Now showing
William F. Buckley JR. and the Phoenix Symphony (1989-10-16)
About this film
This show that includes part of the rehearsal of a harpsichord concerto Mr. Buckley would play with the Phoenix Symphony the following night. But first, a lively discussion of the music world, here and there, past and present. SC: "Beginning at the beginning, how did we get into what you have called 'this mess'?" WFB: "It began with a letter sent by the manager of this orchestra--some people suspect he was drunk when he sent it--but in any event, he asked me if at any time in 1989 or 1990 I would consent to play a harpsichord concerto by Bach with this symphony orchestra. I read it a dozen times wondering whether he were serious, and ... well, you get sort of a Walter Mitty rush, and here I am." ... SC: "If you name the three oldest continuing orchestras in the world, two of them are American. This always startles people, but it happens to be true. I'm not now talking about orchestras in Europe like the Gewandhaus or the Leipzig or whatever that have come and gone and come and gone. But in the sense of continuous performance the [two] oldest in the world are the Vienna Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic--in 1842 both were started--and the third is the St. Louis Orchestra."
Directors & creators
Southern Educational Communications Association
Subjects
public broadcasting, AAPB, William F. Buckley Jr., Phoenix Symphony, Johann Sebastian Bach, Vienna Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra, harpsichord, classical music, orchestral music, music history, Stanford University
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