LEONARD BERNSTEIN'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION (TV)
Summary
This special musical presentation from the Veteran's Stadium in Lawrence, Massachusetts, honors the sixty-fifth birthday celebration of Lawrence's own Leonard Bernstein. Host Philip Bragdon opens by interviewing Larry Frissell, organizer of the event, who talks about putting together the evening at the grass-roots level with input from Bernstein. Lawrence LeFevre, the town's mayor, says a few words about Bernstein's roots in Lawrence and the historical significance of the town, and Loring Conant, member of Physicians for Social Responsibility, discusses his organization's concern over the nuclear arms race and reviews Bernstein's interest in world peace, the theme of the evening's festivities. Mayor LeFevre officially opens the evening's festivities, which begin with a performance by George Monseur and the Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra of Bernstein's music for 1944 the Jerome Robbins ballet "Fancy Free." This is followed by Bernstein's "Lonely Town" and "Times Square Dance" from the musical "On the Town," an outgrowth of the earlier ballet work. During intermission, ceremonies held earlier in the day celebrating Bernstein's birthday are shown. Bernstein opens the second half of the program reminiscing about his roots in Lawrence and his mother's early years working in the town's textile mills. Next, Eiji Oue and the Greater Boston Youth Orchestra perform Aaron Copland's "A Lincoln Portrait" while Bernstein reads from Abraham Lincoln's writings and speeches, followed by the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in d minor with soloists Abby Schur, Marion Dry, Dimitri Hytus, and Robert Honeysucker. Finally, Bernstein ascends the stage to conduct the Greater Boston Youth Orchestra in the overture to his musical "Candide."
Details
- NETWORK: Yankee Cable Network
- DATE: August 25, 1983
- RUNNING TIME: 1:56:04
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T85:0549
- GENRE: Music; Specials
- SUBJECT HEADING: Composers; Conductors (music); Orchestral music; Musical revues, comedies, etc. - Excerpts; Peace
- SERIES RUN: Yankee Cable Network - TV, 1983
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Greg Uhrin … Producer
- John Gfroerer … Producer, Director
- Ludwig van Beethoven … Composer
- Leonard Bernstein … Composer, Conductor
- Aaron Copland … Composer
- Eiji Oue … Conductor, Greater Boston Youth Orchestra, The
- George Monseur … Conductor, Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra, The
- Greater Boston Youth Orchestra, The … Symphony Orchestra
- Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra, The … Symphony Orchestra
- Philip Bragdon … Host
- Marion Dry … Singer
- Robert Honeysucker … Singer
- Hytus, Dimitri (audio i.d. only) … Singer
- Schur, Abby (audio i.d. only) … Singer
- Leonard Bernstein
- Loring Conant
- Larry Frissell
- Lawrence LeFevre
- Abraham Lincoln
- Jerome Robbins