![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Book Review
Aug. 5th, 2010 09:09 pmLeonard Bernstein
by Paul Myers
When I was a kid, I watched several Live from Lincoln Center broadcasts of Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic. He was very memorable, and watching these performances must have been some of my earliest exposure to serious orchestral music. I also grew up listening repeatedly to my mother's LP of West Side Story, which remains my second favorite musical. Bernstein left a large impression on me, so reading more about him was kind of fun.
Reading a biography of Bernstein is a bit like going on a whirlwind tour, because once he got his career going, he was incredibly busy. He was also about the biggest celebrity the classical music world produced in the 20th century. As such, he had no lack of opportunity for conducting, composing, teaching, and doing just about any other musical activity he wanted. Luckily for all of us, he was incredibly talented and mostly used those powers of talent, fame, and esteem for good. He helped raise interest in classical music, he championed many of the living composers of his day, and he tirelessly conveyed his love and enthusiasm for his art form and for many of his friends and colleagues. Of course, Bernstein could also be arrogant, egotistical, and something of an attention-hog, not to mention his infidelities and heavy drinking. Myers, while remaining very sympathetic towards his subject, does not whitewash his less attractive aspects. Myers also had some very interesting insights on the way Bernstein dealt with the often competing and conflicting demands of composing and conducting.
by Paul Myers
When I was a kid, I watched several Live from Lincoln Center broadcasts of Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic. He was very memorable, and watching these performances must have been some of my earliest exposure to serious orchestral music. I also grew up listening repeatedly to my mother's LP of West Side Story, which remains my second favorite musical. Bernstein left a large impression on me, so reading more about him was kind of fun.
Reading a biography of Bernstein is a bit like going on a whirlwind tour, because once he got his career going, he was incredibly busy. He was also about the biggest celebrity the classical music world produced in the 20th century. As such, he had no lack of opportunity for conducting, composing, teaching, and doing just about any other musical activity he wanted. Luckily for all of us, he was incredibly talented and mostly used those powers of talent, fame, and esteem for good. He helped raise interest in classical music, he championed many of the living composers of his day, and he tirelessly conveyed his love and enthusiasm for his art form and for many of his friends and colleagues. Of course, Bernstein could also be arrogant, egotistical, and something of an attention-hog, not to mention his infidelities and heavy drinking. Myers, while remaining very sympathetic towards his subject, does not whitewash his less attractive aspects. Myers also had some very interesting insights on the way Bernstein dealt with the often competing and conflicting demands of composing and conducting.
