This is a real historic treat. Even if you don’t want to watch the whole thing (or any of it), it’s music, you can just let it play in the background.
A couple months ago, as I've mentioned here, the Chicago Symphony massively beefed its online presence, with their CSOtv service. Many things are fee-based, but not everything. (They have some free audio material -- including the podcasts I've posted here that have been excellent.) And the other day, they sent a link to this -- At first I thought it was just audio, but not actually video from March 4, 1962. It’s a televised performance the CSO gave at the WGN Studios, of all places, with its new Music Director Jean Martinon conducting and Isaac Stern as soloist. (Though WGN is known for its decades broadcasting the Chicago Cubs, it's always been a very interesting independent local station in its efforts to provide different programming from the competing network. This was from their Great Music from Chicago series. It also speaks to how different the TV landscape was in 1962.) By the way, to place this in additional perspective, this comes 10 months after then-FCC Chairman Newton Minow (father of our oft-mentioned Nell here...) came his famous "Television is a vast wasteland" speech. (Delivered in Chicago, as it happens. That was really more-directed at networks, and I don't know if it had any impact on WGN broadcasting this -- as I said, they had long done interesting counter-programming. But it's all an interesting look at the times. The concert is just under an hour long, and includes Handel’s Concerto grosso in G Minor, the Scherzo from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Mozart’s First Violin Concerto featuring Stern. It’s wonderful. I remember when Jean Martinon was their Music Director, but I’d never seen him conduct, so this was a special treat for that. Unfortunately, I can't embed it on the website, but you can watch it here.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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