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Leonard Bernstein: An American Musician
A fresh appreciation of the great musical figure that gives him his due as composer as well as conductor
Leonard Bernstein stood at the epicenter of twentieth-century American musical life. His creative gifts knew no boundaries as he moved easily from the podium, to the piano, to television with his nationally celebrated Young People’s Concerts, which introduced an entire generation to the joy of classical music. In this fascinating new biography, the breadth of Bernstein’s musical composition is explored, through the spectacular range of music he composed—from West Side Story to Kaddish to A Quiet Place and beyond—and through his intensely public role as an internationally celebrated conductor. For the first time, the composer’s life and work receive a fully integrated analysis, offering a comprehensive appreciation of a multi-faceted musician who continued to grow as an artist well into his final days.
Leonard Bernstein stood at the epicenter of twentieth-century American musical life. His creative gifts knew no boundaries as he moved easily from the podium, to the piano, to television with his nationally celebrated Young People’s Concerts, which introduced an entire generation to the joy of classical music. In this fascinating new biography, the breadth of Bernstein’s musical composition is explored, through the spectacular range of music he composed—from West Side Story to Kaddish to A Quiet Place and beyond—and through his intensely public role as an internationally celebrated conductor. For the first time, the composer’s life and work receive a fully integrated analysis, offering a comprehensive appreciation of a multi-faceted musician who continued to grow as an artist well into his final days.
360 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 14, 2018
Did it really take me four whole months to read this tiny book????
I think the author's main problem that I can't tell who his main audience is. It's part of a series called Jewish Lives, implying a general lay Jewish audience, but Shawn (who is also a musician) includes such detailed and esoteric analyses of Bernstein's music and his composer influences that instantly lost me, to the point that I eventually started skipping those sections entirely. If the book was meant for fellow musicians, that maybe could have been made clearer.
That said, in between those complicated and name-dropping musical synopses, and dry accounts of every concert Bernstein conducted and who was in attendance, Shawn did manage to include some very eloquent meditations on Bernstein's life and values. Those parts were absolutely fantastic, and I think I would have preferred an article-length version with just those sections.
Overall, this is a fine enough biography, but you either need a lot of patience or a lot of musical knowledge to really appreciate it.
I think the author's main problem that I can't tell who his main audience is. It's part of a series called Jewish Lives, implying a general lay Jewish audience, but Shawn (who is also a musician) includes such detailed and esoteric analyses of Bernstein's music and his composer influences that instantly lost me, to the point that I eventually started skipping those sections entirely. If the book was meant for fellow musicians, that maybe could have been made clearer.
That said, in between those complicated and name-dropping musical synopses, and dry accounts of every concert Bernstein conducted and who was in attendance, Shawn did manage to include some very eloquent meditations on Bernstein's life and values. Those parts were absolutely fantastic, and I think I would have preferred an article-length version with just those sections.
Overall, this is a fine enough biography, but you either need a lot of patience or a lot of musical knowledge to really appreciate it.
July 10, 2023
Leonard Bernstein had such tremendous strength of character. His musical talent and celebrity put him into conflict with many people including his father who did not believe Leonard had any future in music. Bernstein refused to change his name from a Jewish name and stood up for his political beliefs against harassment from the House Un-Americans Committee. There are rumors that John Kennedy protected Bernstein from being blacklisted, but who knows the whole story. Bernstein was also bi-sexual much before gender fluidity was a thing. He definitely had a strong sense of who he was and who he could become.
March 26, 2021
A wonderful read
This book is detailed enough to get into the music, but broad enough to give insight into the complex person that was Leonard Bernstein. A well-written offering, with lots of useful notes. I have a lot of music to listen to!
This book is detailed enough to get into the music, but broad enough to give insight into the complex person that was Leonard Bernstein. A well-written offering, with lots of useful notes. I have a lot of music to listen to!
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January 15, 2015Review by Maron L. Waxman for the Jewish Book Council.
January 10, 2024
My reading year began as it did last year by reading a biography from the Jewish Lives series published by Yale University Press. This is the fourth biography I have read in this series. The others were on Iriving Berlin, Jerome Robbins and Arthur Miller. This is another fine biography in this series. Bernstein was a composer, conductor, musician and teacher. He seemed to have a compulsion to create music, perform as a pianist, interpret the music of others as a conductor and to teach and make music more accessible to the public as well as his own musicians.
The one criticism I have is that the description of Bernstein's compositions that I was unfamiliar with. These sections were too technical for the non-musician but did spark my interest in listening to them. Bernstein as an artist and composer was not afraid to take artistic risks and as with all great artists, he had many successes, but he also had his failures.
Bernstein as the conductor of the NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC was not afraid to introduce his audiences to new music. The book also made me appreciate how much preparation conductors put into conducting the music of others. They have to study the score in detail and must decide how each instrument should sound and how each section should be played. They make multiple decisions on how to interpret the music and somehow try to divine the composer's intent. They make decisions on tempo, tone, volume etc. that could make or break the performance classic or a new piece of music.
For me, as a theater buff, the section on the ups and downs of the creation of WEST SIDE STORY read like a thriller. I also was fascinated by the creation of the shows, CANDIDE, ON THE TOWN, WONDERFUL TOWN and the ballet FANCY FREE which I saw in New York at Lincoln Center.
The other section I loved was the one on his Young People's Concerts. Bernstein never talked down to the children but somehow made sometimes complex music understandable and wonderous to their ears.
Bernstein was married with 3 children. He was unfaithful to his wife on occasion with men but somehow, he and his wife created a mostly happy home life for his kids and Bernstein grieved deeply when his wife died at the age of 56. Love can be imperfect, but he truly loved her.
This is a mostly beautifully written biography, and I did get a tear in my eye in the last section that covered the end of Bernstein's life. I will be reading more biographies in this wonderful series.
The one criticism I have is that the description of Bernstein's compositions that I was unfamiliar with. These sections were too technical for the non-musician but did spark my interest in listening to them. Bernstein as an artist and composer was not afraid to take artistic risks and as with all great artists, he had many successes, but he also had his failures.
Bernstein as the conductor of the NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC was not afraid to introduce his audiences to new music. The book also made me appreciate how much preparation conductors put into conducting the music of others. They have to study the score in detail and must decide how each instrument should sound and how each section should be played. They make multiple decisions on how to interpret the music and somehow try to divine the composer's intent. They make decisions on tempo, tone, volume etc. that could make or break the performance classic or a new piece of music.
For me, as a theater buff, the section on the ups and downs of the creation of WEST SIDE STORY read like a thriller. I also was fascinated by the creation of the shows, CANDIDE, ON THE TOWN, WONDERFUL TOWN and the ballet FANCY FREE which I saw in New York at Lincoln Center.
The other section I loved was the one on his Young People's Concerts. Bernstein never talked down to the children but somehow made sometimes complex music understandable and wonderous to their ears.
Bernstein was married with 3 children. He was unfaithful to his wife on occasion with men but somehow, he and his wife created a mostly happy home life for his kids and Bernstein grieved deeply when his wife died at the age of 56. Love can be imperfect, but he truly loved her.
This is a mostly beautifully written biography, and I did get a tear in my eye in the last section that covered the end of Bernstein's life. I will be reading more biographies in this wonderful series.
October 24, 2023
Very interesting and informative biography of an intellectual to be admired. I'm not a musician and the book is full of musical terms and the nuances of Bernstein's compositions. Even so, the reader is moved by his genius, his theatrical successes (West Side Story) and failures (Candide). The author is not shy about describing the subject's personal life, including his bisexuality.
March 24, 2019
way better than you’d expect. just read the damn thing.
April 3, 2024
A Must for Musicians or Lovers of the Movie "Maestro"
If there is such a thing as a book genre "pro-semitic" this book would set the standard. For folks that loved the Brad Cooper movie "Maestro," this work gives the foreground, epilogue and many additional stories. The musical and historic details were flawless. An excellent audiobook experience.
September 22, 2014
Pitch perfect, and the pen-ultimate for the beginner interested in Bernstein's life.
July 4, 2015
I found this book very disappointing, but, oddly enough, I can't figure out why, thereby making this review useless.
December 19, 2014
See my review at http://www.thereportergroup.org/Artic...
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews