{"id":50166,"date":"2024-12-03T15:40:58","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T14:40:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/85e0199d-3e3d-4613-a743-74f482be7663"},"modified":"2024-12-03T16:09:21","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T15:09:21","slug":"why-did-the-fbi-keep-a-file-on-him-and-more-fascinating-facts-from-leonard-bernsteins-eventful-life","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/why-did-the-fbi-keep-a-file-on-him-and-more-fascinating-facts-from-leonard-bernsteins-eventful-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Why did the FBI keep a file on him? And more fascinating facts from Leonard Bernstein’s eventful life"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 03 December 2024 at 14:40 PM<\/p>

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There’s so much to say about Leonard Bernstein, surely one of the 20th century’s most inspiring figures in the field of music: a passionate and articulate communicator and educator, Bernstein inspired a love of music in generations of American children, while also finding time to set down some of the most exciting performances of classical masterpieces.<\/p>

In particular, he’s remembered as a visionary conductor of the symphonies<\/a><\/strong> of Gustav Mahler<\/a><\/strong>. You should also hear, though, his versions of the symphonies of Sibelius<\/a><\/strong>, Nielsen<\/a><\/strong>, Schumann<\/strong><\/a>, and Mozart<\/a><\/strong>. Then there are his own creations, the masterful and emotive West Side Story not least among them.<\/p>

The 20 greatest symphonies of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul>
So much to tell, in short. Here are the headlines from an incredible life.<\/p>

<\/div> <\/figure> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-leonard-bernstein-timeline\">Leonard Bernstein facts: a timeline of a remarkable life<\/h2> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1918-leonard-bernstein-born\"><strong>1918: Leonard Bernstein is born<\/strong><\/h3> <p>The eldest of three, Leonard Bernstein is born on 25 August in Lawrence, Massachusetts, to Jewish parents, both immigrants from Russia. He starts piano lessons at ten against the wishes of his father, a supplier of hair and beauty products.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/jewish-composers-suppressed-by-nazis\">Jewish composers suppressed by the Nazis: seven great voices we’re starting to hear again<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <p>Bernstein\u2019s parents had no musical background and were, initially, somewhat sceptical of his career choice. His father famously observed, ‘How do you make a living from music?’<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1932: initiation into music<\/strong><\/h3> <p>At age 13, a lifelong obsession with music is sparked when a relative gifts the Bernstein family an upright piano. Soon after, young Leonard begins piano lessons, showing remarkable talent.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1935-39-harvard\"><strong>1935-39<\/strong>: <strong>Harvard<\/strong><\/h3> <p>At Harvard he studies with the American composer Walter Piston and forms friendships with Dimitri Mitropoulos and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/topic\/aaron-copland\"><strong>Aaron Copland<\/strong><\/a>. Continuing his conducting at the prestigious<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/curtis-institute\">Curtis Institute<\/a><\/strong> in Philadelphia, he appears at Tanglewood Summer School.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/best-american-composers-ever\">The greatest American composers of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1940: a crucial meeting<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Bernstein studies conducting at the Tanglewood Music Center under Serge Koussevitzky, the conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (one of America’s <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/big-five-orchestras\">Big Five<\/a><\/strong> orchestras). Koussevitzky will become a mentor, profoundly influencing Bernstein\u2019s career.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1943-bernstein-s-big-break\"><strong>1943: Bernstein’s big break<\/strong><\/h3> <p>He shoots to fame replacing an ill Bruno Walter as conductor of the New York Philharmonic in Carnegie Hall. Within months the orchestra are playing his First Symphony (\u2018Jeremiah\u2019).<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Bernstein: Symphony No. 1: "Jeremiah" - II. Profanation \/ Bernstein \u00b7 Israel Philharmonic Orchestra\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FFiEXtgK430?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Leonard Bernstein facts, continued: the busy 1950s and 1960s<\/h2> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1951-bernstein-marries\"><strong>1951: Bernstein marries<\/strong><\/h3> <p>He marries Chilean actress Felicia Montealegre, with whom he subsequently has three children. Bernstein is one of the first prominent cultural figures to be openly bisexual, maintaining relationships with men throughout his marriage.<\/p> <p>Having completed a second symphony (\u2018The Age of Anxiety\u2019, 1949) he returns to more popular territory with <em>Trouble in Tahiti <\/em>(1952), <em>Wonderful Town<\/em> (1953) and music for the film <em>On the Waterfront <\/em>(1954).<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1957-west-side-story\"><strong>1957: <em>West Side Story<\/em><\/strong><\/h3> <p>Hot on the heels of his 1956 operetta <em>Candide <\/em>comes Leonard Bernstein’s masterpiece, the box-office hit <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/west-side-story-2\"><strong>West Side <\/strong><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/west-side-story-our-guide-to-bernsteins-original-1957-musical\"><strong>Story<\/strong><\/a>. <\/em>A modern retelling of Shakespeare’s <em>Romeo and Juliet<\/em>, with lyrics by <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/stephen-sondheim\">Stephen Sondheim<\/a><\/strong>, the musical fuses classical, jazz, and Latin influences – and soon comes to redefine American musical theatre.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/classical-music-inspired-shakespeare\">These 11 Shakespeare plays have inspired some of the greatest music ever written<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-stage-musicals-of-all-time\">The best stage musicals<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1958: the top job in New York<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Bernstein becomes the first American-born Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, serving until 1969. During his tenure, he brings classical music to a broader audience through television programs like his hugely influential and still fondly remembered Young People\u2019s Concerts.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Bernstein, The greatest 5 min. in music education\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Gt2zubHcER4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1960s: politics and activism<\/strong><\/h3> <p>During the politically charged 1960s, Bernstein becomes a vocal advocate for civil rights and social justice, supporting causes like the Civil Rights Movement and protesting the Vietnam War. His activism sometimes draws controversy – but reflects his ongoing commitment to using his platform for change.<\/p> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-leonard-bernstein-timeline-continued-the-1970s-and-1980s\">Leonard Bernstein facts, continued: the 1970s and 1980s<\/h2> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1971-a-blasphemous-mass\"><strong>1971: a blasphemous <em>Mass<\/em><\/strong><\/h3> <p>Religious themes dominate his later works, such as the Third Symphony (\u2018Kaddish\u2019, 1963), <em>Chichester Psalms <\/em>(1965) and ballet <em>Dybbuk <\/em>(1974), though his music-theatre romp <em>Mass: a Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers <\/em>(1971) is too blasphemous for some.<\/p> <p>Fascinatingly, The\u00a0Federal Bureau of Investigation\u00a0(FBI) maintained a file on Leonard Bernstein around this time, because of his left-leaning views. Specifically, during summer 1971, the FBI warned US President <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Nixon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Richard Nixon<\/a><\/strong> and his aides that the <em>Mass’s <\/em>Latin text could possibly contain anti-war messages. These, it argued, could cause embarrass the\u00a0President Nixon\u00a0should he attend the work’s premiere.<\/p> <p>Elsewhere, Bernstein’s pupils during the 1970s include the conductor <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/yakov-kreizberg-1959-2011\/\">Yakov Kreizberg<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1983-a-quiet-place\"><strong>1983: <em>A Quiet Place<\/em><\/strong><\/h3> <p>Houston Grand Opera stages his semi-autobiographical opera <em>A Quiet Place, <\/em>a work that incorporates the whole of his 1952 <em>Trouble in Tahiti <\/em>into a contemporary tale of love and alienation.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1989-the-berlin-wall-concert\"><strong>1989: the Berlin Wall concert<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Six weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall, on Christmas Day 1989, Leonard Bernstein triumphantly and emotionally conducts <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/ludwig-van-beethoven\">Beethoven<\/a><\/strong>‘s exultant <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/guide-beethovens-symphony-no-9\">Ninth Symphony<\/a><\/strong> in East Berlin. The orchestra and choir for the legendary <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/leonard-bernstein-berlin\">Berlin Wall concert<\/a><\/strong> are drawn from both the former East and West Germany, plus France, the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom (the four nations that had shared Berlin for the previous 44 years). The word ‘Freude’ (‘Joy’) that gives the symphony its nickname ‘Ode to Joy’ is poignantly changed, for this performance, to ‘Freiheit’ (‘Freedom’).<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/best-german-composers\">Germany’s greatest composers<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Berlin Celebration Concert 1989 - Leonard Bernstein - Beethoven Symphony No 9\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Hn0IS-vlwCI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1990-leonard-bernstein-dies\"><strong>1990: Leonard Bernstein dies<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Two years after completing <em>Arias and Barcarolles<\/em>, Leonard Bernstein is diagnosed with lung cancer: his health quickly deteriorates. Smoking to the end, he dies of a heart attack on 14 October in New York. His body is buried in Brooklyn\u2019s Green Wood Cemetery.<\/p> <p>Why not try our <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/gb\/playlist\/the-best-of-bernstein\/pl.4553ef8cfcb94b47a20f8ed6ab325792?at=10INBY&ct=social\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Best of Bernstein<\/a><\/strong> playlist on Apple Music?<\/p> <p><em>This article first appeared in the June 2005 issue of <\/em>BBC Music Magazine, <em>when Bernstein was the Composer of the Month.<\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Published: Tuesday, 03 December 2024 at 14:40 PM There’s so much to say about Leonard Bernstein, surely one of the 20th century’s most inspiring figures in the field of music: a passionate and articulate communicator and educator, Bernstein inspired a love of music in generations of American children, while also finding time to set […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":50167,"template":"","categories":[1,17],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/12\/why-did-the-fbi-keep-a-file-on-him-and-more-fascinating-facts-from-leonard-bernsteins-eventful-life.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/12\/why-did-the-fbi-keep-a-file-on-him-and-more-fascinating-facts-from-leonard-bernsteins-eventful-life-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/12\/why-did-the-fbi-keep-a-file-on-him-and-more-fascinating-facts-from-leonard-bernsteins-eventful-life-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/12\/why-did-the-fbi-keep-a-file-on-him-and-more-fascinating-facts-from-leonard-bernsteins-eventful-life-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/12\/why-did-the-fbi-keep-a-file-on-him-and-more-fascinating-facts-from-leonard-bernsteins-eventful-life-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/12\/why-did-the-fbi-keep-a-file-on-him-and-more-fascinating-facts-from-leonard-bernsteins-eventful-life.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/12\/why-did-the-fbi-keep-a-file-on-him-and-more-fascinating-facts-from-leonard-bernsteins-eventful-life.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Published: Tuesday, 03 December 2024 at 14:40 PM There’s so much to say about Leonard Bernstein, surely one of the 20th century’s most inspiring figures in the field of music: a passionate and articulate communicator and educator, Bernstein inspired a love of music in generations of American children, while also finding time to set…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/50166"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}