Bernstein Conducts Copland Fanfare for the Common Man

Leonard Bernstein Conducts Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, New York Philharmonic 1985

[@pinkpinkpanther]

I was happy enough to see a version with Bernstein. And I clicked in and saw Aaron Copland on the balcony too! OMG what a treasured version! Thanks for the upload!

[@jamesslick4790]

2:10 says it all.

[@phyllispetras3369]

XXXXXXXXOOOOOOOO

[@kevind7396]

When I saw Copland in the balcony, I cheered and threw up my arms like a boxer winning a title fight. What a great moment with two icons of music.

[@jauch0]

It would have been nice if they had spent just a little more time on the guys actually making the music. It seemed to be almost entirely either Bernstein waving the stick or Copland watching the proceedings. Could they have shown the trombones at least once? I believe the section at the time would have been Gordon Pulis-1st, Louis Van Haney-2nd, and Allen Ostrander - Bass Trombone.

[@mssabo39]

I was There!

[@dannymarz2568]

BEST piece Copland ever wrote........The simplicity & dialog between the notes and chords is powerful and majestically HAUNTING

[@ingorichter649]

Later he reused his majestic tune in the apotheosis of his mighty third symphony. For me he elevated this piece to evergreen eternity in this composition. 🙏🎵👍

[@jamesslick4790]

This is my favorite of ANY modern Classical fanfare. Gives me chills EVERY time!

[@paulcurnow9686]

Several conductors loved to do this piece. Phil Smith on trumpet makes it work so very well.

[@patl6978]

Wanted to post this on Facebook but the dude in a dress next to Copeland prevented me from doing so

[@JohnJApanovitch]

Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland knew each other well. In fact, Bernstein actually was a student under Copland. Their friendship and companionship lasted until the year 1990, which was the year during which they both passed away. So sad. But nonetheless, this is an amazing recording of one of the most famous modern classical pieces of all time.

[@catherinescott562]

Quite sobering to realize that Copland, who was 18 years older than Bernstein, outlived him by a couple of months.

[@JohnJApanovitch]

@@catherinescott562 Exactly. Bernstein passed in October of 1990, and Copland passed in December of that same year. It's incredible.

[@AlexSzell]

They were lovers as well. Copland died of a broken heart. Very sad

[@BeautifuLakesStreamsBiologists]

I clicked just to hear Fanfare for the Common Man. The surprise of seeing Aaron Copland was so very fantastic!

[@JamesSheckler]

Why were the first 12 bars cut out of this performance? Truly an iconic American piece.

[@russellmcdonald1964]

When you hear the full orchestral version , you realize that ELPs 3 piece modern version was pretty damn good!

[@jamesslick4790]

ELP's version is on my "playlist" (Folder of 500 tunes) i have rolliing DAILY. Yeah, I'd say it's damn good. one keyboardist, one guitarist and a drummer pulling THIS piece off is AMAZING.

[@photo161]

Under Bernstein's inspiring guidance this iconic fanfare is more triumphant than ever!

[@timirish2563]

Bernstein was the very best interpreter of Copland.

[@TammyGordin]

​@@timirish2563so true

[@blaht15]

And Copland sitting there..wow

[@fjhaydn6047]

shocked me!

[@joshuagearing937]

Must've been an absolute honour to hear his work being played with him present!

[@blaht15]

@@joshuagearing937 yes. Sometimes I think what Beethoven felt when he couldn't hear what he wrote...it makes me really sad then

[@joshuagearing937]

@@blaht15 Yeah it is quite upsetting - having the ability to write such powerful music and not being able to hear it

[@jazzsounds8159]

Wow is right.

[@jslasher1]

Once heard, never forgotten. The greatest of all 20th-century fanfares. Of the 18 fanfares commissioned by Eugene Goosens in 1941 it is the only one played with any regularity today.

[@EduardoRodrigues-kf1oy]

Just to say thank you for this upload. Bernstein conducting under Aaron's lovely old eyes... Thank you for letting us watch this great piece, that should be on our alarm clock, to remind us every day, first thing in the morning, of the greatness of the common man.

[@jamesslick4790]

Holy shit, it took me 3 years to find the most inspiring comment on the KZbins ever. As a common man, this gives me a reason to just be. 👍👍

[@user-AZ-phil]

I was a kid during WW II, and remember hearing this played in a radio broadcast. I was too young to understand just what it meant, but I do remember the adults around me with wet eyes. Today, when I hear it, with a grown up understanding of what it means, I find my eyes getting damp, too. And to be able to, once again, enjoy Bernstein's interpretation of his friends work. Marvelous! ❤❤❤

[@Mike-01234]

The greatest Generation I was lucky to be born in 1960s I could meet so many who who defeated Hitler. Soon all we will have is history books and videos of them.

[@richardwalker9826]

great to see copland and bernstein together near the end of their lives in 1990 just wish the video was in high definition i don't know who the woman is next to mr. copland?

[@patl6978]

I think its a dude in drag

[@1glopz]

Priceless inspiration moving beyond words

For us Argentineans, this is the music to GATIVIDEO, a vhs company. This overture used to play (at a slightly slower tempo) at the beginning of almost every VHS in the 90s.

[@vangelist.l.d.l.-thelastde2600]

Great video - document to see Copland and Bernstein ! Thanks to share it !

[@flutesong5527]

Oh, my heart for these 2 greats and all the other orchestral greats too

[@LaSharown]

God Bless both men. Total Geneses they died the same year 1990 the world lost so much that year. Also the great Sarah Vaughn

[@markberryhill2715]

Dang! Strange,and funny(?) how that works with a lot of folks dying at the same time(year) I remember going to six funerals in a year,then didn't go to another one for five years.

[@t.c.bramblett617]

One of the, if not the, biggest American classical pieces of the 20th century, and one of the if not the, most iconic American conductors. Really good. It's a pretty impeccable composition, not dated or kitschy, still sounds fresh.

[@Jute511]

Learn English

[@richardwilliams473]

The late great Roland Koloff on timpani !!!

[@MarcoInchingolo83]

Absolutely moving.

[@abbush2921]

I remember PM Trudeau the elder decided to go , and one of the TV networks played this music as there incidental music , I almost vomited .

[@The22on]

This music is American and SACRED. Our national treasure.

[@loveaodai100]

Genius conducts genius!

[@haroldsilliman1706]

I think the beginning has been edited a few bars.

[@johnrandolph6121]

True!

[@danalaniz7314]

You should highlight the fact that Aaron Copland was there to hear Bernstein conduct the piece. Really amazing.

[@charlescoleman5509]

Despite the fact that eleven measures of this classic work were edited out of the performance (no idea why), it is still great to see this.

[@johnrandolph6121]

Unfortunately it was broadcast with some edits, but the entire piece is only 3.5 minutes long so it would be hard to edit eleven minutes of it. Hopefully the entire version does exist somewhere.

[@charlescoleman5509]

@@johnrandolph6121 Are you sure this performance was edited down? Based on Bernstein’s cueing of the trumpets right after measure 1 (which is supposed to happen 10 measures later) I’d say that the editing was done by the musicians. Not by the TV people.

[@darksuicune1]

@@johnrandolph6121 he said eleven measures, not eleven minutes. and yes @charlescoleman5509 this is definitely missing the opening section.

[@jamesslick4790]

Ass was just kicked up and down the block and back! This is Badassery on a grand scale!

[@ricardodariomenaferrada5964]

HERMOSO !!!...ES LO MEJOR ...Y ...PARA ...UN HOMBRE COMUN !!!...GRACIAS AARON COPLAND !!

[@Foxrock321]

Do you know how many times Mr Copland has heard his composition..but it’s the great Leonard Bernstein conducting so one more time won’t hurt..great music..

[@robertgreer4296]

If there is ever a Mt Rushmore of composers, Copeland deserves to be part of it.

[@dornasanchez6819]

Gativideo forever

[@jamesbrill7318]

Most American Anthem I have ever listened too.

[@TBNTX]

This is a "forever" masterpiece.

[@ADAMSIXTIES]

0:31 Aaron Copland (1900-1990) in audience. He wrote this in response to the US entry into World War II inspired in part by vice president Henry Wallace's speech which proclaimed the dawning of the "Century of the Common Man". Had FDR not replaced Wallace with Truman it would have been a much different world: no Hiroshima/Nagasaki, etc. However due to a changed better world we might never have been born, at least in the form we are. 🌍

[@bblegacy]

Nobody can say Hiroshima and Nagasaki would have been averted if someone other than Truman was President especially if the war had progressed the same way as it did in the four months between the time FDR died and the bombs were dropped, that ended the war.

[@willcwhite]

I wonder if there has ever been a truly clam-free performance of this piece

[@georgealderson4424]

I fancy the idea of this piece being played at my funeral (as I am and will remain a common man!) What does clam free mean?

[@dmccauley19]

my favorite - kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnekopVvqLp_n8U

[@photo161]

It is almost all fortissimo playing and completely exposed..not only murderously difficult but scarry as well.

[@michaelspier8091]

Check out James Lavine with NY Philamonic

[@jerimow8400]

George Alderson I’m with you. What does clam free mean? I guess I’ll look it up. Nothing else to do...in QUARANTINE for a month.

[@RBSHighlights]

Copland…. 85! my man died 5 years later

[@johnstucko2740]

Simply awesome 👏…….

[@The22on]

I still prefer Copeland conducting this. I LOVE Bernstein and he considers Copeland his only real teacher. But the timing of Copeland'sversion seems more flowing to my ears.

[@JohnJApanovitch]

It makes sense why. When a composer conducts his/her own piece, the audience and the ensemble both grab a sense of what the composer was going after.

[@VicenteGarcia-w5r]

Keith Emerson demostró que era mejor arreglista que Berstein y mejor intérprete. Su versión de Fanfarre es inmortal y superior a todas

[@kevinkeough777]

Copland, in his autobiography, wrote of the request: "Eugene Goossens, conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, had written to me at the end of August about an idea he wanted to put into action for the 1942-43 concert season. During World War I he had asked British composers for a fanfare to begin each orchestral concert. It had been so successful that he thought to repeat the procedure in World War II with American composers". A total of 10 fanfares[1] were written at Goossens' behest, but Copland's is the only one which remains in the standard repertoire. Initial trumpet notes from Fanfare for the Common Man, Copland Memorial Garden, Tanglewood It was written in response to the US entry into World War II and was inspired in part by a famous 1942 speech[2] where vice president Henry A. Wallace proclaimed the dawning of the "Century of the Common Man".[3] Goossens had suggested titles such as Fanfare for Soldiers, or sailors or airmen, and he wrote that "[i]t is my idea to make these fanfares stirring and significant contributions to the war effort...." Copland considered several titles including Fanfare for a Solemn Ceremony and Fanfare for Four Freedoms; to Goossens' surprise, however, Copland titled the piece Fanfare for the Common Man. Goossens wrote, "Its title is as original as its music, and I think it is so telling that it deserves a special occasion for its performance. If it is agreeable to you, we will premiere it 12 March 1943 at income tax time". Copland's reply was "I [am] all for honoring the common man at income tax time".[4] Copland later used the fanfare as the main theme of the fourth movement of his Third Symphony (composed between 1944 and 1946).

[@maestromuffin1]

the chord at 2:26!!!!!

[@LazlosPlane]

What a piece of crap that Avery Fisher Hall is. Worst acoustics, cheap construction, ugly design.... please tear it down.

[@johnrandolph6121]

I haven't been there since the renovation and by the way it's now called David Geffen Hall. The reviews seem to agree that the acoustics are better now, some claiming considerably, which is good but it will probably never be a Symphony Hall or Musikverein. But it's not going to be torn down....they just spend 600 million on it.

[@LazlosPlane]

@@johnrandolph6121 Thanks. I haven't been there since the newest renovation but I recall past attempts at improving the space had the same reactions, that it was much better acoustically -- it just wasn't. I'll reserve judgement till I go there and hear for myself.

[@andreawallenberger2668]

I submit this for the funeral of Alexei #Navalny: "Fanfare for the Common Man" (conducted here by Leonard Bernstein). Request: Gustavo Dudamel to conduct graveside at the funeral service.

[@oldbiker9]

Two pieces of music that bring me to tears. This and the Chariots of Fire theme.

[@markberryhill2715]

Don't laugh,but Theme from A Summer Place is another.

[@retrogamerdave362]

Jesus, that was really good. It's a good piece when it's played and conducted in a mediocre way, but that was really something

[@Axgoodofdunemaul]

O Common Man, stop voting for fools, and make a better world for everyone!!

[@jamessmith5066]

I love bernstein, but it was so hard to tell what he's conducting. Is that just me? I'm a musician and If i was trying to follow him I would've fucked up so bad.

[@AskChristopherP]

I’m playing timpani for this in my university’s concert band. I think he’s conducting the musical expression rather than the usual keeping time since they’re professionals.

[@sarahjones-jf4pr]

@@AskChristopherP Maestro Bernstein was always an expressive conductor, he always stipulated that he disliked conductors that purely beat time with no colours attached.

[@scribe570]

He's conducting his orchestra, so I'm sure the players are used to whatever his particular mannerisms, tics or dramatics. As someone commented, he's conducting for expression. These old pros don't need a strict time count. It's been said that some of the great orchestras playing traditional pieces wouldn't even need a conductor, except to get them all going at the same time.

[@scribe570]

@@sarahjones-jf4pr And if you ever read about his life, yes, he's all heart in his relationship to music.

[@karmad4491]

@@sarahjones-jf4pr He was a showman - in a good way.

[@ikerojosdecanario]

HOLA, ES COPLAND QUIEN APARECE AL PRINCIPIO ?

[@SamhainBe]

Another reason to give thanks on this Thanksgiving Day....

[@leonprofessional600]

Brian May, what do you think?

[@earlviney5212]

Whenever I travel to any of our beautiful national parks I am playing Copeland in the car. Copeland is America.

[@iwasglad122]

Yes, I agree completely - Copeland IS America. In the same way, as I've always thought that Elgar is Britain. These two geniuses create music that is just American and British. I can't explain or even analyse how I come to this conclusion...and that is the power of music!

[@earlviney5212]

I would include William walton also as one of Britain's greatest composers

[@toddreaker2298]

What terrible acoustics

[@jamesslick4790]

2:10 that's what MAKES this!

[@shirleyjennings5787]

Awesome!

[@Constitution1789]

Cool beans.

[@scottipippen]

majestic!

[@SamhainBe]

Bravo!

[@gljm]

When Bernstein passed away they never told his great friend Aaron Copland as they felt that Copland's Alzheimer's had progressed too far for him to comprehend.

[@novagerio9244]

Can you do a version with better sound and more volume?

[@scabbycatcat4202]

Not the best brass playing by a long way. Don't see how Bernstein could be happy with that performance

[@scribe570]

I agree.

[@abankse83]

Bruh, seriously!? This era was the peak of brass for the NYP. Phil Smith, Phil Meyers, Joe Alessi & Warren Deck (just to name the Principals)

[@iwasglad122]

I think the quality of the actual recording has a lot to do with it - but I have to agree that the French Horns are a little ropey, shall we say? I'm a retired musician, so I suppose it's easy for me to now be an armchair critic!

[@Twentythousandlps]

The piece is always played at the beginning of a program, before the boys are really ready to blast.

[@lordbonington]

Horns are strutting no doubt!

[@reco2186]

a bit fast

[@TheRichNewnes]

The sound quality is really bad also. Too bad because NYP is a truly great orchestra.

[@carolford1220]

Copland actually conducted it at this speed. Others slowed it down.

[@bikelawbloke]

I was really looking forward to that given Bernstein was a great friend of Copeland and then stunned to see Copeland in the audience. So it’s even more of a shame someone in the horns stuffed this up - At 0:58, again at 1:28 … and again 1:57! … and yet again at 2:33. Too many errors for what I assume are pro players.

[@asif-1491]

Yeah, it's great-except for one minor detail: It sucks. I bet the fr. hns. wish they could take back bars 11, 15&16, et al., and the stiff, obvious conducting is not what one might call 'subtle', is it? And don't get me started about the unstable pitch in the finale. I guess you can't win 'em all, eh?

[@Twentythousandlps]

Why would one be "subtle" in a piece like this?

[@100Samosata]

Straordinario! Grazie Aaron Copland