Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!
Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)
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.
ping
Concerning politics I would have agreed with him about little, I suppose. But he was a great musician.
I used to have a copy of Life Magazine from the early 50s.
The cover had the picture of “100 American Communists”. It used the term Communist too, not leftist etc.
I recall one was Leonard Bernstein. Before seeing that, I didn’t know anything more about him than he was a conductor.
Agreed.
Google & read Tom Wolfe’s 1970 classic, “Radical Chic and Mau Mauing the Flack Catchers”.
The Bernsteins’ reception & party for the Black Panthers was pure Stockholm Syndrome. Wealthy Manhattan liberals schmoozing with worthless hoodlums who’d have gladly slit all their throats had no parallel until the modern version of dhimmi infidels sucking up to muzzie terrorists who BTW make the Panthers look like pathetic punks.
I used to have some New York Philharmonic LPs with Lenny conducting, but as the libs like to say, the personal is the political and after reading Radical Chic I lost all respect for the once great maestro.
Twenty-four years ago today my brother, SIL, spouse and I went to Lenny’s 70th bday party at Tanglewood, MA. We tried to sneak in two infants and they charged us $20/each for lawn tickets for the babies!
He was a stinking commie, but he gave us West Side Story.
Is all forgiven, nearly, but not all.
RIP Leonard Bernstein.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpaS2v-r7cE
Bernstein did more than anyone to bring Mahler's music back.
I don’t care for that Communist’s sparkling interpretation of the classics, and neither did Shostakovich.
Nonsense. Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic.
And Edward M. Kennedy has been burning in Hell for two years now.
I found an old paperback copy of Wolfe’s ‘Radical Chic...’ ages ago at a used bookstore and still have it. One of his best works, with ‘The Right Stuff’ close behind.
Both need to be re-read every five years or so.
Never much cared for Lenny. The less said about him, the better.
I thought he was dead.
Classical music list.
The first part of the Wolfe book is linked in my initial post. I remember when Buckley quoted from it in one of his articles.
He is 94 today. Just not looking real great.
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