What do you think?
Rate this book
Bernstein: A Biography
Author, journalist and music critic Peyser enlists the remarks of Bernstein's family, friends and colleagues in order to expose inconsistencies in his own version of his life and to explore his motivations, struggles, and contributions. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
510 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
4 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 21, 2009
From my thesis proposal:
In addition to Burton’s work, the long-standing staple biography on Bernstein has been that of Joan Peyser. Whether in the original or the “revised and updated” version, Peyser’s biography provides serious problems for the scholar. At the surface, the book is thorough and delves deeply into areas of the composer’s life that are at first attractive to the historical ethnomusicologist or musicologist concerned with contextual elements which influence a composer’s output. However, Peyser makes many unexplained statements on the composer’s life and personality, prompting Paul Laird to comment, “Often the writer [Peyser:] seems to believe herself privy to Bernstein’s most private thoughts and motivations. This is an important biography, but it is cheapened by what seems an obsession with the prurient.” I consider this source important due to the controversies it provoked and because the first edition was written during the composer’s lifetime. However, I have used Peyser’s work only as a starting point, attempting to find supporting details in the work of more reliable scholars or in the letters and archives of Bernstein himself. Peyser’s lack of citations beyond three or four main sources—alluded to in the preface but not footnoted in the book itself—makes this a challenging task and further discourages me from relying heavily on this source
In addition to Burton’s work, the long-standing staple biography on Bernstein has been that of Joan Peyser. Whether in the original or the “revised and updated” version, Peyser’s biography provides serious problems for the scholar. At the surface, the book is thorough and delves deeply into areas of the composer’s life that are at first attractive to the historical ethnomusicologist or musicologist concerned with contextual elements which influence a composer’s output. However, Peyser makes many unexplained statements on the composer’s life and personality, prompting Paul Laird to comment, “Often the writer [Peyser:] seems to believe herself privy to Bernstein’s most private thoughts and motivations. This is an important biography, but it is cheapened by what seems an obsession with the prurient.” I consider this source important due to the controversies it provoked and because the first edition was written during the composer’s lifetime. However, I have used Peyser’s work only as a starting point, attempting to find supporting details in the work of more reliable scholars or in the letters and archives of Bernstein himself. Peyser’s lack of citations beyond three or four main sources—alluded to in the preface but not footnoted in the book itself—makes this a challenging task and further discourages me from relying heavily on this source
April 5, 2023
I thought this biography had some strange hyper-fixations on very non-relevant parts of Bernstein's life. Very small details were accounted over and over again. I had to trudge through the book to finish it.
June 21, 2018
Some interesting insights marred by the authors apparent obsession with Bernstein's sex life.
June 8, 2016
I remember this biography being excoriated at the time. I read it with some trepidation and was left a little wanting; I could detect the artistic license afoot. But I did get some insight into the complex sexuality and pressures that, to some degree, informed the conductor-composer's artistry. I wouldn't consider it a Bernstein Ur-text by any means. I still haven't read Burton's famous bio. I will someday.
August 2, 2011
I had no idea how intertwined all these people were. I had no idea what a man's world the music scene of Leonard Bernstein was. I had no idea how Jewish it was. I did know he was homosexual. And an egoist. And n outstanding musician.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews