Bernstein or Debussy: Who won the centennial war?

Alexis HAUSER says:

I will conduct BOTH in the same program in November in Montreal:
Bernstein “Chichester Psalms” (before that Berio’s “For Lenny” at the 70th birthday, and Debussy “Trois Images” after intermission.

M2N2K says:

In the USA the differences in celebrating the two centennials can be explained by the fact that only one of the two men was American, but there are other obvious reasons for the disparity that are more universal and several of them have already been mentioned by other commenters above here:
1. a century since birth is usually a more festive occasion than a century since death;
2. only one of the two was a rather famous public figure besides being a musician, becoming nearly a household name thanks to his TV programs, educational work and political activities;
3. only one of the two had a regularly visible presence throughout the world because of his highly successful conducting career that included traveling to and performing in many countries on several continents;
4. only one of the two was so eclectic in his compositional styles that much of his music appeals to devotees of musicals and other “popular” genres whose numbers are by definition greater than those of classical music connoisseurs alone;
5. if in addition to orchestral concerts we include solo and chamber recitals too, works by Debussy are being performed worldwide far more frequently than those by Bernstein (for a good reason of course) and therefore this year seems like a kind of payback attempt to decrease such imbalance at least temporarily just a little bit.
Not to worry – music by Debussy will be just as great and as appreciated after this year is over as it has been for over a century now.

David K. Nelson says:

I think we’re still coming to terms with Bernstein the composer, and my feeling is that Bernstein the conductor and public presence had to be safely dead and gone before that reckoning could commence in a thoughtful and unbiased way. He was too distracting while alive. And yes, he wrote more than his share of stinkers — so many (and SO stinky) that it is likely he’ll always have a “yes, but ….” reputation. Debussy has nothing to fear.

It took decades but I think the Serenade for Violin can now be said to be standard repertoire — I am confident it is programmed more often than Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole and that would have been unthinkable when I started fiddle lessons in 1962. The Age of Anxiety Symphony also seems to have a firm place in the repertoire. Chichester Psalms, Fancy Free, On the Town, Candide Overture of course, perhaps Facsimile, perhaps Jeremiah Symphony. West Side Story is another category, although the Symphonic Dances will outlast the musical itself I think.

There are still works by Bernstein which I myself have never heard in concert, on radio, or on recordings — the latter obviously by choice — and I suspect others are in the same boat. I just cannot bring myself to listen to Mass … can’t do it. Ever.