Leonard Bernstein

Conductor

• Born: August 25, 1918
• Place of Birth: Lawrence, Massachusetts
• Died: October 14, 1990
• Place of Death: New York, New York

CONDUCTOR, EDUCATOR, AND COMPOSER

One of the youngest to lead the New York Philharmonic and a versatile composer, Bernstein used the medium of television to bring classical music to a wide audience, especially young people.

AREAS OF ACHIEVEMENT: Education; music; theater

Early Life

Leonard Bernstein was born to Samuel and Jennie Bernstein, Russian immigrants. Although intelligent, Leonard Bernstein was a sickly child until he discovered the piano at the age of ten. He practiced incessantly, and, amazingly, his health improved. He studied with a series of teachers until he met Helen Coates, who encouraged his playing and compositions, and ultimately she became his secretary. Bernstein’s love of music caused considerable friction with his father, the owner of a beauty supply company, who was concerned that his firstborn son would not be able to make a living in music. Bernstein’s two younger siblings, Shirley, born in 1923, and Burton, born in 1932, would be his lifelong friends, companions, and confidants.

Bernstein’s father was raised Orthodox and was descended from a long line of rabbis, and the family attended Temple Mishkan Tefila in Roxbury, a Boston suburb. Bernstein was captivated by the rich musical tradition of the synagogue, which, although conservative, included an organ and a mixed choir, directed by Solomon Braslavsky. Much of this music would influence Bernstein’s compositions, which were often infused with Jewish melodic motifs. During his Bar Mitzvah, Bernstein led the service and gave a speech in both Hebrew and English.

Bernstein attended the William Lloyd Garrison School and the Boston Latin School and later graduated cum laude from Harvard in 1939. While at Harvard, he met the Greek conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos, who suggested that Bernstein study conducting, which he did at the Curtis School of Music in Philadelphia. In 1937, Bernstein met Aaron Copland, who became his lifelong friend and mentor. Bernstein was one of the first conducting students at the Tanglewood Music Festival, where he became a protégé of Serge Koussevitzky, the conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Koussevitzky tried to convince Bernstein to change his name to the more Anglo-sounding Leonard S. Burns, but Bernstein refused. On his twenty-fifth birthday, Bernstein was offered the position of assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic and, only three months later, on November 14, 1943, conducted his first performance with the orchestra as a last-minute replacement.

Life’s Work

After his auspicious debut, Bernstein served as a guest conductor all over the world yet still found time to compose art music, including symphonies (Jeremiah, 1942; The Age of Anxiety, 1949; and Kaddish, 1963) and musicals (Fancy Free, 1944, and On the Town, 1944). He was also in demand as a pianist. He was frequently criticized for being unable to concentrate on one aspect of music.

In the 1940s, Bernstein made several trips to Palestine, often performing on the front lines during wartime. He was offered the position of conductor of the Israel Philharmonic but respectfully declined. Throughout his life, he maintained strong ties with Israel.

The 1950s brought much success for Bernstein with his opera Trouble in Tahiti (1952), the film score for On the Waterfront (1954), and two musicals, Wonderful Town (1953) and West Side Story (1957). He served on the faculty of Brandeis University, commuting from New York. He also began his long association with television, first with his series Omnibus, in which he made classical music comprehensible and entertaining to a mass audience. This trait would serve him well with his televised Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic. He became conductor of that orchestra in 1958, a post which he retained until 1969. In 1951, he married Felicia Montealegre, the daughter of a Jewish father and a Catholic mother. Felicia converted to Judaism before the wedding, held at Temple Mishkan Tefila. They had three children: Jaime, born in 1952; Alexander, born in 1955; and Nina, born in 1962.

However, all was not perfect. Candide (1956), based on the story by Voltaire, was intended as a satire of the Senator Joseph McCarthy-era hearings that accused many people in creative fields of being associated with the Communist Party and therefore treasonous. Candide was revised several times but never achieved widespread acclaim. Bernstein’s 1970 work, Mass, written for the opening of the Kennedy Center, alienated Jews who felt he should not compose such a work, and Catholics, who felt he treated one of their most sacred rites in a sacrilegious manner. That same year, his wife hosted a controversial dinner party to support the radical Black nationalist group the Black Panther Party. As a result, Bernstein was booed at the New York Philharmonic.

His reputation later improved. In 1973, Bernstein delivered the six Norton Lectures at Harvard and, the same year, conducted his Chichester Psalms (1965) at the Vatican. He began a long association with the Vienna Philharmonic, where he championed the works of Gustav Mahler. Later compositions include the ballet Dybbuk (1974), the flute concerto Halil (1981), A Quiet Place (1983), Arias and Barcarolles (1988), and Jubilee Games, later called Concerto for Orchestra (1986), his final composition. A lifelong smoker, Bernstein died of a heart attack at the age of seventy-two.

Significance

Bernstein proved that an American-born Jew could ably lead the top-rated orchestra in the United States, a feat never before achieved. Through his compositions, especially West Side Story, he bridged the gap between classical and popular music, thereby reaching a large and diverse audience. Moreover, Bernstein showed that he was proud of his Jewish heritage, both by incorporating Jewish aspects into his works and by supporting Jewish causes, especially Zionism. Bernstein’s activism, which began when he was a Harvard student, extended throughout the course of his life. He championed numerous causes, notably nuclear disarmament, environmental issues, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) research. He performed at the Berlin Wall in 1989 as it was toppled and was an outspoken advocate for the arts.

Many of his compositions deal with the crisis of faith on some level, but Bernstein ultimately believed in the triumph of the human spirit. His activism on behalf of numerous causes illustrates the concept of tikkun olam, the repair of the world, espoused in the Jewish scripture. Above all, he was passionate about music and wanted to share it with as many people as possible.

Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Bernstein were the subjects of the 2023 biographical film Maestro, which starred actors Bradley Cooper (who also directed) and Carey Mulligan and garnered critical acclaim and numerous nominations at several prestigious industry award shows, including seven Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations. Particular praise was directed at Cooper and Mulligan's performances as Bernstein and Montealegre Bernstein, respectively.

Bibliography

Bernstein, Burton. Family Matters: Sam, Jennie, and the Kids. New York: Summit Books, 1982. This often humorous book gives an insider’s view of Bernstein, his parents, and his siblings. The book has a significant Jewish focus.

Bernstein, Leonard. Findings. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1982. Although not an autobiography in the traditional sense, this book contains articles, letters, poems, and essays written throughout Bernstein’s life and even includes his Harvard thesis.

Burton, Humphrey. Leonard Bernstein. New York: Doubleday, 1994. Burton’s book is a comprehensive biography on Bernstein. It includes numerous photographs and detailed discussions of some of his works.

Hammond, Pete. "Bradley Cooper Reacts to Seven Oscar Nominations for 'Maestro', Including Three of His Own: 'It's Very Surreal.'" Deadline, 23 Jan. 2024, deadline.com/2024/01/2024-oscar-nominations-bradley-cooper-reaction-seven-nominations-maestro-1235802430/. Accessed 6 Mar. 2024.

Laird, Paul. Leonard Bernstein: A Guide to Research. New York: Routledge, 2002. Anyone undertaking research on Bernstein needs to consult this painstakingly thorough work, which lists everything written by and about Bernstein up to 2001.

Oja, Carol J., and Kay Kaufman Shelemay. “Leonard Bernstein’s Jewish Boston: Cross-Disciplinary Research in the Classroom.” Journal of the Society for American Music 3, no. 1 (February, 2009): 3-33. This article evolved from a Harvard seminar that examined various facets of Bernstein’s Boston roots; the entire issue of the journal is devoted to Bernstein.