New York Philharmonic: Young People’s Concerts – Humor in Music (VHS)

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New York Philharmonic: Young People’s Concerts – Humor in Music (VHS)

Leonard Bernstein’s: Humor in Music. What is Melody?

• Rated: Not Rated 
• Number of tapes: 1
• Run Time: 112 minutes
• Format: Black & white
• Languages: English

Humor in Music - Broadcast date: February 28, 1959 * 59 minutes

Can music be funny? Of course it can, and this program will show you the many delightful ways this can be true. A simple form of humor is imitation of nature – there is even a musical sneeze! Other approaches to humor include sudden pauses, abrupt louds and softs, fast scurrying themes – and the musical pun, which promises one thing but delivers another.

Works by Haydn, Prokofieff, Mahler, Mozart, Shostakovich, Copland, Brahms, Walter Piston, Paul White, George Gershwin, Zoltan Kodaly, Richard Wagner, and Richard Strauss.

What is a Melody? – Broadcast date: December 21, 1962 * 53 minutes

A tune is a simple piece of music you can hum or sing. Symphonic music often starts not with a tune, but with several shorter fragments, which are then woven into melody. An orchestra may also play two different melodies at the same time, yielding a fascinating tapestry of sound known as counterpoint.

Works by Wagner, Mozart, Hindemith, and Brahms.

Produced and Directed by Roger Englander.

1993 Sony Classical