Leonard Bernstein: Omnibus

Less well known than the famous Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts (VL-1/05) that Bernstein presented between 1958 and 1973, the eight segments Bernstein contributed to the Omnibus series (a sort of broadcast cultural magazine, hosted by Alistair Cooke) from 1954 to 1958 collected in this set ably demonstrate the composer/conductor's skill in breaking down fairly complicated musical material for the average viewer. In one of the best entries, Bernstein uses Beethoven's rejected sketches for the Fifth Symphony to illustrate how the composer worked his way toward the finished product. But even his more general explanations of what a conductor does, as well as his presentations on jazz, 20th-century “serious” music, and the American musical comedy, are also uniformly excellent, although inevitably somewhat dated. Less successful are the segments on opera (focusing almost exclusively on Wagner and Puccini), and Bach, which is hurt by the employment of an old “big band” style that lacks any sense of historically informed performance practice (the same flaw is found in a slow, heavy rendering of the Nativity section of Handel's Messiah, to which the “Alleluia” chorus is added). But Bernstein is unfailingly articulate and personable, and the musicians are strong, including the so-called Symphony of the Air, Arturo Toscanini's erstwhile NBC orchestra. A bonus booklet features photographs and comments by critic John Rockwell. Despite the substandard production qualities due to the age of the material, this set is still definitely recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)