Leonard Bernstein
In Boston, Leonard Bernstein might have sustained Serge Koussevitzky’s bold adventure—and changed the course of American classical music. Today’s Boston Symphony is adrift
“Maestro” is raw and unsparing but also full of understanding, grace, and honesty. This compelling drama brings to life the man and woman behind an extraordinary amount of musical activity, with many of their shortcomings and contradictions fully intact.
Each month, our arts critics — music, book, theater, dance, television, film, and visual arts — fire off a few brief reviews.
New CD releases provide splendid performances of remarkable American music, from Barber and Bernstein to recently rediscovered Black composers Florence Price and William Grant Still.
Arts Fuse writers continue their countdown of great music celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and this month’s list includes Leonard Bernstein, Leon Russell, The Faces, Carla Bley, and Rod Stewart.
Lovers of American music, don’t miss Aspects of America: The Pulitzer Edition ; Lindberg’s recording of Leonard Bernstein’s first two symphonies lacks a compelling command of the musician’s singular voice; the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra tackles four pieces by Morton Gould.
Perhaps the book’s most impressive accomplishment is to make a kind of systematic case for Leonard Bernstein’s larger compositional output.
Violinist Viktoria Mullova supplies one of the year’s most programmatically-cohesive and thoughtfully-executed albums.
If Charlie Harmon’s story jumps around a bit and reads rather like a series of diary entries, it’s at the very least engaging and, for the most part, entertaining.
Arts Commentary: What Might the Kennedy Center Best Become?
A reconsideration of the Kennedy Center’s unrealized national mission—and what its future could yet hold.
Read More about Arts Commentary: What Might the Kennedy Center Best Become?