WHO IS LEONARD BERNSTEIN?Introduction
Among the 20th century’s most lauded composers, Leonard Bernstein ranks high. His major break leading the New York Philharmonic in 1943 was due to his inventive and ravenous conducting style; he is most known for composing the Broadway musical West Side Story. He became famous all around the world as one of the first American-born conductors to lead prestigious orchestras. Among Bernstein’s numerous compositions are musicals such as Wonderful Town and On the Town, operas such as Candide, and monumental works like Mass. Bernstein’s death came in 1990 at the age of 72, after a long battle with emphysema.
The Early Life of Leonard Bernstein
Lawrence, Massachusetts was the place of Leonard Bernstein’s birth on August 25, 1918. Although his grandma loved the name Louis, he formally changed it to Lenny or Leonard when he was sixteen years old because that’s what his family called him. His father, Sam Bernstein, was born in Ukraine to Russian immigrants; he had a calling to the Jewish priesthood when he was a child. After reaching his new home on the Lower East Side of New York City, Leonard Bernstein began a career as a fish cleaner.
After working his way up the ladder, Leonard Bernstein was able to stock wigs for a dealer and eventually sweep floors at his uncle Henry’s barbershop. Sam was able to build a successful beauty product distribution business over time. The importance of business and success was instilled in Leonard from a young age, and he learned that “occupations” including the arts were taboo. At Boston Latin School, Bernstein crossed paths with Helen Coates, who would go on to become his mentor and first serious instructor.
Upon finishing high school, he enrolled at Harvard University, where he took classes in counterpoint from Walter Piston and music theory from Arthur Tillman Merritt. Bernstein went to a Dmitri Mitropoulos-conducted Boston Symphony concert in 1937. He played a sonata at a reception the following day, and Mitropoulos was so impressed by the boy’s talent that he invited him to watch him rehearse. For seven days, Bernstein was by his side. He vowed then and there to put music first in his life.
Early Career of Conducting
Bernstein was unemployed following his summer at Tanglewood, despite his enthusiasm and genius. For a while, he worked odd jobs transcribing music. Then, as chance would have it, a wonderful opportunity presented itself. Few talented musicians were able to stay in the United States because of the military draft. Bernstein accepted the role of associate conductor for the New York Philharmonic when it was offered to him by conductor Artur Rodzinski.
Bernstein made history as the youngest and first American to hold the position of assistant conductor. The esteemed Bruno Walter, who was scheduled to conduct the symphony on November 14, 1943, became unwell. Rodzinski, who was both competent and generous, asked Bernstein to take charge of the concert that afternoon.
Spectators and musicians alike were blown away by the youthful conductor. The joyous, welcoming success of it reverberated throughout the airwaves and filled Carnegie Hall. The narrative was circulated in newspapers nationwide, catapulting Bernstein to instant fame as a conductor. By season’s end, he would have conducted the Philharmonic eleven times.
For the following few years, he led orchestras at the New York City Centre and made guest conducting appearances all around the US, Europe, and Israel. His 1944 Broadway musical On the Town was based on a dance he and choreographer Jerome Robbins had created, Fancy-Free, which was about three young sailors enjoying a New York City leave. The program was so popular that it inspired a 1949 film starring Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly.
A LOOK INTO LEONARD BERNSTEIN’S CAREER
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West Side Story and Other Musicals
In the 1950s, Leonard’s career as a musician was at its peak, and he went on multiple world tours. He established Brandeis University’s Creative Arts Festival in 1952. Teaching was another area he came to deeply like. Omnibus and Young People’s Concerts gave him the chance to reach a new demographic of music fans through television.
During this decade, Bernstein also wrote the music and lyrics for several critically acclaimed operas and musicals. The musical Peter Pan based on the play by J.M. Barrie was presented in 1950 with just seven songs and approximately ten minutes of music, although Bernstein had initially intended for the production to have a full musical, as stated in A Life by Meryle Secrest. Still, it did quite well critically and commercially. After that, in 1951, Bernstein composed the 45-minute chamber piece Trouble in Tahiti (about an upper-middle-class couple who were bored).
Bernstein composed the music for the 1953 musical Wonderful Town, which followed two sisters—one from Ohio and the other from New York City—as they sought acting and writing jobs in a basement flat. According to Burton, Bernstein’s biographer, the composer spent five weeks all alone in his apartment composing the score with authors Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov. The musical took home five Tony Awards later on.
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NewYork Philharmonic
In 1957, Bernstein was appointed music director of the New York Philharmonic, a position he held for the remainder of his career. He conducted and recorded with the orchestra regularly. Bernstein championed lesser-known contemporary composers and hosted informal concerts where he would address the audience directly from the stage, among his numerous changes to the illustrious musical institution.
As part of his continuing role as a television music educator, Bernstein began broadcasting the Philadelphia Philharmonic’s weekly Young People’s Concert on CBS, introducing classical music and Bernstein’s thoughts to millions of viewers across the globe. Renowned pianist Glenn Gould was involved in a notorious incident at the New York Philharmonic when he played Johannes Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor at a slower tempo and with a more eccentric approach than was usual.
Bernstein made a bold move by addressing the audience directly regarding Gould’s innovative approach, stating that while he didn’t fully endorse it, he did think it deserved praise for its artistic quality. Bernstein claimed he made the comments with Glenn’s approval, but the episode was widely reported and caused conjecture about a schism between the conductor and the pianist.
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Advanced Years
Although Bernstein composed Chichester Psalms during a year-long hiatus from the orchestra in 1965, his obligations with the New York Philharmonic left him with little time for composing. Bernstein began his frequent partnership with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1966, conducting performances and recording multiple symphonies by Mahler with the orchestra. Bernstein was also commissioned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to write an ode for the opening ceremony of Washington’s John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts the same year.
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Maestro Biopic
The 2023 film Maestro stars Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan as Bernstein and Montealegre, respectively, and follows the couple through Bernstein’s career and their romance. The film’s world premiered at the 2023 Venice International Film Festival in early September, where Cooper served as both director and producer alongside Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese. As of October 2, Maestro became the first film to be played at the David Geffen Hall in Lincoln Centre following the Hall’s recent renovations; Bernstein had conducted the New York Philharmonic there for many years.
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Facts and Fictions Regarding the Film
1. An Unanticipated Star: Bernstein’s First Performance
The film depicts a turning point in Bernstein’s career as the New York Philharmonic’s assistant conductor when he fills in at the last minute for Bruno Walter, who is sick. Bernstein was familiar with the season’s compositions, and although he didn’t have a rehearsal, Walter gave him pointers, so the film stays true to reality even as it dramatizes the incident.
2. The Debate Over the Nose
Claims that Bradley Cooper’s prosthetic nose reinforced preconceptions caused quite a stir. Nonetheless, Bernstein’s real nose size is faithfully shown in the film. The prosthesis becomes less noticeable as the plot develops and Cooper’s performance in the character matures, which helps to create a more realistic depiction.
3. The Bernsteins’ Devotion
By highlighting their true love and mutual regard, the film beautifully portrays Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre’s marriage. Although the general outline of their relationship and the unusual conditions they established are accurate, the film omits many crucial events, as when Bernstein had an affair with an Israeli soldier and when Montealegre first broke off their engagement.
4. The Coming to Terms with His Sexuality by Bernstein
Despite 1950s social norms, the film implies that Bernstein was at peace with his sexual orientation. Actually, Bernstein saw psychoanalysts who helped him work through his struggles with his preferences while he sought therapy. His inner turmoil is glossed over in the film.
5. Love That Isn’t There
Maestro largely centres on Bernstein’s personal ties, relegating his deep bond with the orchestra to the background. The film glosses over a major aspect of Bernstein’s life—his devotion to the orchestra, where he was music director from 1958 to 1969.
Leonard Bernstein’s Personal Life
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Sexual Relationships
Bernstein first crossed paths with Felicia Montealegre, a Costa Rican-Chilean actress, on February 5, 1947, during a party. They got engaged a few months later, but they broke off the engagement in less than a year because they weren’t ready to be married. But their love blossomed again, and in August 1951, they tied the knot. Jamie, Alexander, and Nina were the couple’s children. While Bernstein’s public persona suggested he was a doting husband and father, he had extramarital affairs with a number of men and women.
Even though Bernstein’s propensity for extramarital affairs was known to Montealegre before she married him, she kept up a positive appearance for the outside world, but she was under tremendous pressure from his actions. Their marriage was founded on sensitivity and mutual respect, not passion, she wrote to Bernstein in a letter in which she informed him that he was and probably always will be a homosexual.
Bernstein spent years in therapy, seemingly hoping to overcome his bisexuality, but he remained conflicted. Bernstein wrote to his sister about his fantasies with Felicia, in which he described his sexual attraction to guys.
After meeting Tom Cothran, the music director of a San Francisco classical radio station, in 1971 and falling in love with him, Bernstein left Montealegre five years later to be with Cothran. A lung cancer diagnosis came for Montealegre soon after they parted ways. In light of this new information, Bernstein went back to Montealegre to take care of her until her death on June 16, 1978, when she was 56 years old. Bernstein was devastated by the loss and never got over it. Cothran died of AIDS in 1987, although he and Cothran stayed friends even after he ended their romance.
The Tragedy of His Death
After a lifetime of smoking, Bernstein eventually fought emphysema. On October 14, 1990, at the age of 72, he passed away due to a heart attack. As he lay in state with Montealegre at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, a copy of Gustav Mahler’s Fifth Symphony was laid over his heart. After Bernstein passed away, there were a number of musical memorials all over the globe. Just hours after Bernstein passed away, the record labels Sony Classical and Deutsche Grammaphon announced that they would be releasing over 90 CDs showcasing his recordings. The whole New York Philharmonic’s program was devoted to him in his honor.