Glenn Gould's U.S. Television Debut: Bernstein Conducting Bach's Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D minor

Performing the first movement of Bach's Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052, with Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic. Gould's performance begins at 18:03.

Originally aired on January 31, 1960 on CBS Television as part of its Ford Presents series, this program was entitled "The Creative Performer." The entire show is actually three performances — by Gould, the soprano Eileen Farrell (singing the "Suicidio!" aria from *La Gioconda*), & Igor Stravinsky (conducting the last three scenes of his ballet *The Firebird*) — punctuated with scintillating musicological lectures by Maestro-Professor Bernstein, who is arguably the star of the show.

Though I recommend watching the program in its entirety, here's a time-stamped playlist, in case you'd like to jump to any given section:

1. Leonard Bernstein, on the vagaries of score notations: 0:00 - 12:56
2. Leonard Bernstein, intro to Gould: 12:57 - 18:02
3. Glenn Gould: 18:03 - 27:08
4. Leonard Bernstein, intro to Farrell: 27:09 - 33:46
5. Eileen Farrell: 33:47 - 38:24
6. Leonard Bernstein, intro to Stravinsky: 38:25 - 40:05
7. Igor Stravinsky: 40:06 - 51:06
8. Closing Credits: 51:07 - 52:24

Thanks go to two intrepid Gouldians who did the heavy lifting to track down, acquire, & beautifully digitize this rare masterpiece. Without them, we wouldn't be here enjoying it.

[HKLee-dnfh]

There was an era in which the TV broadcast was actually educational and was worth watching.

[stelun]

Youtube is a drug when such overwhelming moments can be realised at the press of a button. Magic lives

[davidhertzberg]

This is the sort of footage that makes YouTube so incredibly valuable.... and indispensable.

[svrfan]

Can you imagine: a tv programme with Leonard Bernstein AND Glenn Gould AND Igor Stravinsky performing live with the New York Philharmonic? Here it is!

[sjpbrooklyn]

I saw Glenn Gould play the same Bach D Minor concerto with the Columbus (Ohio) Symphony Orchestra. Out of the hundreds - maybe thousands - of concerts I have attended in my life (I'm 78) this is the only one that I can still "hear" in my head. This was some time in the sixties when he toured the US. I was in high school and a volunteer usher for the Symphony. I got the pick of empty seats when the concert began so I sat in the first row. Besides his electrifying playing I remember three idiosyncracies: (1) he hummed along (well known from some recordings, but a little jarring when you hear it live); (2) he kept a small bowl of water beside the keyboard to dip his hands in during stretches where he was not playing; (3) he followed the score using pages cut out from a miniature score edition, pasted on large pieces of cardboard which he placed on the music stand that is ordinarily removed since most soloists play from memory.

[cndlpwr]

I find myself inexplicably fascinated by this programme.

[stevimichael]

Bernstein resurrected classical music for all to enjoy but especially the young people. If we are to preserve classical music especially, we must begin with children. Music is the universal language that speaks to us all in different ways but with music, all of us can communicate...

[jamesholiday]

I love Gould's fingers, so beautiful.

[BW]

Glenn Gould really brought Bach's music to life and brought passion and emotion to it.

[resistcontrol]

Watching Gould play piano is the most inspirational thing I’ve seen in years

[torsteinbacker-owe]

It's like everone in the orchestra and the conducter know they are in a special moment in history bringing genious composer into life at that very moment. An historic moment.

[jakobbeetz]

The single most influential video of my life. This. I hav
e been rewatching this a couple of hundred time over the last two and a half decades. And it doe'snt get old, unlike me.

Listen to and look at them.

[MrFrenchfries-jckl]

I’m listening to this on the road, watching it at the red lights, and eager to have the whole thing ‘play’ in my home theater. Bernstein isn’t being overly formal, certainly not pompous, he’s giving us wisdom through passion by debating, IN GOOD FAITH, that music MUST be, and will ALWAYS be, more than any ‘artificial’ intelligence could imitate.

[IvarsBezdechi]

What is so amazing about the Gould piano performance is that he savors every note and doesn't rush-rush-rush like so many pianists as Lang Lang. This is an ethereal performance...

[roakbr]

This video has been on Youtube since 2016 and it's from a 1960 television programme... Thousands, possibly millions, have seen it, yet I feel like I've unearthed a treasure! Thank you!!

[sadpiano]

There are lots of great pianists now days but glenn gould had something inside him that made him so special🖤

[JasonFerguson]

To look in Maestro's Stravinsky's eyes while he conducts the orchestra playing his music. So special!

[rcaldwell]

My mother was a pianist and we watched this when it happened the week after my 14th birthday. Gould's fingers were heaven sent to play the piano!

[raumsogg]

"I have the honor of turning the podium over to Igor Stravinsky who will conduct for us and for all the future the last three scenes of his ballet masterpiece, the Firebird"... And today, more than sixty years after he pronounced these words, we in the future can admire these splendid pieces of classical music.

[oaktadopbok]

What a treasure. Leonard Bernstein taught me all about classical music when I was a child. It was a gift nearly as good as being taught to read.