The Age of Anxiety: Leonard Bernstein's Second Symphony

At the Leonard Bernstein Festival in London in 1986, the conductor and composer directs the performance of his Second Symphony, first performed in 1949. Entitled "The Age of Anxiety", the work was inspired by a poem of the same name by W.H. Auden which addresses the search for faith in a post-war society. The symphony mirrors the moods depicted in the story of four strangers who reflect on their lives and the human condition, tracing existence from infancy to death. Performed in the presence Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh at the Barbican Centre, the autobiographical piano part with imposing cadenza is played by Krystian Zimerman, a long-time musical partner of Bernstein.

Soloist: 

Krystian Zimerman (Piano)

Ensemble: 

London Symphony Orchestra

Conductor: 

Leonard Bernstein