Latest News
- TUNE IN MAY 9 AT 12PM ET FACEBOOK LIVE: Leonard Bernstein at 100 Centennial Press Event! Join Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, members of the Bernstein Family, and other guests for musical performances and an important announcement about centennial celebration programming around the world. Read May 3, 2017
- Finally Returning Bernstein’s Overdue Mahler It was more than 50 years overdue, but Leonard Bernstein’s score of Mahler’s “Das Lied von der Erde” was finally returned to the Vienna Philharmonic on Tuesday. Read March 28, 2017
- WNYC Studio 360 - American Icons: Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts Leonard Bernstein’s “Young People’s Concerts” with the New York Philharmonic were presented in Manhattan concert halls and broadcast live on national television for 14 seasons. There had been similar “music appreciation” efforts before, but Bernstein — 40 years old at the outset, deeply passionate about teaching, and a natural showman — made them into a reliably exciting franchise for family classical music viewing. The story of these iconic programs and how they were put together in the early, daring days of live TV is told by participants, Bernstein-watchers, family members, and inspired musicians. Read March 2, 2017
- How Leonard Bernstein Opposed Richard Nixon With 1973 "Anti-inaugural" Concert "... But at the exact same time a free and unofficial inauguration concert at the National Cathedral took place thanks to legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein. He led 'A Concert for Peace,' which became widely known as the 'Anti-inaugural Concert.'" via Laurie L. Dove for Howstuffworks Read January 20, 2017
- Review: The Adventures of ‘Candide,’ and of City Opera Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times reviews the latest production of Candide by the New York City Opera: "Since New York City Opera emerged from bankruptcy a year ago, it’s been hard to know what to make of it. Is this venture truly a renaissance of the venerable company that went out of business in 2013 after 70 adventurous years? Or should the quite variable productions that have been offered over the past year be seen as the first steps of a completely reconceived City Opera?" Read January 9, 2017
- "On The Town" with the Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony "On The Town" with the Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony In this classic American musical comedy, follow three wartime soldiers on 24-hour shore leave around the Big Apple, with music by Leonard Bernstein, and book and lyrics by the famous Betty Comden and Adolph Green. A talented musical theater cast will join the Symphony for this semi-staged event, with unforgettable show tunes like "New York, New York (it's a helluva town!)." May 25-29, 2016 at Davies Symphony Hall Read April 21, 2016
- Estelle Parsons to front HV Philharmonic for Bernstein’s Kaddish Estelle Parsons to front Hudson Valley Philharmonic for Bernstein's Kaddish by John Burdick Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead, has lent its complex themes and functions, as well as its title, to at least two monumental achievements of 20th-century Western art: Allen Ginsberg's best poem and Leonard Bernstein's ambitious, tense and dramatic third symphony with spoken-word narration and a vast choral component. As to the former, read Ginsberg's devastating lament for his mother, Naomi, if you haven't. As to the latter, the Bardavon continues the Hudson Valley Philharmonic's 56th season with a performance of Bernstein's Kaddish on Saturday, April 16 at 8 p.m. Read April 8, 2016
- Review: Carnegie Hall’s ‘West Side Story’ at the Knockdown Center Charles Isherwood reviewed Carnegie Hall's 'West Side Story' at the Knockdown Center in The New York Times. "The sound of so many voices added a layer of emotional plushness to the songs that was goose-pimple-inducing, and utterly irresistible. So, really, was the entire production, which may have been conceived in part as a public-spirited educational project, but ultimately became a simple yet transporting production of a great musical." Read March 8, 2016
- Leonard Bernstein inducted into Carnegie Hall's Digital Hall of Fame 2015 Leonard Bernstein has been inducted into Carnegie Hall's Digital Hall of Fame 2015! The Carnegie Hall Digital Hall of Fame 2015 represents the inaugural year of an annual celebration in which we recognize individuals intrinsic to the founding and continued existence of the Hall and whose lives or careers are inextricably woven into the fabric of the Hall's 125-year history. Read February 4, 2016
- What Makes It Great? From "On the Town" to "West Side Story" - Theater Songs of Leonard Bernstein "What Makes It Great?" From "On the Town" to "West Side Story" - Theater Songs of Leonard Bernstein at the Kaufman Music Center in New York City on Monday, February 8th. Hosted by NPR Commentator/Conductor/Pianist Rob KapilowFeaturing Broadway stars Sally Wilfert (Assassins) & Michael Winther (Mamma Mia!) Today it seems incomprehensible that Leonard Bernstein endured brutal criticism for throwing away his talent on Broadway musicals like On the Town and West Side Story. His attempts to bring a classical compositional technique into the world of the popular theater ruffled more than a few feathers, and though Bernstein expected other classical composers to follow his lead, his extraordinary blend of the serious and the popular remains unique in Broadway history. Host Rob Kapilow explores Bernstein's attempts to reimagine the possibilities of musical theater in a program that will forever change the way you see Tony and Maria! Read January 28, 2016
- West Side Story at the Signature Theatre runs through January 24, 2016 Arlington, Virginia's Signature Theatre has released production photos from its ongoing production of the classic Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents musical West Side Story. The cast of 30 is joined by a 17-piece orchestra in a run that concludes January 24, 2016. Read December 17, 2015
- Carol J. Oja's "Bernstein Meets Broadway" Wins American Musicological Society Award Carol J. Oja's Bernstein Meets Broadway: Collaborative Art in a Time of War won the American Musicological Music in American Culture Award. This award was first presented in 2009 and each year honors a book of exceptional merit that both illuminates some important aspect of the music of the United States and places that music in a rich cultural context. Read November 19, 2015
- Leonard Bernstein's 'Candide' from Glimmerglass Tune in at 1pm on Saturday, November 21st for Leonard Bernstein's Candide, the final broadcast from the 2015 Glimmerglass Festival. This glittering production stars Andrew Stenson as Candide, Kathryn Lewek as Cunegonde, and veteran actor David Garrison as Voltaire & Pangloss. Host Naomi Lewin talks to the cast during the intermission, including conversations with Andrew Stenson, David Garrison, Joseph Colaneri, Marietta Simpson, Kathryn Lewek, and Glimmerglass Artistic & General Director Francesca Zambello. Read November 19, 2015
- Martin Scorcese and Paramount to development Leonard Bernstein Biopic Scorsese and Paramount are developing a biopic of composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein that Scorsese will direct and produce, along with Fred Berner and Amy Durning for Fred Berner Films, from a screenplay by Josh Singer (“Spotlight”). Read November 2, 2015
- The Somewhere Project: A West Side Story Companion In celebration of Carnegie Hall’s 125th anniversary season, the Weill Music Institute (WMI) launches The Somewhere Project, a citywide exploration of West Side Story. This unique creative learning project will engage people through events in all five boroughs of New York City, anchored by a large-scale production of West Side Story. In March 2016, three performances of this iconic work with music by Leonard Bernstein will take place at the Knockdown Center, a restored factory in Queens, and feature professional artists in lead roles, with students and community members from around the city on stage. Marin Alsop, a former protégée of Bernstein’s and a visionary leader of education projects, will conduct and Amanda Dehnert, a nationally renowned theater director, will lead the production. Experiencing West Side Story as a celebration of community and music will encourage artists and audiences to consider the work’s timeless themes, inviting them to embrace the vision of New York City as a “place for us.” Read October 28, 2015
- On The Waterfront Film with Live Orchestra The New York Philharmonic presented the world premiere of a live performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Academy Award-nominated score for the iconic 1954 film, On the Waterfront. David Newman, the conductor and composer of over 100 film scores, conducted the performance, at which the complete film will be screened. This was preceded by remarks by actor Alec Baldwin, the orchestra’s radio host, who introduced Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne, who spoke on the film and its music. Mr. Newman and the Philharmonic will offer the same program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on October 11, while the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will perform the same program, conducted by Richard Kaufman, in Chicago on October 23. Read September 23, 2015
- Proms Extra: Leonard Bernstein Andrew McGregor of BBC Radio 3 is joined by Jamie Bernstein, and Nigel Simeone, editor of The Leonard Bernstein Letters, to talk about Bernstein's music for stage and screen. One subject is how Bernstein rarely discarded music, but incorporated unused musical materials in future compositions – songs from Candide into West Side Story, and West Side Story into Chichester Psalms. Recorded at the Royal College of Music in London and broadcast on September 5th. Read September 8, 2015
- The Metropolitan Opera’s annual Summer HD Festival to open with a special presentation of West Side Story The Metropolitan Opera’s annual Summer HD Festival will open on Friday, August 28 at 8 p.m. with a special presentation of the classic 1961 movie musical West Side Story. The film, which won 10 Academy Awards and features a score by Leonard Bernstein, is largely set in the neighborhood where Lincoln Center now stands. This screening is co-presented with the Film Society of Lincoln Center, which also co-presented the Met’s screening of Moonstruck last summer. Read August 24, 2015
- Orchestra Attire, from tuxedo shirts to "Bernstein's folly" In 1958, Leonard Bernstein tried to wean the New York Philharmonic from evening dress on Thursdays, but he soon dropped the new, relaxed uniforms, dismissing them as “Bernstein’s folly.” -Michael Cooper, The New York Times Read August 18, 2015
- Rita Moreno and Seiji Ozawa to receive Kennedy Center Honors Actress and singer Rita Moreno, who starred as Anita in the film West Side Story, and Maestro Seiji Ozawa, former assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein, will be honored at the Kennedy Center's 38th annual national celebration of the arts on Sunday, December 6, 2015. The gala will be broadcast on CBS December 29, 2015 at 9:00pm ET/PT. Read August 5, 2015