Ruth Leon recommends… Leonard Bernstein – Jeremiah

Leonard Bernstein – Jeremiah

 The name of Leonard Bernstein is much in the news right now because of the controversy surrounding the casting of Bradley Cooper in the forthcoming biopic Maestro. By the way, this casting is robustly supported by all of Bernstein’s children – no pushover they – so who are we to complain? Bernstein himself was a controversial figure, often in the news for activities which were not always musical so it is hardly surprising that there should continue to be contention surrounding his legacy.

What is beyond dispute is that Leonard Bernstein was a great man of music. Some of my indelible musical memories came under his spellbinding baton, whether conducting his beloved New York Phil, his even more beloved Israel Phil, or his less beloved but insistent support of the Vienna Phil.

Bernstein was a great conductor, a superlative pianist, a inimitable composer of both concert and theatre music (West Side Story, anyone?), and probably the greatest musical pedagogue America ever produced. Ask almost any American musician what their inspiration was and they will tell you their introduction to classical music came from Bernstein’s landmark television series for CBS, his Young People’s Concerts 1958-1972.

If anyone ever deserved a biopic, it’s Leonard Bernstein. Now let’s hope the filmmakers don’t screw it up.​
Here’s a little snippet of Bernstein conducting his own music, the Jeremiah Symphony, more formally Symphony No.1 (1942) by Leonard Bernstein with the Israel Philharmonic in 1977.

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