Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein was a charismatic and versatile musician-a brilliant conductor who attained international superstar status, and a gifted composer of Broadway musicals (West Side Story), symphonies (Age of Anxiety), choral works (Chichester Psalms), film scores (On the Waterfront), and much more. Bernstein was also an enthusiastic letter writer, and this book is the first to present a wide-ranging selection of his correspondence. The letters have...

With style, wit, and expertise, Leonard Bernstein shares his love and appreciation for music in all its varied forms in The Infinite Variety of Music, illuminating the deep pleasure and sometimes subtle beauty it offers. He begins with an "imaginary conversation" with George Washington entitled "The Muzak Muse" in which he argues the values of actively listening to music by learning how to read notes, as opposed to simply hearing music in a concert...

Leonard Bernstein earned glory as a composer, conductor, and pianist (classical and jazz), but nothing gave him more pleasure than the joy of teaching. He presented the unique blend of spoken words and music. He is an intensely interactive teacher, getting his audience to sing, springing a quiz full of trick questions. He can take the most abstruse subject and present them to a young audience with clarity, without condescension, and with a clear sense...