Customer Reviews

Little Drummer Boy: Essay on Mahler by Leonard Bernstein

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Wow!--I just finished watching "The Little Drummer Boy."
Previously I had thought that I knew quite a bit about Gustav Mahler, but Leonard Bernstein showed me more.

What Bernstein does is show you--through biographical commentary and excerpts from Mahler's music--just what it was that made this masterful composer and conductor so obsessed with Life and Death.

Yes, part of it was Mahler's being born Jewish, and part was seeing so many of his brothers and sisters die so early in life. But Bernstein shows us how Mahler was, like most of us, striving to try to come to terms with life--to understand why death has to come and deprive us of the joys of life.

To give you an idea of how concrete, knowledgeable and specific this program is, Lenny takes a few minutes, using musical excerpts, to illustrate how there is a funeral march in each of Mahler's nine symphonies.

If you like Mahler, and would like to understand him better, get a friend to watch this with you, and learn at the feet of the master. This one is a must for those who love Mahler or Bernstein!

Leonard Bernstein knew Mahler's music incredibly well. Bernstein was also one of the the best musical educators to have lived. I have a deeper appreciation of Mahler and his own life experiences that shaped his music thanks to Lenny. View this first, then view his recorded dvd performances of the Mahler symphonies. Listen and be moved. This is great music and Bernstein has made it more approachable, meaningful.

I bought this video as a present for a friend who enjoys Mahler's music. There are many videos out there featuring Mahler but this one has a unique flair to it due to Bernstein's participation.

This is a riveting review of of many aspects of Mahler's life of which I had only surmised completely without data. I recommend this for anyone that thinks of themselves as a "Mahelerian".

Superlative production featuring one of the last century's preeminent music educators. Lenny's musical examples are superb and greatly aid intelligent listening of challenging music.

Bernstein has done a beautiful job of explaining Mahler's internal struggle for self acceptance. In his usual, succinct manner Bernstein brings the viewer into Mahler's workroom; clearly explaining how Mahler marshalls his incredible musical and intellectual forces to express his innermost feelings in musical terms. The genius that Mahler's unusual and infinitely unique orchestration is outlined and made relevant by Bernstein's marvelous ability to fuse thought and musical examples. Mahler,the person,comes alive and human with all the traits that make him no different than any of his countless admirers. This essay is significant to Mahlerites on all levels. Highly recommended.

An enlightening look into the music and life of the great composer Gustav Mahler, "The Little Drummer Boy" is a welcomed perspective from a great Mahlerian, Leonard Bernstein.

Efficiently edited throughout with excerpts from Mahler's symphonies and song cycles, Bernstein's insights provide a provocative and enjoyable journey into the genius of Mahler's ethereal compositions.

A "must have" for any fan of the great Mahler.

I love Mahler, and I love Bernstein; in fact, it was Bernstein's recordings of Mahler with the NY Philharmonic that made me appreciate Mahler. That said, I found this presentation to be more about Bernstein and Bernstein's attempt to force Mahler's music into his own thesis than about Mahler. In fact, the most interesting parts of the show are the added biographical information which do not involve Bernstein. Bernstein would have us believe that Mahler's music sounds "Jewish" and goes to great lengths to find little phrases in Mahler's music to "prove" this. Exactly what the difference is between music that sounds "Jewish" versus music that sounds gypsy-ish or Polish or Bohemian or any other variety of Eastern European folk music is something Bernstein never explains. In fact, Mahler was ashamed and burdened by his Jewish background, and went to great lengths to separate himself from it, eventually converting to Catholicism. So the idea that he would put "Jewish" elements (whatever they are) into his music -- even subconsciously -- is a real stretch. I think even Bernstein knows this, as he has to ask "did you hear that?" Even more annoying is Bernstein's own exhibitionism, as he chooses to do part of his presentation with his shirt open! The performances are certainly splendid, and there's some value in the way Bernstein juxtaposes segments from different works. Nevertheless, unless you are a hardcore Mahler-ite, I don't recommend this.