Posted on 08/25/2012 6:38:13 PM PDT by EveningStar
Leonard Bernstein is described by Wikipedia as "an American composer, conductor, author, music lecturer and pianist."
Today would have been his 94th birthday. He was born August 25, 1918 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He died October 14, 1990 in New York City at the age of 72.
He was one of the greatest of 20th century musicians (see the aforementioned Wikipedia article).
Lenny, as he was known, was also involved in left wing politics. He could be quite the leftist jackass. For example, decades ago, he held a now infamous party for the Black Panthers in his Park Avenue penthouse.
Lenny may have been a fool in the world of politics, but as a musician, he was truly wonderful.
Marvelous poem..and you’re right- little has changed on the left- although they do tend to screech more today.
LOL. Good one.
An interesting bit of evidence on how the Left's line constantly twists and turns is that back in the day Bernstein was the conductor of the Israel Philharmonic. That was back when liberals (and too many conservatives) thought Israel was the Cuba of the Middle East. Wonder if he'd be with the BDS people today or if he'd have dissented from current left/liberal orthodoxy?
I am a student (by avocation) of Fritz Reiner, his story, and his music. Maybe because I was getting into concerted music when he was Music Director in my home town.
I find it slightly ironic that Lenny was one of Fritz’s star conducting pupils when they were at the Curtis Institute, because their conducting styles were almost diametrically opposite.
Nice article and poem, Leni. :)
Was Fritz more like Karajan? I don’t know anything about him, but I find your comment fascinating.
Speaking of relevant dates:
Judge Crater officially went missing 62 years ago today. He would be 123 years old if found alive.
I’d put it this way, brefly: Reiner communicated as much with his stony hawklike stare as with his baton.
His friend and mentor Richard Strauss had a similar seemingly economical style, at least in old age.
I never saw Reiner conduct in person, but a colleague I met many years later did. He confirmed the legend that the man had a “postage stamp” movement at the tip of his baton.
However, various videos on Youtube show that this claim was exaggerated.
Reiner anecdote (no, not the "telescope" one):
Reiner and his wife were in the audience at a Bernstein-led concert. When Bernstein started his "Leaping Lenny" stuff, Reiner turned to his wife and said, "He did not learn that from me."
brilliant!!
Splendid story. BTW, I haven’t heard the “telescope” tale. I can trade you the “Roger Dettmer” anecdote (IIRC) if you wish.
This anecdote, along with the previous one, may be apocryphal.
Reiner had a small beat that was sometimes difficult to see.
One time, a musician in the orchestra brought out a telescope and looked through it at Reiner’s baton. When Reiner asked him what he was doing, he said he was looking for the beat.
Stories differ as to what happened next.
The most popular version has Reiner firing him on the spot.
Another version says that Reiner pulled out a pen and paper and wrote “You’re fired” on the paper.
Yet another version says that the musician simply didn’t return for the next season.
Still another version says that this was the musician’s final concert and he was retiring after it.
The instrument of the player also differs from version to version.
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