Celebrities Project: Leonard Bernstein

I originally thought that I was going to dedicate about three weeks to Leonard Bernstein (in order to make up for the extra weeks I spent on Buddy Holly and James Dean), but I realized that there is so much to study with Leonard Bernstein's career and life that it would be better to give him some extra time. So I think that I'm going to now focus on twelve celebrities instead of thirteen this year; so we'll see who gets cut out from the list at the end of the year!

I decided to not read a full biography on Bernstein this month, but I read an online biography and also heard some biographical information in interviews that were included as bonus features with a 2001 dramatized performance of Trouble in Tahiti.  Based on the interview that I read in Dinner With Lenny: The Last Long Interview with Leonard Bernstein by Jonathan Cott, Bernstein seems like a witty intellectual who loved to read and learn. I love that he and his family loved Alice in Wonderland; Bernstein was buried with a copy of the book.

Probably the most impressive thing that I learned about Bernstein was that his widespread acclaim as a conductor began when he was twenty-five years old; he was called to substitute for a guest conductor, Bruno Walter, at Carnegie Hall. Bruno Walter was ill with the flu and so, Bernstein was called upon to come to Carnegie Hall that same day; without any rehearsal, he led a performance that received critical acclaim and attention.

Bernstein was often criticized for being an exhibitionist when he conducted, and in some ways I can see what critics mean. He does seem overly emotive, but I appreciate the sound that he is able to get the orchestra to produce as a result. I'm also impressed with his keen ears and his ability to pick out multiple sounds at the same time, which was especially apparent to me when watching videos of him rehearsing with orchestras.

Since I've already written down some quotes by Bernstein and also highlighted his interest in pop music, I thought I would share just a few more thoughts about Bernstein's own music. When I started listening to Leonard Bernstein's music, my only previous association (that I was aware of) was his music in West Side Story, which is a show that I love. I know that music very well, and I noticed that I kept finding similar intervals, beats, an instruments appearing in his other compositions. (For example, his three dance episodes from the musical On the Town remind me of the dance songs in West Side Story.) I have been trying to find the right way to describe Bernstein's distinctive sound, and I kept thinking of the word "sonorous," but I don't feel like that is descriptive enough, although it is a start. The best thing I have found about Bernstein's musical style is this quote by Kenneth LaFave in Experiencing Leonard Bernstein: A Listener's Companion:

"Bernstein's early scores are a search for a self, for a voice. In a way, Bernstein oeuvre itself will continue this search, turning the quest for a voice into the voice itself. Here is Bernstein's so-called eclecticism...[which] means that, once he got past emulating Scriabin and company, the young composer naturally turned to the music of his time and his life: to Gershwin and Copland, to jazz, to the variety of folk music sources made available by the new technology of sound recording, and last, but far from least, the music of Hebrew worship" (p. 9, source available online).

Here are some of my thoughts on some specific Bernstein compositions that I listened to this past month:

• Trouble in Tahiti (see clips of the opening scenes and "Island Magic" song): This is an interesting one-act opera. Musically, it is interesting and the chorus and clarinet in the opening scenes remind me more of musical theater. However, I think the seriousness of the subject matter and complexity of (some) of the vocal music elevates this piece to the level of opera. It's a little bit of a downer, actually, since it follows the troubled marriage of two individuals. It seems strange that Bernstein began writing this opera on his honeymoon, but perhaps he wanted to work through personal issues about his parents' troubled relationship before he embarked on a marriage of his own. I also wonder if Leonard's concern 
• On the Waterfront film score: Leonard Bernstein had some difficulties when working on this project, since he had to keep reminding himself that the dialogue needed to be heard above his music. To be honest, I had to keep reminding myself to listen for music when it came along; the director Kazan used music rather sparingly throughout the film. One place where I noticed the music most was during the "Death in a Dark Alley" scene. There is some discussion of how the music relates to the action of different scenes HERE.
• I like how diverse Leonard Bernstein was in the types of compositions that he produced. His short piece "I Hate Music" for soprano and piano is really amusing and fun. It also seems like it would be a really challenging piece to sing, because of all of the large intervals.
• I realized that I already knew one song from Leonard Bernstein's mass, "Simple Song." I really like Renée Fleming's recording of this song. It is a really pretty piece, and I like the connectedness of the intrumental parts along with the voice. As for the mass itself (see BBC performance), I think some songs are a little to sharp in their beats and chords for mass music.
• I don't feel like there were tons of revelatory new things that I learned while watching his Omnibus series (and following the shows with the text and transcripts included in The Joy of Music). But I did find the episode on Bach to be very interesting, and I especially liked how Bernstein explained that the the strings which accompany Christ's singing in Saint Matthew's Passion have been described as a "halo."

I feel like I have a better understanding of Bernstein as an individual and conductor now, but also a better sense of him as a composer. I liked the opportunity to listen to various types of the Omnibus series and get to think about music itself, too. This month may end up being the most educational of this whole year, in the sense that Bernstein wanted to educate people (young and old) about music.