Turner Classic Movies celebrates the centennial anniversary of composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein with three days of programming dedicated to his work on film and television, including rarely seen lectures on music from the Omnibus series and his captivating Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic.
The tribute begins July 20 at 8 PM with Bernstein’s film scores, including West Side Story, On the Town, and On the Waterfront. On July 21 at 8 PM, TCM will air four of the Philharmonic’s Young People's Concerts, which Bernstein arranged to be televised on CBS upon his arrival as the Philharmonic's music director in 1958. The concerts include What Does Music Mean? (1958), Humor in Music (1959), What Is a Mode? (1966) and A Toast to Vienna in 3/4 Time (1967).
The celebration concludes July 22 at 8 PM with selections from the award-winning Omnibus series. Bernstein gave his first televised music lectures on the show, including his well-remembered analysis of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (1954), in which he employs some of the composer's discarded sketches to show what the music might have been like if they were left in. The other Omnibus programs include The World of Jazz (1955), The Art of Conducting (1955), The American Musical Comedy (1956), Introduction to Modern Music (1957), The Music of Johann Sebastian Bach (1957), and What Makes Opera Grand? (1958).
