If you're a member of the baby boomer generation, you've probably heard your kids or grandkids talking about YouTube. The popular Web site ( www.youtube.com) has become a magnet for youths seeking music videos, sports clips and bizarre home movies. But its scope is far broader than that. The site also contains some rare classical music clips that document performances by some of the 20th century's most celebrated conductors.
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It often takes patience to wade through the chaff but a little persistence can result in some remarkable treasures. The easiest way to access these videos is by entering the conductor's name in YouTube's handy search tool. For this column, I've focused primarily on conductors whose careers flourished during the first half of the 20th century. That means Bernstein, Mehta, Maazel, Masur, Levine, Slatkin, Tilson Thomas, Solti, Barenboim, Abbado, Rattle and Ozawa aren't represented here. I also skip Toscanini and Karajan, as their recordings are heavily documented.
One of the earliest examples features Willem Mengelberg conducting Holland's prestigious Concertgebouw Orchestra. The celebrated Dutch conductor spent 50 years as the Concertgebouw's music director, from 1895-1945. In a 1931 clip, Mengelberg conducts Carl Maria von Weber's "Oberon Overture.” A 1932 clip shows a young Sir Adrian Boult conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a portion of Sir Edward Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1.” Brits know it as "Land of Hope and Glory” while those of us across the pond recognize it as the tune played at graduation ceremonies.
Charles Munch, music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1949-62, is shown conducting the Chicago Symphony in the "Dardanus Suite” by Rameau/d'Indy. You can also see the Alsatian conductor in excerpts from Debussy's "La Mer” and Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloe.” Both were Munch specialties.
Serge Koussevitzky, Munch's predecessor in Boston, conducts an excerpt from Beethoven's "Egmont Overture” in an undated video. (You'll need to search for Koussewitzky [sic] and then look for Part II.) Rounding out this trio of Boston Symphony conductors is Pierre Monteux. The distinguished French conductor is featured in music from Stravinsky's ballet "Petrouchka.”
Stravinsky was a frequent conductor of his own works. One 1965 clip with the New Philharmonia Orchestra shows him conducting the "Lullaby” and "Finale” from "The Firebird.” Another composer/conductor was Paul Hindemith. He can be seen conducting his "Concert Music for Strings and Brass” in an undated clip. Ernest Ansermet, music director of L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande from 1918-67, conducts the NHK Symphony Orchestra of Japan in a 1964 performance of "The Firebird.”
Fritz Reiner, the brilliant but tyrannical conductor of the Chicago Symphony from 1953-62, conducts Handel's "Arrival of the Queen of Sheba” in a CSO clip. Much as Reiner did in Chicago, George Szell transformed the Cleveland Orchestra into a world-class ensemble during his tenure from 1946-70. Szell conducts Mussorgsky's "Prelude to Khovanshchina” in one clip; another shows him rehearsing the Cleveland Orchestra in the Beethoven Fifth.
Other musical legends from the mid-20th century include Wilhelm Furtwangler conducting Richard Strauss' "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks.” A 1942 clip shows him conducting the overture to Richard Wagner's "Die Meistersinger” during the Nazi regime in Germany. Otto Klemperer leads the New Philharmonia Orchestra in the first movement of Beethoven's "Eroica Symphony.”
Bruno Walter, a conductor celebrated for his Mozart performances, can be seen rehearsing Brahms' "Symphony No. 2 in D Major.” The clip was taken from a documentary titled "Bruno Walter: The Maestro, The Man.” The Austrian Karl Bohm, also noted for his Mozart, conducts the opening movement of Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5.” Another clip shows him conducting Mozart's "Jupiter Symphony.” An elderly Leopold Stokowski can be seen conducting the London Symphony Orchestra in Debussy's "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun.”
Sir John Barbirolli, a Brit whose music directorships included the New York Philharmonic and the Houston Symphony, conducts the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in Haydn's "Oboe Concerto.” Ferenc Fricsay, a Hungarian who also led the Houston Symphony, is seen rehearsing music of Zoltan Kodaly. A young Carlo Maria Giulini conducts the RAI Symphony Orchestra in an excerpt from Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition.”
The elusive Carlos Kleiber is shown conducting the overture to Johann Strauss' opera "Die Fledermaus” in 1970. The Romanian iconoclast Sergiu Celibidache, a conductor who refused to make commercial recordings after 1950, is shown rehearsing the Munich Philharmonic in Prokofiev's "Classical Symphony.” The German Klaus Tennstedt can be seen in a 1988 performance of the overture to Wagner's "Rienzi.”
Finally we come to the Russians. Yevgeny Mravinsky, conductor of the Leningrad Philharmonic from 1938-88, became celebrated for his Shostakovich recordings. He premiered five of the composer's 15 symphonies. In one clip, he conducts Shostakovich's "Symphony No. 5.”
Yevgeny Svetlanov, music director of the USSR State Symphony Orchestra from 1965-89, conducts Shostakovich's "Festive Overture” in 1986. Another clip shows Svetlanov conducting the State Academic Symphony Orchestra in Rachmaninoff's "Symphony No. 2.” Their fellow countryman Mstislav Rostropovich wraps up this cornucopia of musical delights with a delightful 1995 performance of "Tea for Two.”
As one might expect, audio and video quality varies considerably. But taken collectively, these lively excerpts offer a pretty comprehensive look at classical music in the 20th century. We're lucky to have such rare musical documents.
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