden the reach of the festival, presenting Bernstein-themed performances, film screenings, and panel discussions. Joining Carnegie Hall and the New York Philharmonic in these special festivities are Church of St. Ignatius Loyola; The Jewish Museum; Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; New York City Center; The Paley Center for Media; Thirteen/WNET, which will nationally broadcast Carnegie Hall’s all-Bernstein Opening Night Gala concert on PBS’ Great Performances on October 29; and WNYC, which presents “Our Lenny,” an 13-day multiplatform festival from September 24 to October 6 that celebrates the radio station’s unique and long-standing relationship with the maestro.
For complete festival program information, please visit www.bernsteinfestival.org. This online companion to Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds features up-to-date information on the citywide events, press releases, and a multimedia survey of Leonard Bernstein’s musical life, including interactive timelines, slide shows, audio clips, and video featuring Bernstein, his family, colleagues, and friends.
* * * *
Major funding to Carnegie Hall for Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds has been provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, American Express, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Nash Family Foundation.
Major funding to the New York Philharmonic for the Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds has been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Programs of Carnegie Hall and the New York Philharmonic are supported, in part, by public funds from the City of New York: Office of the Mayor; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York City Council; and the New York State Council on the Arts.
Credit Suisse is the Global Sponsor of the New York Philharmonic.
Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.
* * * *
For complete festival program information, please visit www.bernsteinfestival.org. This online companion to Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds, updated in June, will feature up-to-date information on the citywide events, and a multimedia survey of Leonard Bernstein’s musical life, including interactive timelines, slide shows, audio clips, and video featuring Bernstein, his family, colleagues, and friends.
For high resolution images of featured artists, please contact the Carnegie Hall Public Affairs Office at 212-903-9750 or publicaffairs@carnegiehall.org.
For high resolution images of the New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, or events at Avery Fisher Hall, please contact the New York Philharmonic Public Relations office at 212-875-5700 or PR@nyphil.org. Additional information available at www.nyphil.org/newsroom.
Courtesy of the New York Philharmonic Archives
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Ticket Information
Carnegie Hall subscription packages, on sale now, are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, www.carnegiehall.org. Single ticket on-sale date for Carnegie Hall subscribers is August 25; single tickets for the general public go on sale September 2.
New York Philharmonic tickets may be purchased online at www.nyphil.org or by calling 212-875-5656. Tickets may also be purchased at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office at Lincoln Center, Broadway and 65th Street. Tickets to individual concerts are on sale now for New York Philharmonic subscribers; individual tickets go on sale to the general public on August 24.
Single tickets for New York City Center’s Encores! On the Town will go on sale September 8 at the New York City Center Box Office located on 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues, online at www.nycitycenter.org or by calling CityTix at 212-581-1212.
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