The Mountain Disappears: A "This I Believe" Essay

Written by Leonard Bernstein

Narrated by Leonard Bernstein

In this essay originally aired in the 1950s, composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein expresses his belief in the potential of people to create change, in "The Mountain Disappears," his contribution to NPR's This I Believe series.

This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that begins with the series title. The pieces that make up the program compel listeners to re-think not only what and how they have arrived at their own personal beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

Featuring a star-studded list of contributors that includes John McCain, Isabel Allende, and Colin Powell, as well as pieces from the original 1950's series including Helen Keller and Jackie Robinson, the This I Believe collection also contains essays by a Brooklyn lawyer, a woman who sells yellow pages advertising in Fort Worth, and a man who serves on the state of Rhode Island's parole board. The result is a stirring, funny and always provocative trip inside the minds and hearts of a diverse group of Americans whose beliefs, and the incredibly varied ways in which they choose to express them, reveal the American spirit at its best.

This short audio essay is an excerpt from the audiobook edition of the This I Believe anthology.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: Oct 3, 2006
• ISBN: 9781427201591

Leonard Bernstein

Composer, conductor, pianist, educator, and humanitarian Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) was longtime music director of the New York Philharmonic, where he led the highly successful Young People's Concerts series. Bernstein forged a new relationship between classical and popular music with his compositions "West Side Story," "On the Town," "Candide," and others.

Reviews for The Mountain Disappears

[Alex Reyes-deAnda · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Es un ensayo, es una impresión muy de su tiempo, muy del siglo XX, que se escucha idealista y lejana hoy que el país (Estados Unidos de América) y el mundo se encuentran lejos de un florecimiento y más bien tratando de salir a flote de la gran crisis post pandemia.

Pero es positivo, optimista y las voces se escuchan muy bien.