Bernstein conducts Bloch's Schelomo, Rhapsodie Hébraïque – With Mstislav Rostropovich

The weary musings of an aging King Solomon flow from Rostropovich’s legendary bow…. Experience his unforgettable 1976 performance of Ernest Bloch’s Schelomo: Rhapsodie Hébraïque for Violoncello and Orchestra, accompanied by the venerable maestro Leonard Bernstein and the Orchestre National de France.

“…Vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever…” — King Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes 1:2-4

Premiered in New York in 1917 with the composer himself at the head of the New York Philharmonic and cellist Hans Kindler as soloist, Bloch’s three-part Jewish Cycle marked a turning point in Swiss-born American composer Ernest Bloch’s career. As described by his contemporaries, in its third and final movement (Schelomo) the composer had “reached the perfection of his music… The cello... lends itself to a reincarnation of Solomon in all his glory… His voice resounds in the devotional silence, and the sentences of his wisdom sink into the hearts as the seed into a fertile soil.” (Guido M. Gatti and Theodore Baker, The Musical Quarterly, 1921) Don't miss this riveting interpretation captured on archival footage starring two giants of 20th century classical music: Rostropovich and Bernstein!