Sunday, January 31, 2010

Omnibus: Leonard Bernstein

Watching Leonard Bernstein Omnibus is like taking a masters class in music appreciation, only with a really cool professor who cares more about what you learn than any grade you achieve. Originally broadcast between 1954 and 1958, the Omnibus shows were a series of lectures that Bernstein gave on topics ranging from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony to American Musical Comedy where the composer/conductor not only talks about music, but backs up everything he says with examples that he either plays on the piano or conducts the 100-piece house orchestra to play for you. His command of classical music is as complete as expected; its watching him let his hair down a bit (figuratively speaking) to talk about jazz and modern music that are unexpectedly entertaining. Learning has never been so effortlessly enjoyable.

No comments: