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Working with Bernstein
(Amadeus). As they engage with one of the 20th century's most provocative musical personalities, studies of the multifaceted Leonard Bernstein will always proffer new insights into the human condition. But this is the first book on Bernstein to be written by a composer, and the first by a colleague and friend who worked intimately with the maestro for more than three decades. Jack Gottlieb has been described as Bernstein's amanuensis and as the preeminent Bernstein scholar. This memoir presents fresh, sensitive, and revealing information about the everyday life of the maestro in Part One, featuring reminiscences peppered with anecdotes, humor, and stories by others. Part Two includes Gottlieb's commentaries and analysis of Bernstein's works, which have appeared in program notes for concerts by many of the world's orchestras, as jacket notes for recordings, and as articles in journals and elsewhere, beginning with the New York Philharmonic tribute "A Valentine for Leonard Bernstein" on February 13, 1961. Preceded by updated remarks, this collection allows those seeking firsthand information on Bernstein's compositions to find all of Gottlieb's valuable scholarship in one place.
- GenresMusic
256 pages, Hardcover
First published May 15, 2010
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 14, 2010
Almost forty years ago, when I first met Jack Gottlieb, I heard that he had some connection to Leonard Bernstein but nothing specific. I also saw from his interactions with others that asking the even slightest question about Bernstein would annoy, even anger him, for Gottlieb fiercely protective and respectful of LB’s privacy and that of his family. (That said, if he did volunteer a tidbit of information in the course of a conversation, one was smart not to dwell upon it.)
Often referred by others to as Bernstein’s “assistant,” he was, as one learns in reading this book, a whole lot more, for this is a highly personal memoir of Gottlieb's professional and personal association with one of the giants of Classical Music in the last half of the 20th century.
The reticence is over. Gottlieb unabashedly goes into fascinating detail about the Maestro, his quirks and foibles, his colleagues, friends, etc. But it is hardly a “tell-all” pot-boiler, for there is nothing seamy, seedy, or sordid in his reportage. Referring to diaries Gottlieb kept at the time, one gets a portrait that is respectful and not fawning.
The photographs from Gottlieb’s own personal archive are a fascinating record of the whirlwind that seemed to accompany Bernstein wherever he went or did.
The style might strike some as too colloquial, but with Gottlieb, what one sees (or reads), one gets. He is inordinately fond of word play (a habit only attenuated by Bernstein, who was a master of the “bon mot”), dear reader, so be forewarned.
The book is comprised to two parts: (1) Gottlieb's working life with Bernstein, from ill-defined "assistant, to "Man Friday," and ultimately Bernstein's editor. (2) a comprehensive anthology of Gottlieb's writings about Bernstein's compositions, articles that often appeared in professional journals, newspapers, newsletters, etc. No one but someone very close to Bernstein could know so much first hand about Bernstein's works, how they were composed, when they were composted, and under what circumstances they were composed.
To his credit, Gottlieb pulls no punches and does not gloss over the controversies that frequently surrounded Bernstein. Rather, he provides especially important details that counter the sensationalist rubbish that all too often litter other biographies and detract from Bernstein’s genius.
Often referred by others to as Bernstein’s “assistant,” he was, as one learns in reading this book, a whole lot more, for this is a highly personal memoir of Gottlieb's professional and personal association with one of the giants of Classical Music in the last half of the 20th century.
The reticence is over. Gottlieb unabashedly goes into fascinating detail about the Maestro, his quirks and foibles, his colleagues, friends, etc. But it is hardly a “tell-all” pot-boiler, for there is nothing seamy, seedy, or sordid in his reportage. Referring to diaries Gottlieb kept at the time, one gets a portrait that is respectful and not fawning.
The photographs from Gottlieb’s own personal archive are a fascinating record of the whirlwind that seemed to accompany Bernstein wherever he went or did.
The style might strike some as too colloquial, but with Gottlieb, what one sees (or reads), one gets. He is inordinately fond of word play (a habit only attenuated by Bernstein, who was a master of the “bon mot”), dear reader, so be forewarned.
The book is comprised to two parts: (1) Gottlieb's working life with Bernstein, from ill-defined "assistant, to "Man Friday," and ultimately Bernstein's editor. (2) a comprehensive anthology of Gottlieb's writings about Bernstein's compositions, articles that often appeared in professional journals, newspapers, newsletters, etc. No one but someone very close to Bernstein could know so much first hand about Bernstein's works, how they were composed, when they were composted, and under what circumstances they were composed.
To his credit, Gottlieb pulls no punches and does not gloss over the controversies that frequently surrounded Bernstein. Rather, he provides especially important details that counter the sensationalist rubbish that all too often litter other biographies and detract from Bernstein’s genius.
Displaying 1 of 1 review