Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

2018 is the One-Hundredth Anniversary of Leonard Bernstein's birth. I was hoping that Sony would finally issue the complete Columbia (and RCA) recordings in a logically assembled, newly remastered package, but this new box has thrown a monkey wrench into the works. The 100 CD "Leonard Bernstein Remastered" collection is a MESS. The selection of repertoire is totally arbitrary. Approximately 1/3 of Bernstein's Columbia legacy. Packaged in order of original LP release, 1947-1977. Unless you know the recording date of a specific work, you'll need the index included in the book. By contrast, Deutsche Grammophon did a user-friendly job of repackaging their complete Bernstein legacy: DG's Volume One is Composers A-L, Volume Two is Composers M-Z. Novel idea. PACKAGING & SOUND The new box is an "original jacket" collection with original LP covers and program notes. One improvement: Previously Sony's two and three-disc fold-out jackets were blank on the inside, but now they have program notes printed on all surfaces. Eighty CDs have content identical to the original LP, with an average playing time of 45 minutes. Twenty CDs have additional music added to the original LP to bring them closer to the 70 minute mark. Five CDs are mono, 95 stereo. Box size is 7x11x8½ inches (height-width-depth) Two rows of 50 CDs packed side-by-side with an 8½x11 inch hardcover book on top. The 200 page hardcover book is handsome but vacuous. Short on information, long on photographs, plus a lot of blank white space. The essay spends more time discussing Bernstein's personal life than his musical accomplishments. The only other musician who rates a mention is Glenn Gould: Two paragraphs about their performance of Brahms' D Minor Concerto (which is not even in this box). No mention of Gustav Mahler (which is a first in Bernstein scholarship). No texts or translations for vocal works unless they were printed on the original jacket. Everything in the "Leonard Bernstein Remastered" box is newly remastered. Of course, Sony defines "newly remastered" as "Anything remastered in the last eight years." A bit devious, but I have no complaints. Andreas K. Meyer's remastering of the Mahler Symphonies date back to 2009. Over the past eight years, Sony has done a remarkable job restoring early stereo recordings. By strict definition, the new box is 67% new. 75 of the 232 compositions in the new box are recycled from four earlier boxes: ---- 2009: Mahler: The Complete Symphonies: Symphonies 2, 3, 6 & 9 are recycled in the new box. ---- 2015: Bernstein Sibelius - Remastered: Symphony 5, Pohjola's Daughter & Violin Concerto + Grieg's Peer Gynt Suites are recycled in the new box. ---- 2017: Leonard Bernstein - The Composer: Eighteen Bernstein compositions are recycled in the new box (discs 1, 2, 17, 20, 24, 45, 50, 54, 90, 91, 98, 99, 100). Not carried over are Mass, some piano works & songs, and the stereo recordings of Symphony 2 & the Serenade for Violin. The earlier box also included three Broadway original cast recordings not conducted by Bernstein. Surprisingly, all are carried over to the new box. ---- 2017: New York Philharmonic 175th Anniversary: 54 of 83 Bernstein-conducted selections from the 175th Anniversary collection are recycled in the new box. 2021: Since this review was published, Sony has also issued 24-bit original jacket boxes of “Bernstein Conducts Beethoven” (omits the concerti) and “Bernstein Conducts Stravinsky”. CONTENTS New York Philharmonic stereo recordings unless otherwise mentioned. Recycled "newly remastered" recordings are marked with an asterisk. Bach: Concerto 2 for Violin BWV 1042 - Isaac Stern (1966) Bach: Concerto for Violin & Oboe BVW 1060 - Isaac Stern, Harold Gomberg (1966) Bach: Concerto for Two Violins BWV 1043 - Isaac Stern, Yehudi Menuhin (1976) Barber: Violin Concerto - Isaac Stern (1964) * Bartok: Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (1961) Bartok: Violin Concerto 2 - Isaac Stern (1958) Bartok: Violin Rhapsodies 1 & 2 - Isaac Stern (1962) Beethoven: Symphony 3 'Eroica' (1966) - Sony forgot the lecture included with the LP Beethoven: Symphony 5 (1961) + lecture "How a Great Symphony Was Written" Beethoven: Consecration of the House Overture (1962) Beethoven: Egmont Overture (1970) Beethoven: Fidelio Overture (1967) Beethoven: King Stephen Overture (1966) Beethoven: Leonore No.3 Overture (1960) * Beethoven: Piano Concerto 1 - Bernstein piano & conducting (1960) Beethoven: Piano Concerto 3 - Rudolf Serkin (1964) * Beethoven: Piano Concerto 4 - Glenn Gould (1961) * Beethoven: Choral Fantasy - Rudolf Serkin (1962) * Beethoven: Violin Concerto - Isaac Stern (1959) Berg: Violin Concerto - Isaac Stern (1969) Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique (1968) * + lecture "Berlioz Takes a Trip" Berlioz: Harold en Italie - William Lincer viola (1961) Berlioz: La mort de Cléopâtre - Jenny Tourel soprano (1961) Bernstein: Symphony 1 'Jeremiah' (1961) * Bernstein: Symphony 2 'Age of Anxiety' (1950 MONO) * original version, Lukas Foss piano Bernstein: Symphony 3 'Kaddish' (1964) * Bernstein: Fancy Free Ballet (1963) * Bernstein: Three Dance Episodes from On the Town (1963) * Bernstein: Facsimile (1963) * Bernstein: Afterthought, Study for Facsimile - Blanche Thebom & Bernstein piano (1947 RCA MONO)* Bernstein: Serenade for Violin, Strings & Percussion - Isaac Stern, Symphony of the Air (1956 MONO) Bernstein: Symphonic Suite from On The Waterfront (1960) * Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (1961) * Bernstein: Candide Overture (1960) * Bernstein: Dybbuk (1974) * Bernstein: Chichester Psalms (1965) * Bernstein: Prelude, Fugue & Riffs for Clarinet & Jazz Ensemble - Benny Goodman (1963)* Bernstein: Broadway Shows & Opera: -- On the Town (1960) * -- Peter Pan (1950 MONO) * original cast conducted by Ben Steinberg -- Trouble in Tahiti (1973) * -- Candide (1956) * original cast conducted by Samuel Krachmalnick -- West Side Story (1957) * original cast conducted by Max Goberman Bizet: Symphony in C (1963) Bizet: L'Arlésienne Suites 1 & 2 (1968) Bizet: Carmen Suites 1 & 2 (1967) Borodin: In the Steppes of Central Asia (1969) Borodin: Prince Igor: Polovtsian Dances (1963) Brahms: Symphony 4 (1962) Brahms: Serenade 2 (1966) Britten: Peter Grimes: Four Sea Interludes & Passacaglia (1973) Britten: Suite on English Folk Tunes 'A Time There Was' (1976) Britten: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra narrated by Henry Chapin (1961)* Bruckner: Symphony 9 (1969) Copland: Appalachian Spring (1961) Copland: Billy the Kid (1959) * Copland: Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo (1960) * Copland: El Salón México (1961) Copland: Music for the Theatre (1958) Debussy: Images pour orchestre (1958) * Debussy: Jeux (1960) * Debussy: Nocturnes: Nuages & Fetes (1960) * Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (1960) * Dukas: Sorcerer's Apprentice (1965) * Dvorak: Symphony 9 'New World' (1962) * Dvorak: Carnival Overture (1965) * Dvorak: Slavonic Dances 1 & 3 (1963) * Faure: Ballade - Robert Casadesus piano (1961) Gershwin: An American in Paris (1958) * Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue - Bernstein piano, Columbia Symphony (1959) Gliere: Red Poppy: Russian Sailor's Dance (1964) Glinka: Ruslan & Ludmila Overture (1963) Goldmark: Rustic Wedding Symphony (1968) * Grieg: Peer Gynt Suites 1 & 2 (1967) * Grofe: Grand Canyon Suite (1963) Handel: Ode for St. Cecilia's Day (1959) Roy Harris: Symphony 3 (1960) * Haydn: Symphonies 82*, 83*, 88, 102 (1962-63) Haydn: Mass Hob.XXII:14 'Harmoniemesse' (1973) Haydn: The Creation (1966) Hindemith: Concert Music for Strings & Brass (1961) Hindemith: Symphony in E-Flat Major (1967) Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Weber (1968) Hindemith: Violin Concerto - Isaac Stern (1964) Holst: The Planets (1971) * Ippolitov- Ivanov: Caucasian Sketches: In the Village & Procession of the Sardar (1965) Ives: Symphonies 2 (1958) * & 3 (1966) - Sony forgot the lecture included with the LP Ives: Central Park in the Dark (1962) Ives: The Unanswered Question (1964) Liszt: Faust Symphony (1960) Liszt: Les Préludes (1963) Liszt: Piano Concerto 1 - André Watts (1963) * Mahler: Symphonies 2 (1963)*, 3 (1961)*, 6 (1967)*, 9 (1965) * Mahler: Kindertotenlieder - Jennie Tourel (1960) * Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn - Christa Ludwig & Walter Berry (1967-69) - Sony forgot the piano accompanied version included with the original American LP (photos 6 & 7) Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn: 'Das irdische Leben' - Jennie Tourel (1960) Mahler: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau & Bernstein piano (1968) Mahler: Rückert-Lieder: Three Songs - Jennie Tourel (1960) Mendelssohn: Symphonies 3 (1964), 4 (1958) Mendelssohn: Hebrides Overture (1966) Milhaud: La création du monde - Columbia Symphony (1951 MONO) Mozart: Concerto for Piano 15 K.450 - Bernstein piano, Columbia Symphony (1956 MONO) Mozart: Concerto for Piano 17 K.453 - Bernstein piano, Columbia Symphony (1956 MONO) Mozart: Piano Quartet in G Minor K.478 - Bernstein piano, Julliard Quartet (1965) Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain (1965) Mussorgsky: Khovanshchina Prelude (1963) Nielsen: Symphony 3 - Royal Danish Orchestra (1965) Nielsen: Symphony 5 (1962) * Nielsen: Flute Concerto - Julius Baker (1966) Nielsen: Clarinet Concerto - Stanley Drucker (1967) Offenbach: Gaîté Parisienne Suite (1969) Poulenc: Gloria (1976) Prokofiev: Symphony 1 'Classical' (1968) Prokofiev: Peter & the Wolf narrated by Bernstein (1960) * Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kijé: Kijé's Wedding & Troika (1971) Prokofiev: Love for Three Oranges: March (1971) Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto 2 - Philippe Entremont (1960) * Ravel: Shéhérazade - Jennie Tourel (1961) * Rimsky-Korsakov: Snow Maiden: Dance of the Tumblers (1967) Rossini: L'Italiana in Algeri Overture (1960) * Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia Overture 1963) * Rossini: La gazza ladra Overture (1960) * Rossini: La scala di seta Overture (1963) * Rossini: Semiramide Overture (1960) Rossini: William Tell Overture (1963) * Saint-Saens: Symphony 3 'Organ Symphony' - Leonard Raver (1976) Saint-Saens: Carnival of the Animals narrated by Bernstein (1962) * Saint-Saens: Danse Macabre (1967) Saint-Saens: Piano Concerto 4 - Robert Casadesus (1961) Schubert: Symphonies 8 (1963), 9 (1967) William Schuman: Symphonies 3 (1960), 5 (1966) Schumann: Symphonies 1-3 (1960) - Why no Symphony 4? Schumann: Genoveva Overture (1963) Schumann: Piano Quintet - Bernstein piano, Julliard Quartet (1965) Harold Shapero: Symphony for Classical Orchestra - Columbia Symphony (1953 MONO) Shostakovich: Symphony 5 (1959) * Shostakovich: Age of Gold: Polka (1970) Sibelius: Symphony 5 (1961) * Sibelius: Pohjola's Daughter (1964) * Sibelius: Violin Concerto - Zino Francescatti (1964) * Smetana: Bartered Bride Overture (1963) * Smetana: Bartered Bride: Three Dances (1965) Smetana: Má vlast: Moldau (1964) * J.Strauss: Artist's Life Waltz (1965) J.Strauss: Blue Danube Waltz (1969) J.Strauss: Emperor Waltz (1969) J.Strauss: Roses from the South Waltz (1971) J.Strauss: Tales from the Vienna Woods Waltz (1975) J.Strauss: Vienna Blood Waltz (1967) J.Strauss: Voices of Spring Waltz (1968) R.Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier - complete opera with Vienna Philharmonic (1971) R.Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks (1959) + lecture "Humor in Music" Stravinsky: Firebird Suite (1957) * Stravinsky: Rite of Spring (1958) * Stravinsky: Pulcinella Suite (1960) * Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms - London Symphony (1972) Stravinsky: Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments - Seymour Lipkin (1959) Stravinsky: Octet for Winds - Boston Symphony (1947 RCA MONO) Stravinsky: The Soldier's Tale Suite - Boston Symphony (1947 RCA MONO) Tchaikovsky: Symphony 2 'Little Russian' (1967) Tchaikovsky: Capriccio Italien (1960) * Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini (1960) Tchaikovsky: Hamlet - Fantasy Overture (1970) Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet (1957) * Tchaikovsky: Marche slave (1963) * Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture (1962) * Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite (1960) * Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Suite (1969) * Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty: Waltz (1971) * Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin: Polonaise (1971*) & Waltz (1975) Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto 1 - Philippe Entremont (1961) * Verdi: Falstaff - complete opera with Vienna Philharmonic (1966) Vivaldi: Concerto in C Major for Diverse Instruments RV 558 (1958) Vivaldi: Concerto in D Minor for Oboe RV 454 - Harold Gomberg (1958) Vivaldi: Concerto in C Minor for Flute RV 441 - John Wummer (1958) Vivaldi: Concerto in C Major for Piccolo RV 443 - William Heim (1958) Wagner: Wesendonck Lieder - Eileen Farrell soprano (1961) Wagner: Götterdämmerung: Brünhilde's Immolation - Eileen Farrell (1961) Weber: Invitation to the Dance, orch. Berlioz (1965) Weber: Euryanthe Overture (1968) Weber: Freischütz Overture (1963) Weber: Oberon Overture (1960) MARCHES (disc 84) -- Sousa: Hands Across the Sea (1968), Semper Fidelis (1967), Stars and Stripes Forever (1968), The Thunderer (1970), Washington Post (1967) -- Alford: Colonel Bogey (1970) -- Arne: Rule, Britannia (1970) -- Bagley: National Emblem (1970) -- de Lisle: La Marseillaise (1970) -- Steffe & Howe: Battle Hymn of the Republic (1970) -- J.Strauss senior: Radetzky March (1970) -- J.F.Wagner: Unter dem Doppeladler (1970) -- Zimmerman: Anchors Away (1970) -- traditional: British Grenadiers (1970) * These "new remasterings" appeared previously in the "Mahler Remastered", "Sibelius Remastered", "Bernstein the Composer" or "New York Philharmonic 75th Anniversary" boxes. -- The "new remasterings" of Glenn Gould's Beethoven, Rudolf Serkin's Beethoven, Andre Watt's Liszt, and Philippe Entremont's Rachmaninov & Tchaikovsky previously appeared in Sony boxes devoted to those pianists. LEONARD BERNSTEIN COMPLETE EDITION ON SONY (not the same as the “Leonard Bernstein Remastered Edition”, above.) All of Bernstein’s Columbia recordings in three LP-sized boxes (198 CDs total). Not original jackets, but newly created jackets with black-and-white photos. A mix of 16-bit, 20-bit and 24-bit remasterings: --- Vol.1 Leonard Bernstein: The Symphony Edition - 60 CDs --- Vol.2 Leonard Bernstein Edition - Concertos & Orchestral Works - 80 CDs --- Vol.3 Vocal Works + alternate recordings - 58 CDs Volumes 1 and 3 are inexpensive. Volume 2 is out-of-print and pricey (as of May 2021). There are also a number of super-budget Sony boxes devoted to Bernstein. They are not “original jacket” productions, do not come with program notes, and (with the exception of the Mahler Symphonies) they do not use the most up-to-date 24-bit remasterings.