Carnegie Hall

In 1958, Leonard Bernstein addressed the studio audience of his first televised Young People’s Concert at Carnegie Hall with words that would define an era. “No matter what stories people tell you about what music means, forget them. Stories are not what music means. Music is never about things. Music just is. It’s a lot of beautiful notes and sounds put together so well that we get pleasure out of hearing them.”

This provocative statement not only set the stage for that historic broadcast live from Carnegie Hall; it also epitomized the essence of Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic: a journey of discovery, the exciting exchange of challenging ideas, and the pure enjoyment of sound.

This month, these legendary programs for young people take on a new form, as Carnegie Hall+ adds five of Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts to its diverse streaming catalog. Additional concerts will also be added to the channel in the coming months. From subject to subject, the titles offer subscribers a wide-ranging education in music, one that enriches with each episode.

Early Foundations

Renowned as the longest-running series of family concerts for classical music in the world, the Young People’s Concerts have a rich legacy that dates back to the late 19th century. They began as matinees as early as 1885, under the leadership of Theodore Thomas, conductor of the New York Philharmonic.

A pivotal moment came in 1891, when conductor Walter Damrosch led the New York Symphony Orchestra in the first Young People’s Concert at the newly inaugurated Carnegie Hall. Featuring an extensive matinee of short works by a diverse array of composers—including Schubert, Haydn, Chopin, and J. S. Bach—the event set the tone, marking a commitment to musical accessibility and refining young ears.

The series saw further development under Josef Stránský, the Philharmonic’s music director following Gustav Mahler’s death. He led “A Concert for Young People” at Carnegie Hall on January 24, 1914, which catered to young audiences with a program that included spirituals, selections from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, and nursery rhyme readings by American singer and monologist (called a “diseuse” by early–20th-century critics) Kitty Cheatham.

The Young People’s Concerts as we know them today, however, formally began at Aeolian Hall in 1924 under conductor Ernest Schelling. His approach of combining the Philharmonic’s musical performances with lectures and demonstrations was groundbreaking. The concerts, which have run uninterrupted into the present, were not confined to New York: Schelling took them on the road, visiting cities such as Philadelphia, London, Rotterdam, and Los Angeles.

One notable event under Schelling’s direction was an appearance at Carnegie Hall on January 21, 1928. This “Children’s Concert” included popular and tuneful works like Mozart’s Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee,” and Rossini’s William Tell Overture. Held almost monthly that year, these concerts were an instant success and cemented the Philharmonic’s reputation as a major cultural institution whose appeal could span generations.

The Bernstein Revolution

The appointment of Leonard Bernstein as music director of the New York Philharmonic in 1958 heralded a golden age for New York music making, with his influence on Young People’s Concerts extending far beyond the conductor’s podium. Over 14 years and 53 performances, Bernstein’s celebrity charisma and zeal for learning transformed the series into a far-reaching phenomenon.

From the first televised Young People’s Concert on January 18, 1958, broadcast by CBS from Carnegie Hall, Bernstein explored a broad spectrum of themes, from the intricacies of music theory to the diversity of musical styles, from jazz to folk to Latin American music. His erudite understanding of music and its impact was evident in his approach to the concerts. He wrote the scripts, often working closely with the production team to ensure that complex ideas were presented in an engaging manner.

His respect for musicians and composers was infectious. “There’s also another very special reason why we should be celebrating Mahler’s birthday here,” he once explained during a 1960 transmission from Carnegie Hall now available on Carnegie Hall+. “And that is that 50 years ago he was the conductor of this very same New York Philharmonic orchestra ... I am very proud to stand here on the same stage, with the same great orchestra, because Mahler was one of the greatest conductors that ever lived.”

Bernstein’s advocacy for music education was equally stalwart. In 1977, he testified before the House Subcommittee on Select Education, speaking passionately about the integration of music into children’s education from an early age.

“I propose that the reading and understanding of music be taught to our children from the very beginning of their school life,” he said, “and that they learn to participate with enthusiasm in the study of music from kindergarten through high school.” Every child possesses a natural ability to understand music, he continued. Young people can and should engage with music “as naturally as food.”

From early-morning technical rehearsals to noon concerts, Bernstein made each performance a learning experience, with the power to touch listeners around the globe. The concerts originally broadcast on Saturday mornings and later on Sunday afternoons were ultimately syndicated to more than 40 countries.

A New Digital Stage

With five episodes reaching the Carnegie Hall+ platform in January, there is new reason to celebrate the depth and drama of Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts.

Highlights include the 1958 broadcast, “What Makes Music Symphonic?,” in which Bernstein and the Philharmonic traverse the emotional landscapes of Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, Mozart’s “Jupiter,” and Brahms’s Second Symphony—a master class in understanding the essence of orchestral writing. In the 1961 episode “What Is Impressionism?,” Bernstein immerses the audience in the world of Debussy with a deep dive into La mer, one of the most evocative pieces of music written about the sea.

“The Anatomy of a Symphony Orchestra” from 1970 at Philharmonic Hall is another iconic entry. Here, Bernstein employs what he calls “X-ray hearing” to dissect the dense orchestrations, layer by layer, of Respighi’s Pines of Rome. Intermediate listeners might also try the 1971 episode “Thus Spake Richard Strauss,” which will be available in February 2024, featuring a nuanced exploration of Strauss’s tone poem Thus Spake Zarathustra—memorable for its appearance in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

By transporting these historic broadcasts into the digital age, Carnegie Hall+ shines a contemporary spotlight on the Hall’s tradition of captivating audiences from all walks of life, inspiring future generations of music lovers, and breathing new life into the timeless classics.

Photography: Images courtesy of the Carnegie Hall Rose Archives.