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Dinner with Lenny: The Last Long Interview with Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein was arguably the most highly esteemed, influential, and charismatic American classical music personality of the twentieth century. Conductor, composer, pianist, writer, educator, and human rights activist, Bernstein truly led a life of Byronic intensity--passionate, risk-taking, and convention-breaking.
In November 1989, just a year before his death, Bernstein invited writer Jonathan Cott to his country home in Fairfield, Connecticut for what turned out to be his last major interview--an unprecedented and astonishingly frank twelve-hour conversation. Now, in Dinner with Lenny, Cott provides a complete account of this remarkable dialogue in which Bernstein discourses with disarming frankness, humor, and intensity on matters musical, pedagogical, political, psychological, spiritual, and the unabashedly personal. Bernstein comes alive again, with vodka glass in hand, singing, humming, and making pointed comments on a wide array of topics, from popular music ("the Beatles were the best songwriters since Gershwin"), to great composers ("Wagner was always in a psychotic frenzy. He was a madman, a megalomaniac"), and politics (lamenting "the brainlessness, the mindlessness, the carelessness, and the heedlessness of the Reagans of the world"). And of course, Bernstein talks of conducting, advising students "to look at the score and make it come alive as if they were the composer. If you can do that, you're a conductor and if you can't, you're not. If I don't become Brahms or Tchaikovsky or Stravinsky when I'm conducting their works, then it won't be a great performance."
After Rolling Stone magazine published an abridged version of the conversation in 1990, the Chicago Tribune praised it as "an extraordinary interview" filled with "passion, wit, and acute analysis." Studs Terkel called the interview "astonishing and revelatory." Now, this full-length version provides the reader with a unique, you-are-there perspective on what it was like to converse with this gregarious, witty, candid, and inspiring American dynamo.
In November 1989, just a year before his death, Bernstein invited writer Jonathan Cott to his country home in Fairfield, Connecticut for what turned out to be his last major interview--an unprecedented and astonishingly frank twelve-hour conversation. Now, in Dinner with Lenny, Cott provides a complete account of this remarkable dialogue in which Bernstein discourses with disarming frankness, humor, and intensity on matters musical, pedagogical, political, psychological, spiritual, and the unabashedly personal. Bernstein comes alive again, with vodka glass in hand, singing, humming, and making pointed comments on a wide array of topics, from popular music ("the Beatles were the best songwriters since Gershwin"), to great composers ("Wagner was always in a psychotic frenzy. He was a madman, a megalomaniac"), and politics (lamenting "the brainlessness, the mindlessness, the carelessness, and the heedlessness of the Reagans of the world"). And of course, Bernstein talks of conducting, advising students "to look at the score and make it come alive as if they were the composer. If you can do that, you're a conductor and if you can't, you're not. If I don't become Brahms or Tchaikovsky or Stravinsky when I'm conducting their works, then it won't be a great performance."
After Rolling Stone magazine published an abridged version of the conversation in 1990, the Chicago Tribune praised it as "an extraordinary interview" filled with "passion, wit, and acute analysis." Studs Terkel called the interview "astonishing and revelatory." Now, this full-length version provides the reader with a unique, you-are-there perspective on what it was like to converse with this gregarious, witty, candid, and inspiring American dynamo.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published December 7, 2012
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March 10, 2025
Lenny!
Who can beat ‘im? He was the flashy Saul Bellow of classical music - a goshdarned megastar.
Lenny - Leonard Bernstein, the epochal conductor of the NY Phil, brimming over with a voracious appetite - for great music, love and life?
Well, I for one - for I can simply navigate over to Spotify and select from a wide variety of Otto Klemperer selections.
Why go nuts and choose Lennie and the NY Phil?
Otto Klemperer knew EXACTLY how a symphony should sound!
He didn’t groan ‘n grunt & gesticulate wildly, emoting thru every sweat gland - even if it WAS Lenny’s incredible version of Stravinsky’s Sacre - from back in the repressive nineteen-fifties!
Sure, Klemperer walked the straight ‘n narrow, and sure, he was also a bipolar case (who always dusted himself off and got back into the fray after an episode) but he knew the way classical SHOULD sound.
Lenny, though, made his point back then. And wow, was he GREAT at the time.
He ushered in a whole new age of Classical music - Everyman’s-Lib Classics - for Whatever taste turns your crank.
Not for this old guy now.
After being round the old block countless times I got tired of the old, sad, tired partying circuit.
For now, as in the Bard's lead-in to Twelfth Night, "I am never merry when I hear sweet music!"
And no, it’s not the sporadic, shotgun and spasmodic freedom of Lenny, sipping liquor with Rolling Stone’s redoubtable Jonathan Cott till the late wee hours, juggling million-dollar aperçus in the air. That's rather fun.
And sure, I gushed about the opening of this book. But -
It's because I was still a Brighter Shade of Green when I started it.
And I just had to go round the block ONE LAST TIME...
“And KNOW the place (where I started) for the First Time!”
Thanks, Lenny - but No, Thanks.
I’ll take your music any day, but...
I prefer to play my own tunes sotto voce -
After all, I’m no superstar, and just couldn’t bear the private storms you had to weather in your rich and famous (and outre) lifestyle for being one!
And, oh yes, fallen angel of my 1960’s musicality...
May you Rest In Peace.
You deserve it!
Who can beat ‘im? He was the flashy Saul Bellow of classical music - a goshdarned megastar.
Lenny - Leonard Bernstein, the epochal conductor of the NY Phil, brimming over with a voracious appetite - for great music, love and life?
Well, I for one - for I can simply navigate over to Spotify and select from a wide variety of Otto Klemperer selections.
Why go nuts and choose Lennie and the NY Phil?
Otto Klemperer knew EXACTLY how a symphony should sound!
He didn’t groan ‘n grunt & gesticulate wildly, emoting thru every sweat gland - even if it WAS Lenny’s incredible version of Stravinsky’s Sacre - from back in the repressive nineteen-fifties!
Sure, Klemperer walked the straight ‘n narrow, and sure, he was also a bipolar case (who always dusted himself off and got back into the fray after an episode) but he knew the way classical SHOULD sound.
Lenny, though, made his point back then. And wow, was he GREAT at the time.
He ushered in a whole new age of Classical music - Everyman’s-Lib Classics - for Whatever taste turns your crank.
Not for this old guy now.
After being round the old block countless times I got tired of the old, sad, tired partying circuit.
For now, as in the Bard's lead-in to Twelfth Night, "I am never merry when I hear sweet music!"
And no, it’s not the sporadic, shotgun and spasmodic freedom of Lenny, sipping liquor with Rolling Stone’s redoubtable Jonathan Cott till the late wee hours, juggling million-dollar aperçus in the air. That's rather fun.
And sure, I gushed about the opening of this book. But -
It's because I was still a Brighter Shade of Green when I started it.
And I just had to go round the block ONE LAST TIME...
“And KNOW the place (where I started) for the First Time!”
Thanks, Lenny - but No, Thanks.
I’ll take your music any day, but...
I prefer to play my own tunes sotto voce -
After all, I’m no superstar, and just couldn’t bear the private storms you had to weather in your rich and famous (and outre) lifestyle for being one!
And, oh yes, fallen angel of my 1960’s musicality...
May you Rest In Peace.
You deserve it!
November 17, 2012
While this is no more than an interview transcription, this is a wonderful capture of one of the most dynamic composers and conductors of the 20th century. Jonathan Cott sat down with Leonard Bernstein for "dinner," which was more of a 12 hour interview marathon. He published an excerpt version in Rolling Stone in 1989, the year before Bernstein's death. Now it is being released in its entirety.
What I love about this is how much Bernstein comes through, from the musical examples he sings or jumps up to play on the piano, to his teasing of the interviewer. I felt like I was having dinner with him too, and immediately went out in search of the works and recordings that were mentioned. (In fact, I'm listening to the orchestral transcriptions he did of the Beethoven String Quartet Op. 131 as I write this review.)
Bernstein was sometimes criticized by other conductors for being overly emotional in his interpretation of work. His response: "The other guys just haven't got the courage to play what Mahler wrote, that's all. I'm a composer, and I understand what he meant. That's the difference."
He also expressed frustration over orchestras being boxed by sound that had to do with a conductor or aesthetic, rather than attending to the intentions of the composer.
Bernstein has quite a bit to say about the human response to music as well:
He goes on to discuss how children have innate musical ability, and what blocks people develop through upbringing and experience.
Overall, this is a quick and enjoyable read, and should be accompanied with a good dose of listening to Bernstein, both as a composer and conductor.
This is more of a note to myself, but I loved that the author read this excerpt of Song of Myself by Walt Whitman to Bernstein, and captured his response.
What I love about this is how much Bernstein comes through, from the musical examples he sings or jumps up to play on the piano, to his teasing of the interviewer. I felt like I was having dinner with him too, and immediately went out in search of the works and recordings that were mentioned. (In fact, I'm listening to the orchestral transcriptions he did of the Beethoven String Quartet Op. 131 as I write this review.)
Bernstein was sometimes criticized by other conductors for being overly emotional in his interpretation of work. His response: "The other guys just haven't got the courage to play what Mahler wrote, that's all. I'm a composer, and I understand what he meant. That's the difference."
He also expressed frustration over orchestras being boxed by sound that had to do with a conductor or aesthetic, rather than attending to the intentions of the composer.
"Every orchestra can and should be made to sound like the composer it's playing, and not like itself - Haydn in Haydn's style, Ravel in Ravel's style, and Mahler in Mahler's style... and not with a "Philadelphia" or a "Berlin Philharmonic" sound. I'm against 'sounds.'"
Bernstein has quite a bit to say about the human response to music as well:
"There's an inner geography of the human being that can be captured by music, and not by anything else."
He goes on to discuss how children have innate musical ability, and what blocks people develop through upbringing and experience.
Overall, this is a quick and enjoyable read, and should be accompanied with a good dose of listening to Bernstein, both as a composer and conductor.
This is more of a note to myself, but I loved that the author read this excerpt of Song of Myself by Walt Whitman to Bernstein, and captured his response.
"The orchestra whirls me wider than Uranus flies,
It wrenches such ardors from me I did not know I possess'd them,
It sails me, I dab with bare feet, they are lick'd by the indolent waves,
I am cut by bitter and angry hail, I lose my breath,
Steep'd amid honey'd morphine, my windpipe throttled in fakes of death,
At length let up again to feel the puzzle of puzzles,
And that we call being."
June 8, 2016
It took author Jonathan Cott a year to nail down an interview with his musical idol, the conductor-composer-educator, Leonard Bernstein. Less than a year after the interview, Bernstein was dead. But for a whim by the conductor, who at that point was ignoring all requests for interviews, this one almost didn't happen.
But it did, and the first result was an 8,000-word article in Rolling Stone. Having four times more material than he could use for that magazine piece, Cott later expanded that trove into this book.
It was a fortuitous occurrence, and this short book is enjoyable, such as it is. But does it tell us anything essential that we didn't already know about Bernstein? Based on what I've read -- and that would include two other books and countless articles -- I would have to say not really.
The dinner interview Cott conducted at Bernstein's Connecticut country home in November 1989 is wide-ranging, and the interviewer has enough of a Renaissance mind to engage the Great Man, who fancied himself an expert at some level on most things. So the conversation often veers far afield from musical matters, and that's where the talk is weakest. Some of Bernstein's nuggets of wisdom on religion, Freudianism, education, early childhood development, and politics didn't always seem to constitute a fully cohesive philosophy -- or if they did, it doesn't come out here. He is thought-provoking, but some of the ideas needed more parsing out. I know, this is a dinner conversation, and the snippets under such circumstances are by necessity truncated; meal talks offer a variable smorgasbord. I found myself more fascinated by Bernstein offering the author a dinner roll or chiding his waiter for not serving Cott a vegetarian meal than in some of the discussions.
But when the topic is music, Bernstein is on much more solid ground, though in some ways no less idiosyncratically. Bernstein, successfully in my view, explodes several myths about some of the more famous anecdotes of his career, including one about the disagreement he had with pianist Glenn Gould over an infamous 1961 concert featuring the Brahms First Piano Concerto. The interpretive differences between the two actually occurred on the first night concert, yet the recording that has been going around for 50 years claiming to be of that concert is actually from the second night -- and it is actually played at a conventional tempo. Almost by the power of suggestion, people have been criticizing the wrong recording all this time for being eccentric. On top of that, Bernstein's famous "disavowal" speech before the concert on his disagreement with Gould's conception of the piece -- a speech that critics excoriated him for -- was actually penned by both Gould and Bernstein in advance.
There are funny anecdotes, too, like the one in which the sociopathic Gould arrives at the New York City apartment of Bernstein and his wife Felicia wearing a fur hat that he refused to take off. Felicia, doing something no one else apparently had ever succeeded in doing, managed to wrangle the hat from Gould's head and personally shampooed the pianist's matted greasy hair!
I'm a Bernstein fan, so for me the book was enjoyable, but I'm not so sure a general readership will find it so. I think fans are really the only readership that would derive much value from it. Maybe I'm jaded from reading too much about music or too many musical biographies, but I have to put this up against the best, and if you want to read a brilliant book about music and musical thought I would wholeheartedly recommend my favorite book on the subject, Geoffrey Payzant's Glenn Gould: Music and Mind, which I have reviewed rapturously here.
(KevinR@Ky 2016)
But it did, and the first result was an 8,000-word article in Rolling Stone. Having four times more material than he could use for that magazine piece, Cott later expanded that trove into this book.
It was a fortuitous occurrence, and this short book is enjoyable, such as it is. But does it tell us anything essential that we didn't already know about Bernstein? Based on what I've read -- and that would include two other books and countless articles -- I would have to say not really.
The dinner interview Cott conducted at Bernstein's Connecticut country home in November 1989 is wide-ranging, and the interviewer has enough of a Renaissance mind to engage the Great Man, who fancied himself an expert at some level on most things. So the conversation often veers far afield from musical matters, and that's where the talk is weakest. Some of Bernstein's nuggets of wisdom on religion, Freudianism, education, early childhood development, and politics didn't always seem to constitute a fully cohesive philosophy -- or if they did, it doesn't come out here. He is thought-provoking, but some of the ideas needed more parsing out. I know, this is a dinner conversation, and the snippets under such circumstances are by necessity truncated; meal talks offer a variable smorgasbord. I found myself more fascinated by Bernstein offering the author a dinner roll or chiding his waiter for not serving Cott a vegetarian meal than in some of the discussions.
But when the topic is music, Bernstein is on much more solid ground, though in some ways no less idiosyncratically. Bernstein, successfully in my view, explodes several myths about some of the more famous anecdotes of his career, including one about the disagreement he had with pianist Glenn Gould over an infamous 1961 concert featuring the Brahms First Piano Concerto. The interpretive differences between the two actually occurred on the first night concert, yet the recording that has been going around for 50 years claiming to be of that concert is actually from the second night -- and it is actually played at a conventional tempo. Almost by the power of suggestion, people have been criticizing the wrong recording all this time for being eccentric. On top of that, Bernstein's famous "disavowal" speech before the concert on his disagreement with Gould's conception of the piece -- a speech that critics excoriated him for -- was actually penned by both Gould and Bernstein in advance.
There are funny anecdotes, too, like the one in which the sociopathic Gould arrives at the New York City apartment of Bernstein and his wife Felicia wearing a fur hat that he refused to take off. Felicia, doing something no one else apparently had ever succeeded in doing, managed to wrangle the hat from Gould's head and personally shampooed the pianist's matted greasy hair!
I'm a Bernstein fan, so for me the book was enjoyable, but I'm not so sure a general readership will find it so. I think fans are really the only readership that would derive much value from it. Maybe I'm jaded from reading too much about music or too many musical biographies, but I have to put this up against the best, and if you want to read a brilliant book about music and musical thought I would wholeheartedly recommend my favorite book on the subject, Geoffrey Payzant's Glenn Gould: Music and Mind, which I have reviewed rapturously here.
(KevinR@Ky 2016)
September 17, 2018
"Conductor, composer, pianist, writer, educator, lecturer, television host, human rights and peace activist, Leonard Bernstein was his own one-person Gesamtkunstwerk—"
Genius. Sheer genius. Over a 12 hour dinner at Bernstein's home in Connecticut, in 1989, the author speaks to the lively, passionate, chain-smoking man, in his late seventies revealing the inner workings of this remarkable man. Reading this book allowed me to "hear" Lenny's voice, to understand what made him tick. A complex, thoughtful, emotional, energetic man who talked about life, life after life, death, women, men, musicians, children and education and his wife, Felicia.
"Life without music is unthinkable. Music without life is academic. That is why my contact with music is a total embrace."
Lenny, as his friends called him, was a friend of the family. His wife, Felicia, went to school with my mother. His daughters and I shared the same piano teacher. In the 60s, when we lived in Manhattan, he showered us with free tickets to his concerts, rehearsals and my beloved Young People's Concerts.
When I was 10, I was invited to play the piano at his house. As I started playing Bernstein had not arrived. He walked into the room as I was in the middle of a Bartok piece; I got flustered, stumbled and missed a note - thankfully recovering and going on to play without another mistake. Lenny stood up, clapped and said bravo - even though I had made a mistake. He was the mentor that every student should have. A giver of every ounce of himself - to strangers, kids, fellow musicians and his lovers - of which apparently there were many.
Genius. Sheer genius. Over a 12 hour dinner at Bernstein's home in Connecticut, in 1989, the author speaks to the lively, passionate, chain-smoking man, in his late seventies revealing the inner workings of this remarkable man. Reading this book allowed me to "hear" Lenny's voice, to understand what made him tick. A complex, thoughtful, emotional, energetic man who talked about life, life after life, death, women, men, musicians, children and education and his wife, Felicia.
"Life without music is unthinkable. Music without life is academic. That is why my contact with music is a total embrace."
Lenny, as his friends called him, was a friend of the family. His wife, Felicia, went to school with my mother. His daughters and I shared the same piano teacher. In the 60s, when we lived in Manhattan, he showered us with free tickets to his concerts, rehearsals and my beloved Young People's Concerts.
When I was 10, I was invited to play the piano at his house. As I started playing Bernstein had not arrived. He walked into the room as I was in the middle of a Bartok piece; I got flustered, stumbled and missed a note - thankfully recovering and going on to play without another mistake. Lenny stood up, clapped and said bravo - even though I had made a mistake. He was the mentor that every student should have. A giver of every ounce of himself - to strangers, kids, fellow musicians and his lovers - of which apparently there were many.
August 26, 2020
A wonderful look into the mind and personality of an absolute genius. Somehow I find myself feeling both monumentally inadequate and incredibly inspired when reading the words of Lenny. A great read, and I guess finishing it on his birthday is a good sign!
July 14, 2014
Beyond one music history course I took in college, of which I have retained very little, I feel ill-versed to converse about classical music or modern composers, so I have been seeking to bridge this void, however feeble. Appreciation for today's music can only be further enhanced by better understanding what came before it and what led to its evolution, so reading Bernstein's enthusiastic replies utterly encourages this endeavor. His words overflow with love for the genre, for he perceives each instrumental section more as a character within a narrative, transforming how any piece may be received by its listener. His firm stance in keeping an open mind, seeing himself as a beginner by ignoring his accolades, and belief children are born with an inherent love of learning (despite extenuating circumstances that may suggest otherwise) enabled him to remain actively conducting and sharp-witted to the very end.
As for name-dropping, he probably mentioned Brahms, Stravinsky, and Copeland the most besides the requisite Beethoven and Mozart.
As for name-dropping, he probably mentioned Brahms, Stravinsky, and Copeland the most besides the requisite Beethoven and Mozart.
September 29, 2016
Interesting enough. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I knew more about Leonard Bernstein's life. I was expecting it to be more biographical but it was an interview with Bernstein on a smattering of subjects mostly centered on Berstein's thoughts on music, musicians and creativity. There are some interesting bits, but you have to plow through a lot of post-modern mumbo jumbo to get to them and I wouldn't pick this up again or even recommend it unless you're a huge classical music/orchestra buff. I will note that if you like Glenn Gould there is a priceless story in here about the time he played a Brahms piano concerto with the New York Philharmonic with Bernstein conducting. HILARIOUS!!!
March 11, 2020
Loved every minute with the book! Bernstein's passion for music shines through on every page and he has a lot of stories to share. Highlights are how composers write music, how they are able to see the whole piece at once, how to get kids interested in classical music, what it means to be a conductor and finally if an orchestra should have its own sound. Bernstein strongly favored that a piece should always be played the way the composer had it in his mind.
I also enjoyed his anecdotes about Gustav Mahler, who has written some of his symphonies in a guesthouse very close to the place where I am currently living. It's about time to pay it a visit when it opens in May.
I also enjoyed his anecdotes about Gustav Mahler, who has written some of his symphonies in a guesthouse very close to the place where I am currently living. It's about time to pay it a visit when it opens in May.
August 16, 2015
One of the best books I've read in a while..I could not put this book down! This is definitely a 'must read'!
June 27, 2018
A brief look at Jonathan Cott's profile at Rolling Stone magazine reveals a long list of interviews (including dinners) with some of the greats of music, literature, and film, including Bob Dylan, Susan Sontag, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Henry Miller, Richard Gere, and Francis Ford Coppola. I found this book, which was originally meant to be an article for Rolling Stone, refreshing. During the course of some twelve hours, Jonathan Cott interviews the conductor and composer most famous for West Side Story, but is not allowed to ask questions such as "What is your favourite book/composer/music (etc)?" The interview was conducted in 1989, and within a year, Bernstein, a heavy drinker and smoker, was dead. There are some great reviews that cover the basics of the work, including Amanda Mark's review in the New York Journal of Books. I agree with Mark's criticism of the interviewer injecting a little too much of himself into the interview, but it is clear that "Lenny" was taken with him. Suzy Klein's interview in the New Republic captures more of Lenny's sassiness.
But for me, two things stand out most. First, Leonard Bernstein was a great conductor. And not just because others say so, but now I am armed with more knowledge of his work as a conductor, I have been able to compare the works conudcted by Bernstein with that of others. For example, I have taken a keen interest in Mahler. This interest stems from a number of coinciding interest. I first "discovered" Mahler after reading Thomas Mann's Death in Venice. This led me to watching the movie starring Dirk Bogarde, where Mahler's music forms a major part of the soundtrack. (This led me to discover the literary work of Dirk Bogarde.) Around the same time, I was fortunate enough to attend the inaugural performance of John Adam's Saxophone Concerto at the Sydney Opera House, where John Adams conducted the work. Despite a non-existent microphone, Adams held the audience captive as he spoke to the audience about Mahler (among other things). I have never heeard such silence from such a large crowd. John Adams is easily my most favourite composer (of any genre), but there is clearly a connection here with Mahler. So I was surprised to learn that Bernstein fits into the theme of things I enjoy, and I have been comparing recordings of Mahler's work conducted by Lenny with other conductors. There are clearly interesting differences that I would otherwise have missed.
Second, I had no idea that Bernstein had a clear pedagogy. He is credited with teaching a new generation about classical music with the 1950s television series Omnibus .Suffice it to say that Bernstein had a way to lift the lid on education, to inspire, entertain, and really teach. I like West Side Story, but I was never really enamoured with it, as many others seem to be. But reading this book has given me a glimpse of the great man. Finally, and despite my initial reservations about the interviewer, I have a new appreciation for Jonathan Cott's work, and will investigate some of his other published works. I am not sure how I stumbled upon this book, but I have a suspicion it was from Maria Popova's wonderful blog, Brain Pickings, which is easily one of my favourite blogs. And by way of an aside, we named our cats Karl and Lenny (of The Simpsons fame), but interchangeably refer to them as Karl Marx and Lenny Lenin. But now I can only think of my cheeky cat as Lenny Bernstein. And, based on Cott's interview, reincarnation was not something that Lenny took lightly.
July 10, 2020
Ein Buch wie ein Gedicht, wenn das Thema sich nicht ausschließlich um Musik drehen würde, und einen Menschen, der wie verliebt in die Musikkunst gewesen ist, und in diesem Interview diese lebenslange affektive Verbindung so facettenreich vermitteln kann. Ein Buch das inspiriert, voll gespickt ist mit überraschenden Aussagen zur Musik, seine größten Komponisten und ihrer zeitlosen Werke (für die Ewigkeit), und in dieses Pantheon gehört sicherlich auch Leonard Bernstein, das wird offensichtlich, nachdem der Leser von diesem Vermächtnis in Gedanken und Gefühlen berührt wurde. Durch die Inhalte des reproduzierten Interviews werden viele Facetten der Biografie dieses gebildeten und hochkultivierten Genies sichtbar, u.a. was ihn beeinflusst hat, seine Gedankenwelt, sein Engagement für die Musik und darüber hinaus. Allemal, ein inspirierendes Buch über eine außergewöhnliche Persönlichkeit, ein Zeitdokument voller tiefgründiger Lebenserfahrungen und -weisheiten. Am Ende des Buches bedauert man eigentlich nur, dass das Interview nicht länger dauerte.
May 16, 2019
Eine beschwingende Begegnung mit einem Menschen der umwerfend facetten-, geist- und anekdotenreich war. Ein permanenter Anfängergeist und ein Feingeist. Er schöpfte aus dem Vollen, bis zur Erschöpfung. Leben, er schien zu wissen was dies bedeutet. Maestro. Mehr!
Keywording
Dirigier mit Gefühlen! Educere - etwas herausziehen, was innerlich vorhanden ist. Grenzenloser Enthusiast. Mahler's 5te. Mahler's Frau und Libido. Personifizierung einer wunderbarn Wiener Operette. Polyamourös. Sacré de tout le temps. Totale Umarmung. Wenig Zeit und Geduld für Förmlichkeit und Etikette.
Keywording
Dirigier mit Gefühlen! Educere - etwas herausziehen, was innerlich vorhanden ist. Grenzenloser Enthusiast. Mahler's 5te. Mahler's Frau und Libido. Personifizierung einer wunderbarn Wiener Operette. Polyamourös. Sacré de tout le temps. Totale Umarmung. Wenig Zeit und Geduld für Förmlichkeit und Etikette.
September 21, 2019
من از دیدنِ ویدئوهای رهبری ارکسترِ این مرد، باهاش آشنا شدم و احساس کردم در حینِ رهبری، داره زندگی میکنه...
و با خوندنِ این کتاب فهمیدم که لئونارد برنستاین، خودِ زندگیه و چنان در حینِ رهبری، با موسیقی ممزوج میشد که شاید مرزِ معناداری بینِ موسیقیئی که در حال رهبریکردنش بود و شخصیتِ خودش نمیشه قائل شد.
برای اهالیِ موسیقی واجبه که لئونارد برنستاین رو بشناسند و درک کنند و البته به نظرم برای ارتباطبرقرارکردن با این شخصیت و کتاب، لازم هست که موسیقی کلاسیک رو دوست داشته باشید و مفاهیمی ازش رو بدونید.
و با خوندنِ این کتاب فهمیدم که لئونارد برنستاین، خودِ زندگیه و چنان در حینِ رهبری، با موسیقی ممزوج میشد که شاید مرزِ معناداری بینِ موسیقیئی که در حال رهبریکردنش بود و شخصیتِ خودش نمیشه قائل شد.
برای اهالیِ موسیقی واجبه که لئونارد برنستاین رو بشناسند و درک کنند و البته به نظرم برای ارتباطبرقرارکردن با این شخصیت و کتاب، لازم هست که موسیقی کلاسیک رو دوست داشته باشید و مفاهیمی ازش رو بدونید.
April 12, 2023
Very entertaining. Bernstein has that peculiar (but not uncommon in artists) quality of coming off as both immensely generous and warm and also a rather thin skinned narcissist and a neurotic. But for all his faults, I really love him and all he represents, this great brash American populist in a forbidding and austere art form. My grandparents come from the same midcentury Brooklyn Jewish milieu and my great-grandmother was a concert pianist so I feel a certain kinship.
January 20, 2020
4.5
A beautiful glimpse into the mind and life of Leonard Bernstein.
I began with little idea of his character, and by the end had tears in my eyes. I also flagged about 20 pages so I can follow up on recordings and records, as well as saving a few of his moving quotes.
I am so glad that I read this and was introduced to such an incredible specimen of a human being. What a legacy.
A beautiful glimpse into the mind and life of Leonard Bernstein.
I began with little idea of his character, and by the end had tears in my eyes. I also flagged about 20 pages so I can follow up on recordings and records, as well as saving a few of his moving quotes.
I am so glad that I read this and was introduced to such an incredible specimen of a human being. What a legacy.
September 21, 2023
Wow, did not expect this book to be this good! A 12 hour conversation with Leonard Bernstein, where you get to know just how excited about life and music Lenny really was. His exuberance and brilliance come to life. It's fun to watch two classical music nerds go at history and talk about how music has changed them and changed the world.
March 13, 2021
Must read for Bernstein fans
I wish I could be on this dinner as well. If you try to prepare yourselves for dinner conversation with Bernstein, the insights and new discovery you gain would open up totally new perspective on music.
I wish I could be on this dinner as well. If you try to prepare yourselves for dinner conversation with Bernstein, the insights and new discovery you gain would open up totally new perspective on music.
January 14, 2020
Quick and interesting read.
May 11, 2021
There's so much love here!!!
March 2, 2022
interview is wide ranging, and o, to have been there to listen and watch! a larger than life spirit. need to go listen to his music again, after reading what he said about it. SO worth the read!
July 25, 2022
Wonderful transcription of an interview that makes you feel as if you, too, are having dinner with Lenny.
January 28, 2023
Very deep. The interviewer was also very educated on Bernstein and much more. Wonderful deep questions and thoughts from LB. Very good and revealing of a powerful, rich musical genius.
December 14, 2023
A lovely read. A must-read page turner for anyone interested in Bernstein's cult following and his art & life.
December 26, 2023
Just like sitting down with the maestro himself, I imagine.
January 18, 2021
Wish I could give 6/5
November 24, 2020
For anyone who gets "verklempt" when talking about music. Bernstein is a vibrant and lively old man, waxing poetic about his philosophical view of music and its meaning in our lives.
May 5, 2021
An interview with Leonard Bernstein, what more could you ask for?
One the great communicators that ever lived, a conversationalist given every possible attention and almost tailor made, although synergetic, questions to bring the most out of it, him.
And there are a lot of Mahler related topics to feed the imagination.
One the great communicators that ever lived, a conversationalist given every possible attention and almost tailor made, although synergetic, questions to bring the most out of it, him.
And there are a lot of Mahler related topics to feed the imagination.
December 24, 2012
Sehnsucht, langsamen schmachten
Bravo! Dinner with Lenny, the last long interview with the Maestro, Leonard Bernstein, is awesome. Jonathan Cott, a writer for Rolling Stone, interviewed the Maestro in November of 1989, just a year before his death. Cott was the perfect interlocuter for Bernstein, it seems. He was a fan and well versed in classical music, contemporary music (he has written a biography of Bob Dylan as well as many other books) poetry, literature, art, and religion. The abridged interview was published in Rolling Stone, but this book is the compleat interview that lasted 12 hours.
Reading the book is almost like being there. You can taste the drinks and appetizers, and appreciate the bon mots dispensed by Lenny, your gracious host. He talks about music theory, politics (he was an unabashed liberal and his FBI file ran more than 700 pages), art, poetry, you name it. The author recalls seeing him dancing at Studio 54 after seeing him conduct a concert earlier in Carnegie Hall. He was shirtless, wearing a black leather jacket, and dancing with an entourage. Here was someone who could span the cultural gamut, from Classical Music to Disco.
One of the many things Leonard Bernstein was passionate about was education, and there are many anecdotes and stories about his various broadcasts where he attempted to interest young people in classical music. Though the culture nowadays breeds short attention spans and the need for instant gratification, he was still able to reach out and connect with young people. Another thing of interest was he was a staunch defender of Tonality in music, though he lived through a period where academics were declaring Tonality dead, and espousing 12 Tone Serial Composition as the only game in town. Bernstein dug Beethoven, Mahler, Mozart, Brahms, Sibelius, Arnold Schönberg, Stravinsky, Sting, Shostakovich, The Beatles, Glenn Gould, Kurt Weill--if they were good, Bernstein dug them. He also discussed Freud, Marx, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Rainer Maria Rilke, Keats, Lord Byron, and James Joyce. Speaking of Lord Byron, you could say that Bernstein lived a live of Byronic intensity. He almost met Salvador Dali, who was near the end of his days and had just come out of a coma. He requested a meeting with the maestro, but before that could happen the surrealist fell back into the coma, from which he never recovered.
As accomplished as Leonard Bernstein was as a conducter, a composer, and a pianist, I am totally in awe of his ground breaking musical, West Side Story. That is probably the best musical of all time--take that, Les Misérables!
One interview, even a 12 hour long one, still barely scratches the surface of the Maestro's life and interests, but nevertheless this is a great little book that makes you feel like you are having Dinner with Lenny. Bravo!
Bravo! Dinner with Lenny, the last long interview with the Maestro, Leonard Bernstein, is awesome. Jonathan Cott, a writer for Rolling Stone, interviewed the Maestro in November of 1989, just a year before his death. Cott was the perfect interlocuter for Bernstein, it seems. He was a fan and well versed in classical music, contemporary music (he has written a biography of Bob Dylan as well as many other books) poetry, literature, art, and religion. The abridged interview was published in Rolling Stone, but this book is the compleat interview that lasted 12 hours.
Reading the book is almost like being there. You can taste the drinks and appetizers, and appreciate the bon mots dispensed by Lenny, your gracious host. He talks about music theory, politics (he was an unabashed liberal and his FBI file ran more than 700 pages), art, poetry, you name it. The author recalls seeing him dancing at Studio 54 after seeing him conduct a concert earlier in Carnegie Hall. He was shirtless, wearing a black leather jacket, and dancing with an entourage. Here was someone who could span the cultural gamut, from Classical Music to Disco.
One of the many things Leonard Bernstein was passionate about was education, and there are many anecdotes and stories about his various broadcasts where he attempted to interest young people in classical music. Though the culture nowadays breeds short attention spans and the need for instant gratification, he was still able to reach out and connect with young people. Another thing of interest was he was a staunch defender of Tonality in music, though he lived through a period where academics were declaring Tonality dead, and espousing 12 Tone Serial Composition as the only game in town. Bernstein dug Beethoven, Mahler, Mozart, Brahms, Sibelius, Arnold Schönberg, Stravinsky, Sting, Shostakovich, The Beatles, Glenn Gould, Kurt Weill--if they were good, Bernstein dug them. He also discussed Freud, Marx, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Rainer Maria Rilke, Keats, Lord Byron, and James Joyce. Speaking of Lord Byron, you could say that Bernstein lived a live of Byronic intensity. He almost met Salvador Dali, who was near the end of his days and had just come out of a coma. He requested a meeting with the maestro, but before that could happen the surrealist fell back into the coma, from which he never recovered.
As accomplished as Leonard Bernstein was as a conducter, a composer, and a pianist, I am totally in awe of his ground breaking musical, West Side Story. That is probably the best musical of all time--take that, Les Misérables!
One interview, even a 12 hour long one, still barely scratches the surface of the Maestro's life and interests, but nevertheless this is a great little book that makes you feel like you are having Dinner with Lenny. Bravo!
October 22, 2012
Dinner with Lenny is one of the best books I have read so far this year. I really had no idea what to expect, feeling that I would at least find it interesting, but it was more than that and I found it really hard to put down in the end.
The book is a complete account of Leonard Bernstein's last full interview, which he gave to Jonathan Cott just a year before his death. A short version appeared in Rolling Stone, but Cott had felt at the time that it didn't really do justice, so the result was to publish it in full in book form. I'm glad that he did, because this is a very engaging and informative read. I never read the original magazine article, but it must pale in comparison to the complete interview shared in this book.
I have to admit that prior to reading this book, my knowledge of Bernstein was limited to a love of West Side Story, which is my favourite musical, along with owning a few recordings conducted by Bernstein. Since reading this book, I have been searching around for some of the recordings mentioned in the book and, although I have found a few, my search continues.
As I read the book, the preparation, along with the passion, that Cott brought to the interview became more and more evident. In the interview, which took place over what must have been a very long meal at Bernstein's house, many different topics were covered - music (obviously), politics, family, religion, popular culture, and much more. Bernstein had much to offer in all the topics covered and it must have been great to sit and listen to him. There were many heavy serious moments, but there were many light and funny moments as well. Early on in the interview he shares the story of his conducting debut and from what he shares it was obvious that he was destined for greatness.
It is not a difficult book to read, because the conversation seems to flow so easily. Cott came up with many probing questions, but through it all Bernstein seemed at ease and his knowledge, as well as deep passion, of the variety of topics covered shone through immensely.
This book is due to be published at the end of this year, or early in the next. I was only able to read an e-book ARC, which I was grateful to receive from Oxford University Press via NetGalley, and missed out on the pictures that will be included in the final edition when it comes out. I may have to buy a copy of it because of this, although even without the pictures it is definitely worth having.
Most of us probably never had the chance to sit in Bernstein's presence and never will now, but this book is the next best thing. It is worth reading and you will not be disappointed after you pick it up, and probably won't set it down again until you have reached the end.
The book is a complete account of Leonard Bernstein's last full interview, which he gave to Jonathan Cott just a year before his death. A short version appeared in Rolling Stone, but Cott had felt at the time that it didn't really do justice, so the result was to publish it in full in book form. I'm glad that he did, because this is a very engaging and informative read. I never read the original magazine article, but it must pale in comparison to the complete interview shared in this book.
I have to admit that prior to reading this book, my knowledge of Bernstein was limited to a love of West Side Story, which is my favourite musical, along with owning a few recordings conducted by Bernstein. Since reading this book, I have been searching around for some of the recordings mentioned in the book and, although I have found a few, my search continues.
As I read the book, the preparation, along with the passion, that Cott brought to the interview became more and more evident. In the interview, which took place over what must have been a very long meal at Bernstein's house, many different topics were covered - music (obviously), politics, family, religion, popular culture, and much more. Bernstein had much to offer in all the topics covered and it must have been great to sit and listen to him. There were many heavy serious moments, but there were many light and funny moments as well. Early on in the interview he shares the story of his conducting debut and from what he shares it was obvious that he was destined for greatness.
It is not a difficult book to read, because the conversation seems to flow so easily. Cott came up with many probing questions, but through it all Bernstein seemed at ease and his knowledge, as well as deep passion, of the variety of topics covered shone through immensely.
This book is due to be published at the end of this year, or early in the next. I was only able to read an e-book ARC, which I was grateful to receive from Oxford University Press via NetGalley, and missed out on the pictures that will be included in the final edition when it comes out. I may have to buy a copy of it because of this, although even without the pictures it is definitely worth having.
Most of us probably never had the chance to sit in Bernstein's presence and never will now, but this book is the next best thing. It is worth reading and you will not be disappointed after you pick it up, and probably won't set it down again until you have reached the end.
November 29, 2012
This is a book, sub-titled “The Last Long Interview with Leonard Bernstein,” that is slight in size only, but which provides hefty and fascinating insight into the mind of the internationally renowned “Lenny” Bernstein, brilliant conductor, composer of orchestral works as well as legendary musical scores for Broadway, including On the Town, Wonderful Town, and West Side Story, and gave innumerable Young People’s Concerts at Carnegie Hall.
The author conducted a twelve-hour interview at Bernstein’s country home in Fairfield, Connecticut in November of 1989, not long after his 71st birthday – he passed away less than a year later. The book opens, fittingly, with a Prelude, and concludes with a Postlude, in which the author discusses his subject, with many details of his career, e.g., it was on his 25th birthday that he was appointed the conducting assistant to Artur Rodzinski, then the music director of the NY Philharmonic, who told the young man that he had “gone through all the conductors I know of in my mind and I finally asked God whom I should take, and God said, “Take Bernstein.” Three months later, he made his “legendary conductorial debut with the New York Philharmonic substituting for an ailing Bruno Walter on only a few hours’ notice at a Sunday afternoon Carnegie Hall concert on November 14, 1943.”
Bernstein states that he “was fourteen when I attended my first concert, and it was a revelation. It was a Boston Pops benefit for my father’s temple - - he had to go because he was vice-president of the temple.” He did jazz gigs as well as weddings and bar mitzvahs to defray the cost of his piano lessons. There is discussion on Freud; the family seders; political references, e.g., Bernstein was blacklisted for years and the FBI had a file on him 700 pages thick, and the fact that he made the front page of the NY Times and Washington Post - - which included his picture, he was quick to note - - when he refused to attend the White House luncheon awards ceremony given by President Bush; gave six lectures at Harvard University in 1973; famously took the all-Catholic Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, whose players didn’t know what a Jew was before he conducted them, to Israel; among many other anecdotes. Bernstein’s enthusiasm, erudition and brilliance shine through these pages. This is a book to be savored by musicians and non-musicians alike, and is highly recommended.
The author conducted a twelve-hour interview at Bernstein’s country home in Fairfield, Connecticut in November of 1989, not long after his 71st birthday – he passed away less than a year later. The book opens, fittingly, with a Prelude, and concludes with a Postlude, in which the author discusses his subject, with many details of his career, e.g., it was on his 25th birthday that he was appointed the conducting assistant to Artur Rodzinski, then the music director of the NY Philharmonic, who told the young man that he had “gone through all the conductors I know of in my mind and I finally asked God whom I should take, and God said, “Take Bernstein.” Three months later, he made his “legendary conductorial debut with the New York Philharmonic substituting for an ailing Bruno Walter on only a few hours’ notice at a Sunday afternoon Carnegie Hall concert on November 14, 1943.”
Bernstein states that he “was fourteen when I attended my first concert, and it was a revelation. It was a Boston Pops benefit for my father’s temple - - he had to go because he was vice-president of the temple.” He did jazz gigs as well as weddings and bar mitzvahs to defray the cost of his piano lessons. There is discussion on Freud; the family seders; political references, e.g., Bernstein was blacklisted for years and the FBI had a file on him 700 pages thick, and the fact that he made the front page of the NY Times and Washington Post - - which included his picture, he was quick to note - - when he refused to attend the White House luncheon awards ceremony given by President Bush; gave six lectures at Harvard University in 1973; famously took the all-Catholic Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, whose players didn’t know what a Jew was before he conducted them, to Israel; among many other anecdotes. Bernstein’s enthusiasm, erudition and brilliance shine through these pages. This is a book to be savored by musicians and non-musicians alike, and is highly recommended.
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