Leonard Bernstein's Symphony No. 2 ("The Age of Anxiety") was inspired by W.H. Auden's poem of the same name, and secondarily, as Bernstein himself explains in a charming little snatch of conversation that innovatively opens this live album, by Edward Hopper's painting Nighthawks. The Bernstein recording is one feature giving this recording a personal flavor; another is that Bernstein, on hearing Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman play the work, suggested that they reprise the performance on Bernstein's 100th birthday. He ...
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Leonard Bernstein's Symphony No. 2 ("The Age of Anxiety") was inspired by W.H. Auden's poem of the same name, and secondarily, as Bernstein himself explains in a charming little snatch of conversation that innovatively opens this live album, by Edward Hopper's painting Nighthawks. The Bernstein recording is one feature giving this recording a personal flavor; another is that Bernstein, on hearing Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman play the work, suggested that they reprise the performance on Bernstein's 100th birthday. He didn't make it, but this is a fine centenary observation. Although Auden himself disliked the work, which was neglected for some years, the Symphony No. 2 is gaining more frequent performances and recordings. Bernstein follows the structure of Auden's poetry and its characters quite closely, with an opening movement divided into short sections representing their utterances and ideas. Sample around "The Seven Stages" to hear how Zimerman keeps the music moving. Other pianists have made...
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Add this copy of Bernstein: Symphony No. 2 "the Age of Anxiety" to cart. $30.45, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2018 by Decca (UMO) Classics.