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A review by nferre
Dinner with Lenny: The Last Long Interview with Leonard Bernstein by Jonathan Cott
5.0
"Conductor, composer, pianist, writer, educator, lecturer, television host, human rights and peace activist, Leonard Bernstein was his own one-person Gesamtkunstwerk—"
Genius. Sheer genius. Over a 12 hour dinner at Bernstein's home in Connecticut, in 1989, the author speaks to the lively, passionate, chain-smoking man, in his late seventies revealing the inner workings of this remarkable man. Reading this book allowed me to "hear" Lenny's voice, to understand what made him tick. A complex, thoughtful, emotional, energetic man who talked about life, life after life, death, women, men, musicians, children and education and his wife, Felicia.
"Life without music is unthinkable. Music without life is academic. That is why my contact with music is a total embrace."
Lenny, as his friends called him, was a friend of the family. His wife, Felicia, went to school with my mother. His daughters and I shared the same piano teacher. In the 60s, when we lived in Manhattan, he showered us with free tickets to his concerts, rehearsals and my beloved Young People's Concerts.
When I was 10, I was invited to play the piano at his house. As I started playing Bernstein had not arrived. He walked into the room as I was in the middle of a Bartok piece; I got flustered, stumbled and missed a note - thankfully recovering and going on to play without another mistake. Lenny stood up, clapped and said bravo - even though I had made a mistake. He was the mentor that every student should have. A giver of every ounce of himself - to strangers, kids, fellow musicians and his lovers - of which apparently there were many.
Genius. Sheer genius. Over a 12 hour dinner at Bernstein's home in Connecticut, in 1989, the author speaks to the lively, passionate, chain-smoking man, in his late seventies revealing the inner workings of this remarkable man. Reading this book allowed me to "hear" Lenny's voice, to understand what made him tick. A complex, thoughtful, emotional, energetic man who talked about life, life after life, death, women, men, musicians, children and education and his wife, Felicia.
"Life without music is unthinkable. Music without life is academic. That is why my contact with music is a total embrace."
Lenny, as his friends called him, was a friend of the family. His wife, Felicia, went to school with my mother. His daughters and I shared the same piano teacher. In the 60s, when we lived in Manhattan, he showered us with free tickets to his concerts, rehearsals and my beloved Young People's Concerts.
When I was 10, I was invited to play the piano at his house. As I started playing Bernstein had not arrived. He walked into the room as I was in the middle of a Bartok piece; I got flustered, stumbled and missed a note - thankfully recovering and going on to play without another mistake. Lenny stood up, clapped and said bravo - even though I had made a mistake. He was the mentor that every student should have. A giver of every ounce of himself - to strangers, kids, fellow musicians and his lovers - of which apparently there were many.