Carnegie Hall

 

(New York, NY; November 20, 2023)—Anticipating a resurgence in interest in the life and music of Leonard Bernstein with the upcoming release of Bradley Cooper’s feature film, Maestro, Bernstein fans, new and old, are now invited to explore the most extensive collection of concert films, Emmy Award-winning broadcasts, documentaries, and historic performances featuring Leonard Bernstein as conductor, composer, and pianist on Carnegie Hall+—Carnegie Hall’s premium subscription video-on-demand channel. The Leonard Bernstein Collection features many newly remastered presentations showcasing the iconic artist, including selections that can only be seen exclusively on the channel.

Select programming highlights on Carnegie Hall+ include:

• Bernstein’s renowned complete Mahler symphony cycle, including the now legendary 1973 performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection,” with the London Symphony Orchestra in Ely Cathedral, recreated and featured prominently in Maestro.
   
• A complete Beethoven symphony cycle with the Vienna Philharmonic, recorded live in Vienna; an inside look at the creation of West Side Story, and the historic Christmas Day performance in 1989 of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, led by Bernstein, commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall.
   
• Bernstein’s appearance at the keyboard as soloist with the New York Philharmonic in Gershwin’s irresistible Rhapsody in Blue; his Emmy Award-winning performance leading the New York Philharmonic in Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony plus additional important historic performances, including Robert Schumann’s Cello Concerto with the Orchestre National de France with cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood, a concert marking the 100th anniversary of conductor Serge Koussevitsky’s birth.
   
• The special tribute concert, Bernstein on Broadway, featuring music from his beloved Broadway musicals including Wonderful Town, On The Town, and West Side Story.
   
• Fascinating films including The Little Drummer Boy: Bernstein on Mahler, the acclaimed 1984 BBC documentary about Bernstein’s experiences conducting Mahler masterworks, and Leonard Bernstein: A Genius Divided, delving into Bernstein’s artistic struggle as both composer and conductor, his tension between success and failure, the politics of his time and his own humanitarianism, reaffirming his position as one of the most towering figures in classical music.
   
• Upcoming new-to-channel highlights for 2024 will include selections from Leonard Bernstein’s trailblazing Young People’s Concerts, his televised programs with the New York Philharmonic that introduced a whole generation to the joys of classical music.
   

"Leonard Bernstein appeared on Carnegie Hall's stage more than 400 times in his career, captivating audiences as a performer, composer, and master educator. Well beyond our walls, he inspired an entire generation, bringing music to the center of people's lives all around the world,” said Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall’s Executive and Artistic Director. “Lenny’s love of life, allied to his insatiable curiosity and unique talent, lifted everyone up, informing our appreciation and understanding of music for a lifetime. We are thrilled to feature this extensive collection of programming on Carnegie Hall+, helping to share his incredible talents with more and more people everywhere."

Carnegie Hall+—the premium subscription video-on-demand channel with programs curated by Carnegie Hall—features extraordinary performances by celebrated artists from the world’s most prestigious stages, including new and historic full-length classical music concerts, operas, dance, documentaries, and family offerings. With selections drawn from Unitel’s premier catalogue, many programs are offered exclusively on the channel and available in the U.S. for the first time, all with state-of-the-art video and audio quality.

Carnegie Hall+ is available as an add-on subscription on the Apple TV app, Spectrum, Verizon Fios, DISH, Sling TV, Astound and Prime Video Channels, bringing the best in performance arts programming directly into homes or wherever viewers may be.
 

Leonard Bernstein’s Mahler Symphony Cycle on Carnegie Hall+
Across nine massive works and an incomplete tenth, Gustav Mahler created one of the most enduringly powerful symphony cycles in all of music. Full of iconic moments, larger-than-life stories, and musical innovations, this body of work offers enough emotion and substance to enjoy and study for a lifetime. Some of music’s greatest luminaries have done just that—including Leonard Bernstein, who made history as the first conductor to record a full Mahler symphony cycle, not only on audio recordings, but also video.

The complete Mahler symphony cycle featured on Carnegie Hall+ was the first project taken on in the more than 20-year-long association between Leonard Bernstein and Unitel. The leading Mahler interpreter of our time, Bernstein filmed all nine of Mahler's complete symphonies, plus the Adagio from the composer’s never-completed Tenth Symphony, between 1971 and 1985, chiefly with the Vienna Philharmonic. The project created a sweeping record of these landmark performances which inspired a major re-appreciation of Mahler's works amongst audiences. One installment—Mahler’s Symphony No, 2, “Resurrection”—was recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra with soprano Sheila Armstrong , mezzo-soprano Janet Baker, and the Edinburgh Festival Chorus. Performed in Ely Cathedral, it was captured in 1973 by Sir Humphrey Burton who directed all ten films in the featured cycle.

Unitel has recently, in cooperation with the experts of NHK in Japan, fully re-mastered the complete Mahler cycle by scanning the film negatives to 8K and retouching them frame by frame. For the first time in the U.S., Carnegie Hall+ presents a selection of those remastered films, offering them for streaming in 4K Ultra High Definition and with Surround Sound. A viewing guide on Carnegie Hall’s website details Mahler’s symphonies with video excerpts of the complete Bernstein cycle.

Alongside the symphonies, Carnegie Hall+ programming also currently includes The Little Drummer Boy: Bernstein on Mahler, the acclaimed 1984 BBC documentary about Bernstein’s experiences conducting Mahler masterworks, also directed by Burton.

Note to Journalists:
To learn more about Leonard Bernstein at Carnegie Hall, including
his historic, last-minute 1943 debut with the New York Philharmonic,
information on programming featured on Carnegie Hall+,
and to watch film excerpts, visit our Leonard Bernstein media room.

About Carnegie Hall+
Carnegie Hall+ is a premium subscription video-on-demand channel, providing unprecedented access to extraordinary performances by internationally celebrated artists from the most renowned stages around the globe. With programming curated by Carnegie Hall, the channel includes an extensive collection of new and historic full-length classical music concerts, operas, dance, documentaries, artist profiles, family and holiday programs, inviting viewers to create an at-home journey of musical discovery, wherever they may be.

Launched in 2021, Carnegie Hall+ was created through a partnership between Carnegie Hall and Unitel, the world’s leading classical music audiovisual producer and distributor. Presentations featured on the channel are selected by Carnegie Hall from Unitel’s stellar catalog, one of the largest of its kind in the world. The premium channel is aligned with Carnegie Hall’s mission to bring the transformative power of music to the widest possible audience.

Founded more than 50 years ago in Munich, Germany by Leo Kirch and Herbert von Karajan, Unitel has worked with artists for more than half a century to capture landmark performances and productions utilizing the latest available technology. Given the company’s long-standing emphasis on quality, Carnegie Hall+ enables viewers to create an optimal home theater experience, offering state-of-the-art video and audio formats with all presentations offered in high-definition (HD) and newer programs available in 4K Ultra HD (4K UHD) and Dolby Atmos.

Programming on the premium subscription video-on-demand channel is refreshed on a monthly basis, creating an ever-growing destination for the best music, opera and dance selections.

“Carnegie Hall+ opens a window to viewers to some of the world’s most thrilling artists and arts venues, representing the best in performing arts programming” said Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall’s Executive and Artistic Director. “When watching the channel, subscribers can journey to the Salzburg Festival in Austria, the BBC Proms in London, or watch the Vienna Philharmonic perform in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, plus much more. Hundreds of hours of programming have been specially curated with all arts lovers—from casual viewers to aficionados—in mind, all at an affordable price.”

Additional select must-see programs currently on Carnegie Hall+ include new opera productions from leading festivals, including the Berlin State Opera’s critically acclaimed new production of Wagner’s Ring cycle, and concerts by internationally renowned classical music artists including a Bruckner symphony cycle with Christian Thielemann and the Vienna Philharmonic, plus performances by Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Joyce DiDonato, Asmik Gregorian, Leonidas Kavakos, Evgeny Kissin, Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Riccardo Muti, Jordi Savall, and many more. Dance presentations include Rudolf Nureyev’s Vienna State Ballet production of Swan Lake in two versions: the original 1964 performance and a celebrated new version mounted to mark its 50th anniversary; and family programming includes Carnival of the Animals with the Kanneh-Mason Family, a colorful “grand zoological fantasy” performed by the seven talented siblings at London’s BBC Proms, plus lively operas including Hansel and Gretel and Cinderella. Special programming featured this holiday season will include Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, Handel’s Messiah, plus festive performances by trumpeter Alison Balsom, Sting, and the Vienna Boys Choir. More program highlights are available at carnegiehallplus.com

How to Subscribe to Carnegie Hall+
Customers are invited to subscribe to Carnegie Hall+, viewing exceptional performances anytime for $7.99 per month.

Carnegie Hall+ is currently available as an add-on subscription channel on the Apple TV app, Spectrum, Verizon Fios, DISH, Sling TV, and to Amazon Prime customers in the United States on Prime Video Channels.

Eligible customers who are new to Carnegie Hall+ can currently sign up for a seven-day free trial on the Apple TV app and Prime Video Channels.

For more information on how to subscribe to Carnegie Hall+ on all available providers, please visit carnegiehallplus.com/subscribe.