People’s Concerts were, in conjunction with Bernstein’s passion for
education, a response to the state of American Education policy at the
time. According to Julian Vasquez Heilig et al.’s analysis of the evolution
of American arts education, the Cold War ended a concerted effort
to increase public arts education following the dearth of it during the
depression and the War.
When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the government
proclaimed an educational crisis, and a new emphasis on science and
mathematics pushed arts education into the background (Vasquez
Heilig, 2010, p.138).
It is then significant that these programs were targeted specifically at
children, and were aired, in prime time, on CBS, one of the so-called ‘Big
Three’ television networks. The significance of its network is that the Big
Three dominated American prime time viewership until the 1980s (Banks
Hindman & Wiegand, 2008, p.119). This, in combination with the targeted
audience of children gives the impression that Bernstein was attempting
to combat the significant decline in arts education across America.
Parallels can then be drawn to Copland’s popular front ideology of using
new media technology to bring the culture of New York’s concert halls
to America’s ever diversifying, ever expanding population. Sudip Bose,
in his reflection on the value of this series of programs, talks about
Bernstein’s delivery as the reason the Young People’s Concerts were
so effective. Bose suggests that in addition to his presence on stage
as an articulate “great communicator” (Bose, 2006, p.118), his “humble
reverence for all music is never in question – he’ll sing the Beatles or
Elvis… to illustrate a point as readily as he’ll hum Beethoven” (ibid.).
Bose goes on to explain that Bernstein’s ability to communicate all of
this information to children in such an engaging manner is that when
Bernstein gives these lectures, “they are being supremely entertained,
but they are never once being condescended to” (Bose, 2006, p.121).
Through this analysis one can relate the ideology behind, and
presentation of these programs to two theoretical elements previously
discussed in this dissertation. Firstly, in Bernstein’s clear, concise,
yet uncondescending language, he is utilising Copland’s approach
of ‘imposed simplicity’ – a populist technique which allows him to
communicate important ideas to a wide audience. Secondly, his equal
reverence for the popular musics of the day and for the art music canon
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