V.com weekend vote: In what role do you best know Leonard Bernstein?
Leonard Bernstein is on people's minds these days, thanks to the movie Maestro, a new bio-pic about one of the 20th century's most interesting and influential musicians.
Leonard Bernstein in 1985.
The movie is coming out on Netflix on Dec. 20, but I wanted to see it in the theater, which proved to be a challenge, even in a city as big and movie-loving as Los Angeles - I saw it one of the small "select theaters" devoted to art flicks. I went with my son, Brian, who is 23.
And certainly, the film provided much food for thought. Bradley Cooper, who both directs and plays Bernstein, gives a remarkable performance, as does Carey Mulligan as Bernstein's wife, Felicia Montealegre. After an introduction showing Bernstein in the later stages of his life, it backs up and begins at the point in Bernstein's career when he is called last-minute to conduct the New York Philharmonic, at age 25. It goes on to focus on his relationship with his wife, with all the complications that stemmed from the fact he was gay and polyamorous. In the end is a searing depiction of Montealegre's struggle with cancer - him at her side.
I liked the movie quite a lot, as a depiction of one seemingly superhuman person's very human difficulties.
But there is only one Leonard Bernstein, and Bernstein's superpower lay in the fact that he could seemingly beam music from his soul, straight into your heart. Cooper, as an actor, could only go so far.
Bernstein wielded that power with his conductor's baton, with his hands at the piano, with his voice speaking to children and students, and he could do it through the rhythmic and harmonic language of his compositions. Here is a man who conducted all of Mahler's Symphonies with New York Philharmonic. His recording of Rhapsody in Blue - Bernstein as the soloist as well as conductor - was the first one I ever knew. He narrated and conducted some 53 Young People's Concerts. He wrote pieces that have become standards in the symphony hall as well as the Broadway stage - he wrote the music for West Side Story. He taught future conductors at Tanglewood - among them Seiji Ozawa and Marin Alsop. And during his life he was a major celebrity - it wasn't just classical music geeks who knew of this man. He was everywhere. He even made it into an R.E.M. Song. These things are a tiny fraction of what he did.
I remember the day he died in 1990 - I had just started graduate school. There was a sense that this was the end of an era.
My son has lived his entire life in the 21st century - post-Bernstein. Nonetheless Bernstein is still everywhere. I asked him, how did you know of Bernstein? He said that beyond being the person who wrote West Side Story (which had a recent revival as a movie), he did know he was a conductor. Also Bernstein was mentioned quite recently, in the movie Tár. "Maestro" piqued his interest further - I hope it has that effect on many.
It occurred to me that, there are probably a number of people on Violinist.com who saw Bernstein conduct live, or who were sitting in the audience for a Young People's Concert, or who even interacted in some way with the man himself. I'm interested in that - and for those who never saw him live, what is the primary way that you know of Bernstein? As a conductor? An educator? A celebrity? Please participate in the vote and then share your thoughts about Leonard Bernstein.
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Replies
To be honest the correct answer for me would be 'record covers'! His name and sometimes his picture, were on so many LPs...
I know him mainly as a composer.
Although he was alive and actively conducting well into my childhood, my first exposure to orchestral music was not until years after he died, and most of the orchestral music I heard before college was classical radio. As a result, I didn't hear a recording that he conducted until I was 21, and by that time I had already heard a fair amount of music that he composed.
At one point, in a Facebook group for people interested in lesser-known composers, I was a perplexed to see a European member post Bernstein's Chichester Psalms with the comment: "Did you know the great conductor Leonard Bernstein was also a composer?" I both didn't understand how he could possibly be considered a lesser-known composer, and didn't realize at the time how big a deal he had been as a conductor.
I never saw him live. And as far as voting, I would check all the other boxes. To say he was multi-talented and had an impact in every one of those roles is an understatement. He should have run for president.
In the 1970's I a colleague of mine at work in New York took me to meet Lenny, at Trader Vic's, in the Plaza Hotel. A friendship followed, with visits to the family apartment (where I once dined with Aaron Copland), a concert or two at the Kennedy Center (Fidelio and Mass, if memory serves), and a stunning Beethoven 9th, at Tanglewood. I also played tennis with him once, and must report that, for all his charm, wit, and charisma, he was a sore loser on the court. When he died, a brilliant light--especially in New York--was snuffed.
There should be a "most of the above" category. Although I never saw him live or interacted with him, as a child in the 60's his impact on education and bringing symphonies to children was far-reaching. I don't know that I would have chosen to play violin, and then play his music and see it performed in many venues and consequently teach many children myself, without that impetus.
I don't think anything can ever supersede the context in which I first heard of him: As the creator of West Side Story. So I was quite surprised when my fellow schoolboy, the late John Tavener drew my attention to Bernstein's recording of Shostakovich's 2nd piano concerto (I didn't think pop artists could be serious musicians).
“As a conductor,” although I’d make “as an educator” a close second. I saw some of his television presentations during my teen years and learned a lot from him then. About halfway through high school, I came across some of his writings in the school library. He had a way of explaining a musical score in clear, uncomplicated terms - without talking down to his audiences. I consider him a positive influence on my musical life - and a memorable one. Never interacted with him or saw him perform in person.
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December 4, 2023 at 05:56 AM · I would liked to have voted for several of these, but opted for 'I saw him live' - Vienna Philharmonic, in London at the Royal Festival Hall.