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Bernstein in a Blizzard
Posted February 13, 2026
Bernstein in a Blizzard
by Jamie Bernstein
Yes, the weather has been bitterly cold. The snow doesn’t melt; the wind finds the gap between glove and sleeve; the water pipes are bursting.
But here in New York City, in the midst of this midwinter freeze, there were two concerts, a week apart, that warmed me to the core.
The first one, on Jan. 27, took place at one of the city’s cathedrals of the performing arts: Radio City Music Hall. The other, on Feb. 4, rang the walls of our other musical cathedral: Carnegie Hall.
The Radio City concert was noteworthy for being the first official occasion, incredibly enough, of the New York Philharmonic performing in that space. The concert had been postponed from Sunday to Tuesday due to the enormous blizzard. I’d returned from Europe on Monday evening, so if not for the snow, I would have missed the occasion. I’m so glad I was there, to relish our hometown musical heroes in that jaw-droppingly enormous and beautiful space. Gustavo Dudamel climbed onto the podium and kicked off the proceedings with the overture from Bernstein’s adorable Greenwich Village-based musical, Wonderful Town. The jazzy score is 1930’s-flavored – a perfect match for ultra-Deco Radio City.
Photo: MSG Entertainment
But there was yet more Bernstein music! We heard “Times Square” -- that New Yorkiest of numbers from his first musical, On the Town. At the end came everyone’s favorite encore, “Mambo” from West Side Story. And after that, a really big surprise: out came Bernadette Peters, who wriggled onto the podium behind Gustavo to sing a delirious rendition of “Conga!” from Wonderful Town. The crowd was euphoric.
Photo: MSG Entertainment
I went backstage afterward to give Gustavo a hug. By now he’s a family friend, and we’re so thrilled to have him here in our hometown, leading our dad’s very own band. It was fascinating to discover how plain and cramped the backstage area was at Radio City; all the glamor was saved for out front.
Photo by Jennifer Taylor, courtesy of Carnegie Hall
One week later, I was reveling in the creamy grandeur of Carnegie Hall, to hear another NYC prime ensemble, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, with its brilliant maestro, Yannick Nézet-Séguin. And once again, I glowed with pleasure to hear two Bernstein works: “Somewhere” from West Side Story, poignantly sung by the ever-lustrous Isabel Leonard, followed by a superb performance of the complete score of Fancy Free -- Bernstein’s 1944 ballet about three sailors on shore leave in New York City, the very work that inspired On the Town -- the Broadway hit that soon followed. Backstage, Yannick and I had huge hugs; he too is part of the family by now, and a devoted programmer of Bernstein music.
Photo by Jennifer Taylor, courtesy of Carnegie Hall
So much New York City goodness: the halls, the orchestras, the Maestros – and all that Bernstein music! Warming indeed.