Kennedy Center Honors Legend: Leonard Bernstein (In-Depth Interview)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 พ.ย. 2022
- Hear an extended interview with American composer, conductor, pianist, music educator, and author, Leonard Bernstein as he reflects on his career.
Explore the Kennedy Center Honors - www.kennedy-center.org/honors
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If you want to get a feel for this man, this interview is a much better source than the 2023 movie, Maestro, and only half as long.
I've recently watched "Maestro" and certainly agree with you without hesitation. I must say however the film is by no means a bad one.
Yes, this interview has "more information", but I reckon the movie was trying to do something else. @@izuminishi6376
I was lucky enough during my summer camp days to go to Tanglewood. And see Leonard Bernstein many times. He was fabulous in many ways....as was his lovely wife...she too was a wonderful actress.....she stood by her husband thru thick and thin. Janet B.
He is so wonderfully melodramatic and over the top. He oozes music out of every pore. Miss him a lot nobody like him anymore
In their love for music, there is still Itzhak Perlman. When they ooze, I melt. Ohh!
Had never seen a lengthy interview with Bernstein, and what an exciting personality he had. Big kudos to the interviewer who let him talk and didn't cut him off constantly. Yet when he did interject, you could feel the energy of his knowledge and devotion to music as well.
Very well put.
1990. @@meredithmitskog914
I can listen to the Maestro for hours. His enthusiasm for music is infectious.
He was on friendly terms with most of the greatest conductors and musicians of the 20th century. This interview kinda shows you why. It's impossible not to be friends with a guy possessing such an infectious personality. Quite plainly he is interesting to listen to and fun to talk to. And on top of that he always knew his sh*t (pardon my French) and was passionate about it and you can see that it's music and music world that drove him his whole life.
Knew his shit indeed, it especially came out during his Schleswig Holstein rehearsals. Seamlessly referencing Fantasia and Duke Ellington when teaching Rite of Spring, Mick Jagger during PFR, David Lynch during good-knows-what, or the Zeffereli film during Berlioz Romeo and Juliet.
I found myself listening to this whole interview again. This is greatness with a capital G.
Did you watch the biopic movie Meastro?
This is the most personable conversation (not an interview, really) I've ever had when I was not actually present. It feels like I'm having a quiet, meaningful evening with Lenny over a few drinks. There is no arrogance, no pretence, no didactic agenda or 'points' to make, just reminiscences about his teachers, mentors and idols whom he discovered to his surprise, often appreciated him privately as much as he appreciated them. He sat at the knees of the greatest conductors, growing in his own capacity to absorb the best from the best, to go on to be a generous friend and mentor of the talents who came after him. His musical insight, intellect, passion and audacity combined to make him a conductor's conductor, a musician's musician, a composer's composer and a human's humanity.
He did not pursue the money, the fame, the influence for power, he did it for the love of the ideals and spiritual nurture that is music. RIP Great Maestro, you live on through your recorded audio and video, and these will teach us for generations to come.
Nicely said. Thank you.
The beauty of this interview is that the interviewer does not constantly interrupt Mr. Bernstein but simply let's him talk.
Excellent interview. How could you not love listening to this man
I remember watching him conduct Beethoven Symphony 9 shortly after the pull down of the Berlin Wall, he was playing for freedom.
Salute to this great musician.
I too remember the Berlin Wall concert on PBS, live with Lenny.
I saw that performance IN BERLIN WITH THE INTERNATIONAL ORCHESTRA CELEBRATING THE PULLDOWN OF THE BERLIN WALL! I BOUGHT THE DVD. It is INCREDIBLE!!!!!
They call us "baby-boomers" but those of us who tuned in to Omnibus or the Young People's Concerts (regularly) in our youth owe any knowledge or affection we may have about or for music to Leonard Bernstein...so maybe we're "Lenny's kids." I followed him well into my adulthood. After he died, my wife and I would watch one of his taped concerts...especially those with the Vienna Philharmonic...and at the end (unrehearsed) we would hold hands and whisper, "Ah, Lenny we miss you so...." (in a unified duet of sorts). As wonderful as some other conductors have been...Maestro Bernstein was in his own private category with his combination of talents that no one else possessed....before or since.
I watched Omnibus as a teenager and fell in love with him. I have those shows of his on dvd.
@@sheilabloom6735 Yes, I have them, as well, I didn't realize that they were "music school" as I watched them. His legacy as our "teacher" all by itself is enough to make him immortal in the annals of music.
He was alive during the renaissance of orchestral conductors and orchestras. All the greats and the ones I grew up listening too and buying their records. Bernstein included. It was a special time to be an orchestral player and soloist. Here Bernstein embodies all the bravado, drama and narcissism that makes him a compelling story teller. What I love about this interview is his own sense of limitation and knowing that his fame eclipsed the talent he possessed.
I don’t see ego so much as that he was a man of the theatre and that he loved people just like Arthur Rubinstein did. He’s a riot, too. Theatrical. A man of the theatre.
I think too many b/c they are on a much lower level than him mistake someone Luke LB with his w/tales which he fully recalls w/precise appropriate emotions makes you feel you were there also,a polymath and pluralistic thinker,w/ego.What is not know by these mistaken ones is these kind of minds which produced what would seem to them all over the place and connecting all types of facts from multiple areas of experience as verbrato was encouraged with ordinary people w/basic education.This common link with those who watched and listened to his programs was reason they were so sucessful.There was a freer form of expectations for common people than the lesser democractic siloing of tastes present promoted by music industry reinforced by the basic educational classicism practiced in the U.S. now.
Bernstein's expressiveness, his depth of experience and knowledge, his compelling presence, the way in which words and ideas flow from him with a rhythm of their own - all of this is captivating. He exudes a quiet strength, unlike the flamboyance that he displayed when on a stage, conducting. It would be easy to love him. Impossible not to.
I was so fortunate to grow up with the presence of Leonard Bernstein for the first 40 years of my life. There is no comparable musical presence today - there hasn't been since his death. An incomparable artist, great humanitarian, great public servant.
I grew up in NYC also Immersed in Leonard Bernstein's activities, beginning with being in the audience of "Concerts for Children Series" and then of course all of the symphonic performances., and then of course The Mass, West Side Story and the like. I agree with you.
So true.
Whether he’s a narcissist or not is completely immaterial
The Young People's Saturday concerts on a black and white TV!
My mum told me that when he died she felt that a piece of her had gone. He was just that type of man. Genius and people loved him. His music and West Side Story was the leitmotiv of my teenage
Such stark contrast to our instagram American idol twitter Facebook culture …. True artistry
Great conductor, great achievements, also great ego!
The only wisdom we can hope to acquire, is the wisdom of humility. Humility is endless.
He did more to introduce young people to great classical music than anyone else.
I owe a huge debt to Leonard Bernstein. His “Young People’s Concerts”, lectures, and compositions gave me a deeper love of music that I treasure. Sadly, I had two opportunities to see him perform in person and took advantage of neither, something I’ll always regret. He was bigger than life and one of a kind. RIP, Maestro, and thank you!
Do you remember which works he was performing on those two occasions?
@@kanishknishar The first was “Mass in Time of War” by Haydn. It was performed at the Washington National Cathedral during Richard Nixon's second inaugural. The other was a 4th of July concert at the Capitol in 1986, if my memory serves me correctly, when he conducted the National Symphony . Unlike now, the Capitol Fourth concerts were then of classical music. I don’t recall what the program was, but I think it included a Bernstein song cycle. It was broadcast by PBS, and perhaps a video recording exists somewhere.
@@kanishknishar I just remembered that the Capitol concert also included “Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.”
@@edwardjones4870Personally the program doesn't look terribly interesting aside from maybe Symphonic Dances so maybe you can take some consolation in that.
@@kanishknishar Well, it would have been interesting to me just to see him!
Wouldn’t call it much of an interview, Bernstein owned all of that time and Mr. Hume stood in as translator. However, this was a treasure to find! Thank you for sharing ❤
I like how increasingly passionate the interviewer got after those amazing anecdotes
Enthralling. Love him even more than I did before. My dad knew him growing up in Boston.
Watched an interview with "Bono" of U2 fame yesterday. Interview was at the Washington National Cathedral. His first comment, after looking around the space, was something like, "finally, a room big enough for my ego"! Bernstein was an American treasure, especially with regard to his teaching. One overlooks his ego when considering his great contributions to music. Thanks for putting this up!
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He was - and still is for me - the mist lovable male human being and classical super artist for me and my whole family. He touches our hearts and inspires our minds and musicality like no one else. He was/is such a heavenly gift to mankind and the world of music. I cannot but adore and love him with all of my gratitude and affection.
Totally mesmerizing. What a life force! I don’t even mind the narcissism. He IS at least as great as he thinks he is.
The Best conductor of the XXe century❤
His confidence in himself was more than both earned and bestowed. He was reminded again and again that he was great. And he was allowed, and asked for, the memories that go with all that.
Did you perceive narcissism? I saw humility and gratitude in his acknowledgment of his teachers and fellow students along with the recounting of the importance of his piano teacher.
@@williamwingfield9198literally every story he told finished with how yet another conductor or critic showering him in praise. He even recalled how one conductor declared him the “greatest conductor in the world”, and you don’t perceive narcissism? Yes, there was the story of the piano teacher who didn’t shower him in praise, but he says they ended up becoming “great friends” which makes us think well of him. I’ve never heard anyone speak so highly of themselves.
Remember Bernstein was asked how others influenced him, but his answers only tell us how he believes he influenced others.
Confidence isn't narcissistic!
By this point in his life, Bernstein was sick with emphysema, but he didn't change his habit of smoking a lot (and coughing a lot) and drinking hard liquor or wine, also quite a lot. When he left the stage (stage right) when everyone was taking a break, there was always someone ready with a glass of something and a lit cigarette. Because of the emphysema, he became very barrel-chested from the constant effort to breathe.
One indelible moment in my mind is all the rehearsals of the chorus (I sang with Westminster Symphonic Choir (Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ--we performed often with Bernstein and Muti) of Mahler 2nd Symphony. NY Phil, Christa Ludwig, Barbara Hendricks, Westminster Symphonic Choir. 1987. It is still available, I think; DGG label. The slowest pace he had ever taken with that symphony. (I believe he had recorded all of the Mahler symphonies several times by then.)
the resurrection?
wow great memories thankyou for sharing..
It is just soo wonderful to watch this clip.thank you!
He may or may not be the greatest conductor, musician, composer, of the twentieth century, but more than the fact that he possibly was, he had the attributes of energy, charisma, love, inspiration, educator like no other. After all these years of his untimely death I only grow to love him more.
and quite strange stories I assume on conductors of jealousy & homicide🙄
Music world is very melodramatic, it's a centuries long tradition.
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@raoulschurl175 Thanks for your beautiful expression of what I feel too. As a child, I felt like he was my maestro. He
deepened my love and understanding of music through his delightful, warm, welcoming presentations for young people, and continues to enrich my life far beyond his physical death.
Leonard Bernstein, a great conductor, is one of the most renowned and influential conductors of the 20th century. He is famous for his passionate and expressive style of conducting, particularly in his profound interpretations of composers like Beethoven and Mahler, both in concerts and recordings. He is also an outstanding composer, having created many beloved musical works, with his most famous being the score for the musical "West Side Story".
Gosh. Who knew?
It is hunting how much this man fills the room with his presence... I have Such love and respect... a beautiful man he was.
Fabulous talent. Once in a century. Love it all.🎁🎀🎼🎶🎻🎺
Awesome interview - Bernstein is so fresh, honest and fascinating!
27:04 - 27:34 "One thing I am proud of....the only thing I am proud,, is that all these conductors were my friends, -these conductors who hated one another, or any other conductor..." What a wonderful man; such a noble, selfless soul Lenny Bernstein has!
SARCASM?
@@sarahjones-jf4pr I hope so!
@@furdiebant Yes..
What are fantastic interview that really gives you a peek into a world that doesn’t really exist anymore. Such a unique mind for music. A terrible shame we didn’t have him longer.
Fascinating interview! I had never known of these stories. Is there more of this interview online? Thank you so much for posting. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Этого человека можно слушать бесконечно..! Он всегда интересен!..
I have always enjoyed learning about Leonard Bernstein, and I've seen the archived videos of his Young People's Concerts, interviews, etc. I actually learned how to conduct the Overture to "Candide" from a video of him conducting. Such a brilliant man, with a good sense of humor. I can tell that he did not want to stop talking about his various stories about how he had the great honor of being friends with some of the greatest conductors of all time. Leonard Bernstein is definitely missed by many.
I missed him even though I was born in 1982😅 and Lenny died in 1990.... I wish I were born in the earlier decades so I can hold him and cuddle this lovable, talented, friendly, funny man, and be cuddled by him in return.
I remember him from when I was young.
He was like a huge movie star
What an amazing interview! I'd call historic. An icon!
what a handsome, charming man
Agree with the comments - great interviewer - unlike most, he is not only up on the the Man’s Life and up on all the content of Classic (serious) music… but he doesn’t feel the need INSERT himself to PROVE that he’s on the same “level” as Bernstein. Modesty and Proprietary!
Thank you for posting these interviews!! He's got a oretty hefty ego, but he knew all of the instruments lines, knew every orchestration, everything you could posdibly know. He was truly one of the greatest. May I also add, it would be nice to list the interviewer, as not everyone recognizes them.
He had a big heart. Met him at a composers conference. He was in town at the time and met with us afterwards. Very gracious abd I found him very humble. Carole Paul Trombonist Composer
The Interviewer is Paul Hume, music critic of the Washington Post and music teacher.
@@cynthiagoodson9070 Thank you!!
Lenny was an absolute legend!!!!
I was a student in Munich at the time, when Böhm did Entführung at the Staatsoper - and then I attended Tristan Act 1 with the Bavarian Radio Symphony, Behrens, Hoffman, Weikl, Minton ... under Bernstein. Several months later Act 2. Unfortunately, I had left Munich after graduation and missed Act 3, which I saw and heard on TV. The memories are the treasures of my lifetime.
Bernstein astonishing😊❤
What a man! What. A. Man.
Love his works , a power column I. American classical , soundtrack , symphony , philharmonic and, and ,and , thank you sir for your amazing pieces and legacy
Wonderful interview!! ...
The one & only Leonard Bernstein.....
Loved watching The Young People's Concert when I was a very young: Remember Andre Watts playing Liszt in 1963 with
Bernstein conducting...
Watched Maestro last night; what a masterpiece......
Wonderful acting by Carrie Mulligan......
What a life he had!
Thanks for posting🙏😃
I was one of the lucky ones to attend Lincoln Center while a JHS and High school student back in the Bronx. As a member of the school music program I went to Bernstein's children concerts withy mom and one of my sisters. I specifically recall the day when he was conducting and narrating Peter and the Wolf. He had told us" boys and girls today is a very special day- we will be recording this performance ". ...... It is an amazing and yes ,very special memory the I keep close to my heart
Bernstein was, indeed, a Man for All Seasons, and Times. Just, yesterday, I got a package delivered of his complete recordings of the 10 Mahler Symphonies. No one championed this composer more, and now those symphonies are a staple of every major orchestra around the world. And, Bernstein's recordings are the benchmark against which, all performances are measured.
Thank you for posting this. I'm impressed by this interviewer; he clearly knows his stuff.
Valerie Smith Yes Thank-you for acknowledging Mr Hume, he had to be very patient handling L.B's flamboyant persona....and yes he was a very clever musically oriented man.
I got to see Maestro at London Film Festival, and the way Bradley Cooper plays him is honestly uncanny
I love the great Maestro Leonardo Bernstein! Oh what a genius he was!
That was mental. I like how he didn’t touch the piano until the very end.
There is so much to learn about life from this interview. Magnificent to listen to the knowledge of the great masterpiece’s. Leonard’s humility is evident in each story. Outstanding interview!
Thank you for posting this interview! As great as human being as a musician, einfach wunderbar!
It was mandatory in our household to watch his Young People's concerts from Carnegie Hall. So informative indeed. Leonard Bernstein is truly an Icon of Classical music of epic proportions. RIP Lenny
I got to play the Celebrant in The Mass. One of the best roles I ever played. Conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. Another time in another world.
@@clarice1001nights ?????????.
I have such a fondness in my soul for Lenny. He was quintessentially New York, as all my family is, and as he once said of Beethoven, he was "accessible without being ordinary." Although he died two years before I was born, I almost feel that I knew him and that he was my friend.
Lenny = the greatest gift of a person and musician ever given from the US to the world.
He was from Brookline, MA! LOL. He was quintessentially narcissistic. LOL!
@@hcb9450 This is not the first time that I have read such an opinion of him. While I disagree, I can see why you would think that he was narcissistic.
@@hcb9450 He was from Lawrence, ding-dong. You're obviously so narcissistic that you think your idiotic "comment" is of any importance.
Ryan H. Lee Quintessentially Brookline M.A in actual fact.
Bernstein's love of music and his ego is evident. Without that exceptional ego could he have ever become Leonard Bernstein? He seems himself never to gotten over the wonderment of becoming Leonard Bernstein.
Yes.....He was everything talk about complex loving/petulant, massive ego/humility, multi talented/self doubting, flighty/sincere, name them all wrapped up in a hedonistic/ modest persona that included. Short/incredibly handsome!! he had it all .
He said that if he wasn't Bernstein he would envy him.
Just watched the whole of it. Thanks for sharing this video. I hope there are more interview videos with Bernstein...
At the age of 13, I watched his lectures on Omnibus and was riveted. This was live back in 1954 and I learned so much from his lectures. He never talked down but his lecture on jazz was awesome. He was so joyous talking about jazz and it was a revelation to me (jazz).
Love the story about Karl Boem. Brought out the youthful vigor in the old man!
I don’t think I ever missed the Young People’s Concerts when I was a kid. My son has his master’s from the New England Conservatory and has had lessons from many musicians who knew Bernstein and played under him in New York and at Tanglewood. Oh my, the stories of Bernstein’s doings he’s heard from them.
one of my favorite music interviews - love the Furtwangler story - and love that Lenny addressed the crucial issue of not avoiding slower tempi for fear of boring an audience - he's right - a tempo that's too fast when it should be slower is what will really bore an audience
Wow awesome anecdotes... what a great guy he was!!!
You sit and watch this, for some reason the word that comes to mind is psychedelic. There's this sustained charismatic sincerity and at the same time, it's really L.B. so the gravity, the stature of it is so heavy, yet it's so personal because you know he knows it's you he's talking to. Psychedelic.
Those were the cary Grant days
The interviewer here is Paul Hume, music critic of the Washington Post.
Fascinating that Bernstein cites Szell as an influence. The conductors seem very different except for maybe an exceptional rhythmic flair. I would love to learn more about the the influence Szell had on Bernstein.
A wonderful view into what made Bernstein tick. Only a person who had a deep knowledge of music, music history and the people involved could bring out such personal commentary.
I wouldn’t really call this an interview. Bernstein wouldn’t let the interviewer talk. 😂😂. Which was fine, great stories.
My Musical Hero 👍
His extraordinary accomplishment aside, LB's anecdote about Furtwangler really lands. I totally agree that Lenny was a great teacher (e.g., the Children's concerts), but that was because he was a natural storyteller, not the BS/Big Fish kind but the sketch artist kind, and the Furtwangler episode is a great example. The "moral" is that WF at one point thought Bernstein was the greatest conductor in the world, but that wasn't the point. The point was that WF didn't get to tell him personally, the way you didn't get to tell your mother or father that you loved them.
Great interview. Lenny was such a great director and composer . West Side Story score is with us forever. Thanks so much for uploading it. 🙏
Amazing interview.
Saw him conduct Jesus Christ Superstar opening night at the Kennedy Center.
loved him. thank you for the video...
Im 57 and read a little about Lenny when he died. Fascinating fella, loved his musicals, being brought up by this music. Mum n dad played them on vinyl records, now i have them now. West Side Story n On the Town. Im looking for the Maestro film, see for myself the insight it gave into the couples lives. Loving wife, he the good looking Jewish guy, even as he got older! ❤❤❤❤😊 let em live on!!
Maestro is a love letter.
I am speechless after listening to this historic interview; he is so absolutely absorbing, authentic and, yes, his brilliance is on display. THANK YOU FOR POSTING Maestro Bernstein’s in depth interview.
Brilliant interview
One thing he should be proud this berni, he knew Glenn Gould personally. We owe this bernstein today alot of zeros, like hauser etc at the stage. Thank you Leonard.
I’m so grateful to you for posting this gem.
Great interview! Good to hear about his time, just after the war, in the Hague and Amsterdam.
Amazing
Slightly off-topic, but people were criticizing Bradley Cooper's makeup (prosthetics) in the "Maestro" trailer, and looking at this interview...OMG! Bradley's interpretation of Leonard in the film is perfect. It's uncanny. Not just the face, but the mannerisms and voice. He nailed it.
And if anyone wants to know if I was offended....The first time I saw the trailer, I thought, "He looks just like my grandfather." My grandfather was the child of Jewish Ukrainian immigrants, just like Bernstein. I haven't been able to find a direct genetic link to Leonard, and I know that "Bernstein" is an extremely common name, but I did check my 23andMe for DNA relatives with the last name "Bernstein" and it came back with 5,001 results! LOL I feel like out of those 5,001 people, there must be a genetic connection somewhere. (And Bernstein at this age really did look just like my grandfather at this age.)
The makeup in this interview is amazing, it looks just like him!
Thank you for posting. This was so interesting.
Fantastic!
Thank you for posting this thoroughly engaging interview. Even though some of what he says is scarcely believable, the medium is the message, and the medium is Leonard Bernstein.
I saw him many times on TV, live only once, when he conducted the premiere of Aaron Copland's last orchestral piece and Chaykovskiy's Little Russian symphony. That was 56 years ago, in a concert I'll never forget.
We can be so lucky that he lived at the right time in history. He was, by all accounts the greatest musician of the 20th Century. And it would have flown right past us if there hadn't been recordings and television around. Because as great as he is a composer, he would never stayed in collective memory on the merrit of his own works alone.
Liszt for example was arguably the greatest pianist of the 19th Century. But that would have been lost to time, if it weren't for his compositions.
West side story, alone, would have kept his name for all human memory.
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Lenny, always entertaining, alway informative.
Fantastic interview ✨
Many thanks for posting this marvelous interview!!!
Bernstein was the Franz Liszt of the 20th Century. Conductor, great promoter of new music, pianist (although no Liszt), composer, educator.
Grande LENNY! Maravilhoso e único!❤
I had the honor of studying under david diamond in the early 90s at Juilliard and I regret never having met Bernstein, but watching this interview really brings back memories of my time at Juilliard and the stories diamond told about Lenny. Yes, Lenny’s narcissism is on display here, but look past that and you’ll see how truly alive he way and how much empathy and humanity he carried with him. If anything, the narcissism is based on deep insecurities and self questioning that very much played into what made him such a GREAT musician. His work as a composer, to me, is what most inspires- and perhaps my biggest regret is he didn’t write much more. But yes, the ego to want to be in front of a huge orchestra conducting the great works, well that kept and keeps many people pursuing careers as conductors.
But Lenny is really just the best, boy do I love him so.
Same here! The day that Bernstein died I asked Diamond how he was feeling and he got angry at Bernstein. "Awww.. He threw his life away, out at all hours of the night, never sleeping, always smoking".
@@stevenledbetter9997wow! Yeah that sounds like David lol. I think I was most in awe of his proximity to all those titans of the 20th century.
Merci beaucoup from Paris France 👍
Marvelous story teller.