The Leonard Bernstein Letters (95 page)

Dear Irwin,

I've just heard the Fiedler–Pops recording of my
Mass
music, and I am so pleased that I must write you. What a job of sound-making you did! I almost don't miss the voices …
⁵⁹

I hope all is going well with you. My warmest thanks for
Mass –

and my affection,

Lenny B

My dear friend,

Your
Songfest
⁶⁰
is a composition of such emotional variety and richness, it is difficult to be articulate about it after one hearing except to express to you the tremendous emotional effect it had on me. It contains ravishing sound, humor, tenderness, strident joy and anger, and sweet melancholy. Whatever I say to you is inadequate in expressing the joy your beautiful music gave me.

You are such a dear, great artist, and I hug you again with great love and thankfulness.

Oliver

Dear Helen,

I haven't written in all these three weeks (this pen is finished!) because I've been spending all my time between rehearsals in bed, sleeping and trying to regain my strength. It's a long, slow haul, and I still don't feel quite up to snuff. The doctor says that I don't need medicine, but a vacation in the sun, and that's just not possible for many weeks to come. So I muddle through, and
Fidelio
goes surprisingly well (tremendous reaction & critics) considering that I don't feel my full powers, and that I had to cancel so many rehearsals. Tomorrow is the live TV broadcast – I pray it will go well.
⁶¹

So you too have had the flu! Isn't it ghastly? It's as though one's whole body had been attacked, ear-lobes, toe-nails & all. I also have no appetite & have lost weight: I hope yours is restored to normal.

I'm expecting Felicia on the 3rd of February & I hope you can give her a pleasant birthday party. She sounds splendid on the phone.

Do take care of yourself, & write – I love hearing from you.

Always,

Lenny

Dearest Lenny,

The impossible letter must be written. I have seen you, and we have talked, and I have felt close to you, and it is hard to write when you are close, and you know that so much is both expressed and understood without the need for the written word. Yet I think of you and feel for you, and I think of Felicia, and what this last year must have been like for you, and the void that is now, and I wish I could write something to lessen the pain so visible in your eyes.

That Felicia was an extraordinary person, we all know. She impressed me the moment you brought her to our green living room on 55th Street. Her patrician beauty and her cool sparkle awed me a bit. I later came to enjoy her great earthy streak, crazy sense of humor, and her many sudden radiant bursts of warmth, and I wish I could have gotten closer than I did. I was close enough to feel totally bereft now.

You must not blame yourself for not coming through this as a kind of patriarchal leader and rock of ages. If I am bereft, what must you be? You are entitled to full grief, and floundering, and, yes, weakness. These are the feelings you expressed to me. This is a deep tragedy you are experiencing. You are so much, Lenny – so many qualities and gifts and inner voices not given to many human beings. You will find your strength somehow in them – and in the beautiful elements added to them by the co-mingling of your life and Felicia's.

Much love, always, from Steve and from me.

Betty

Dear Lenny,

To try to be with you in your commensurable distress.

And you knew so well, and for so long. Hope she did not suffer too terribly. Life sometimes is so difficult to stand. May your courage be as great as your sorrow.

Forgive these poor lines, I feel myself so sick and miserable.

With love,

NB

Dear Lennie,

It bothered me a lot to hear you sounding so depressed when I spoke to you the day after the concert. I thought about it quite a lot. At first I came to the naive conclusion that writing to you about it was none of my business, but then,
the more I gave it thought, the more I realized that both as an old friend and as a musician, it
was
. I've been an admirer and a follower and, in a more remote way, a disciple since I first heard you make music in San Francisco in 1950 with the Israel Philharmonic. You've touched, directly or circuitously, a great many musical decisions of mine, but what's more important, the lives and ambitions of every conductor in this country. That's the kind of statement usually found on the scrolls of Doctorates, but for all its grandiloquence it happens to be true. Therefore, if you were to succumb to a depression, however temporary, that would keep you from your usual frighteningly energetic achievements, you'd be letting down an amazing number of musicians. You've kept those of us who grew up in the same years as you feeling young; you've kept those older than you correctly infuriated, and you've been a lighthouse of constancy to all those 20-year-old current phenomena. As a friend, I can see that this is a burden you might not want right now, but as a member of that weird band who feel that a day without music is an irresponsible waste, I have to tell you that you're stuck with it. I'm certainly not entitled to be a spokesman, and all this sounds terrifyingly pompous, but we depend on you and love you and trust you.

When I celebrate my 60th birthday, you will be a hell of a lot younger than […] Karl Böhm is right now, and I will expect you to play the Triple Concerto while I conduct.

See you soon.

André

Dear, dear Lenny,

That was a
beautiful
note you sent me. I was so pleased that you were pleased with the
Jeremiah
movement.
⁶⁴
It sure is a beauty!

And now the sad part. I'm not going to be present at the “Remembrance” for Felicia on the 18th because I am under contract to conduct the same day in Virginia (Norfolk). But my thoughts will be with you and the family that day.

As ever,

Aaron

Dearest BB,

I've thought of you all day, driving down the old S[inai] Peninsula (with the McClures and Tommy C.) and hearing your voice from Eilat to Sharm, Bedouin by Bedouin, camel by camel (one dead by the road in rigor mortis) & glorious geological grandeur by g. g. g. But the climax came tonight, walking up the beach from our Tunisian shrimp dinner, as we were confronted by one of the truly great signs of my experience, repeated at intervals along the strand, in the usual 3 languages. The English reads (and this may well merit a
New Yorker
appearance):

I cannot get it out of my mind: it defies all intelligibility. “Only”!

Aside from this I've thought of you often this month (Holidays
very
late this year) climaxed by
Shmini Hatzsreth
⁶⁵
(gasp! of childhood total recall) only yesterday. Rosh, Kol, Yom, Succoth, etc. have come and gone in a welter of rehearsals & concerts & much sleeping in between. Very difficult to resume the old schedules, but God knows I've tried, acquitted myself passably, & have these 4 days of desert holiday before attacking the even more rigorous set-up in Vienna. I'll make it …

This great wonderful Sinai … give it back?!

Not one word have I received from anyone all month. I have phoned & written: not been answered. What is happening to the loving old family? Do call Mamma (if that is indeed her name) & give her my love. Tell Horse she's a cad not to have called or written.

And much love to all, & to you, – mine Brothoass,

Ben

Best from Moish [Moshe Pearlman].

I hope the book goes apace.

1
Published by Alex Ross in
The New Yorker
online:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2009/08/the-bernstein-files.html
(accessed 26 February 2013). It would be reassuring to think that this bizarre episode was the only time that the words of the Latin Mass came under suspicion from a Presidential aide. Presumably, Buchanan's main cause for alarm might have been the last line of the Agnus Dei: “Dona nobis pacem” (“Grant us peace”). It's surprising that Buchanan felt the need to “get us a good Jesuit” to provide a translation, since he had himself been educated at Jesuit-run institutions: Gonzaga College High School and Georgetown University, and English translations of the Mass were so readily available.

2
Oliver Knussen, “Bernstein:
Dybbuk
,”
Tempo
, No. 119 (December 1976), p. 34.

3
Oliver Knussen, “Bernstein:
Songfest
,”
Tempo
, No. 128 (March 1979), pp. 21–2.

4
Dougary 2010.

5
Burton 1994, pp. 446–7.

6
Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic recorded Thompson's Second Symphony for Columbia Records on 22 October 1968, straight after four concert performances. It is difficult to argue with the composer's delighted response to Bernstein's magnificent recording of the work, which has been reissued on CD by Sony Classical (SMK 60594).

7
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (1925–2012), German baritone who had sung the title role in Bernstein's Vienna production and recording of Verdi's
Falstaff
in 1966, the reason he signs himself “Sir Dieter Falstaff” here.

8
See Letter 548.

9
Rabbi Judah Cahn (1912-84) was the founding Rabbi of the Metropolitan Synagogue of New York, which has always had a reputation as an informal and liberal Reformed synagogue. Cahn was a family friend of the Bernsteins, and he was also passionate about music (he appears as a speaker on Bernstein's recording of Bloch's
Sacred Service
).

10
A reference to the fundraiser for the legal defense of the Black Panthers held in Bernstein's apartment. On a number of occasions Bernstein explained that the event had not been intended to endorse the radical (armed) agenda of the Black Panthers. But Tom Wolfe's description of the event as “radical chic” (in
New York Magazine
, 8 June 1970) has refused to go away.

11
Ingmar Bergman (1918–2007), Swedish film and theater director, described by Woody Allen (in a TV interview with Mark Kermode) as “probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera.” Unfortunately, the plan outlined by Bernstein for a filmed production of Wagner's
Tristan und Isolde
came to nothing.

12
Bernstein's concerts with the Orchestre de Paris at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in February 1971 included Ravel's
Tombeau de Couperin
and the G major Piano Concerto (directed from the piano), and Berlioz's
Roméo et Juliette
.

13
Bernstein's concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic on 20 and 21 Februrary 1971 included Haydn's Symphony No. 102, Ravel's G major Piano Concerto (directed from the piano), and Schumann's Fourth Symphony.

14
Ethel Linder Reiner was a Broadway producer whose credits included
Candide
in 1956. Her death was announced in
The New York Times
on 11 February 1971.

15
Debs Myers was described in his
New York Times
obituary as a “political press aide.” He worked on Senator Bobby Kennedy's Senate campaign and on both of Adlai Stevenson's presidential campaigns. He died on 2 February 1971 at the age of 59.

16
Cryptic crossword puzzles.

17
Bernstein consulted the psychiatrist Willard Gaylin regularly in the early 1970s.

18
Jamie Bernstein (b. 1952), the eldest child of Leonard and Felicia Bernstein.

19
Benazir Bhutto (1953–2007), the first woman in modern history to lead a Muslim state, attended Harvard (Radcliffe College) from 1969 to 1973. Her nickname at Harvard was “Pinkie”.

20
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

21
8 September was the opening night of
Mass
at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

22
Oliver Smith designed the sets for
Mass
.

23
Christa Ludwig (b. 1928), German mezzo-soprano with whom Bernstein collaborated on numerous occasions from the late 1960s onwards, notably in Mahler (Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3,
Das Lied von der Erde, Des Knaben Wunderhorn
), Brahms (lieder), and in Bernstein's own work: the
Jeremiah
and
Kaddish
symphonies, and, in December 1989, as the Old Lady in
Candide
.

24
David Charles Abell (b. 1958) is now a successful conductor. At the time of writing this letter, he was a member of the Berkshire Boy Choir and had performed in the original production of Bernstein's
Mass
. At the time he conducted Stephen Sondheim's 80th birthday concert at the 2010 BBC Proms, he wrote: “None of that would probably have happened if I hadn't been in
Mass
at age 13” (David Charles Abell, personal communication).

25
Marcus Dods (1918–84), British conductor. He was music director for all of Richard Rodney Bennett's major film scores:
Billion Dollar Brain
(1967),
Far From the Madding Crowd
(1967),
Nicholas and Alexandra
(1971),
Lady Caroline Lamb
(1972), and
Murder on the Orient Express
(1974).

26
Bernstein played his own arrangement of Rodgers' “Nobody's Heart Belongs to Me” from
By Jupiter
as part of the “Celebration of Richard Rodgers” held at the Imperial Theatre on 26 March 1972 in honour of Rodgers' forthcoming 70th birthday (28 June 1972).

27
On 15 and 16 April 1971, Bernstein conducted performances of Mahler's Fifth Symphony with the Vienna Philharmonic. A few weeks later (6 and 7 May) he conducted Mahler's Fourth Symphony.

28
Luciano Berio (1925–2003), Italian composer. Bernstein commissioned Berio's
Sinfonia
, which was first performed by the New York Philharmonic on 10 October 1968.

29
This innovative television series, presented by Berio and broadcast in 1972, included an episode entitled “Nuovo mondo” in which Bernstein appeared.

30
“October's Bright Blue Weather” by Helen Hunt Jackson (1830–85) was first published in her
Verses
(Boston, 1870). Her poetry was admired by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and she was a lifelong friend of Emily Dickinson. As well as poetry, Jackson also wrote a popular novel (
Ramona
) about the government's mistreatment of Native Americans.

31
Dybbuk
was slowly taking shape when Robbins wrote this letter, but there was still much to be done.
The New York Times
reported (12 July 1972) that Bernstein was planning to take “nearly a year off from public performing to give his undivided attention to writing music” and as a result he did get the score finished. The ballet was first performed by New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center, New York, on 16 May 1974.

32
Interplay
was Robbins' second ballet (after
Fancy Free
). It was set to a score by Morton Gould and first performed at Billy Rose's Concert Varieties on 1 June 1945. It was subsequently taken into the repertoire of the New York City Ballet. In October 1972, the Joffrey Ballet gave a successful revival, the one referred to in this letter.

33
Owen Wingrave
was originally composed as an opera for television, first broadcast on 16 May 1971. In this letter Britten is referring to the work's stage premiere, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 10 May 1973.

34
The world premiere of
Death in Venice
was given at Snape Maltings on 16 June 1973.

35
Undated, written inside a Christmas card from Britten and Pears.

36
Virgil Thomson (1896–1989), American composer and critic. Thomson had known Bernstein since the 1940s, when he encouraged Bernstein, Paul Bowles, and others to develop as tonal composers. As a critic, he always took Bernstein's music seriously. In John Rockwell's obituary of Thomson in
The New York Times
(1 October 1989), Bernstein was quoted as follows: “The death of Virgil T is like the death of an American city: it is intolerable. Virgil was loving and harsh, generous and mordant, simple but cynical, son of the hymnal yet highly sophisticated. He will always remain brightly alive in the history of music, if only for the extraordinary influence his witty and simplistic music had on his colleagues. I know that I am one twig on that tree, and I will always cherish and revere Virgil, the source.”

37
The 1974 Broadway revival of
Candide
opened at the Broadway Theatre on 10 March and ran for 740 performances.

38
Alan Jay Lerner (1918–86), American lyricist and librettist who was a contemporary of Bernstein's at Harvard. A plan to work together on a show in 1949 came to nothing (see Letter 288), but in 1957 Lerner and Bernstein wrote two choruses for the Harvard Glee Club. In 1976 they collaborated on
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
– a work that has, alas, become more famous for its catastrophic failure on Broadway than for the beauty of Bernstein's score and the brilliance of Lerner's lyrics (both heard to advantage in
A White House Cantata
, arranged from the show by Charlie Harmon and Sid Ramin after Bernstein's death). Lerner's most productive collaborations were with Frederick Loewe:
Brigadoon, Paint Your Wagon, My Fair Lady, Gigi
, and
Camelot
; he also worked with Kurt Weill (
Love Life
) and Burton Lane (
On A Clear Day You Can See Forever
).

39
The first performance of
Dybbuk
took place the day after this letter was written.

40
Presumably the second act of
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
.

41
Maurice Abravanel (1903–93), Greek-born American conductor. He was a pupil and friend of Kurt Weill and conducted the original productions of several of Weill's Broadway shows, including
Knickerbocker Holiday, Lady in the Dark, One Touch of Venus, The Firebrand of Florence
, and
Street Scene
. In 1949 he was conductor for the Broadway run of Blitzstein's
Regina
. Abravanel was Music Director of the Utah Symphony Orchestra from 1947 to 1979, leaving an extensive legacy of recordings. The orchestra's home was renamed Abravanel Hall in 1993.

42
In August–September 1974, Bernstein was on tour with the New York Philharmonic to New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. Bernstein's concerts began in Auckland on 16 August, and ended in Nagoya, Japan, on 6 September. In Wellington (17 August) and Christchurch (18 August) the programme was Mozart's Piano Concerto K503 (with Bernstein as the soloist) and Mahler's Fifth Symphony.

43
Alexander, their son.

44
In June 1974, Felicia had mastectomy surgery.

45
A “British-style” cryptic crossword.

46
This article appeared in
The New York Times
on 25 August 1974. Written by Raymond Ericson and headed “The Pick of Modern American Music,” it included no work by Bernstein. According to the report, Igor Buketoff collated the list in
The New York Times
from the responses of a jury of nine experts. Foss (like Diamond) was one of the American composers who actively supported Bernstein's music from the 1940s onwards. Foss was understandably hurt that his choice of Bernstein's
Age of Anxiety
had been ignored by
The New York Times
.

47
Thornton Wilder died in December 1975, a few months after writing this letter, but the story of Bernstein's attempt to set
The Skin of Our Teeth
went back more than a dozen years (see note to letter 500). Why was Bernstein in contact with Wilder about this project as late as 1975? Perhaps it was because the revue
By Bernstein
that opened on 23 November 1975 at the Chelsea Theater Center, New York, included “Here Comes the Sun” and “Spring Will Come Again,” both originally written for
The Skin of Our Teeth
in 1964, before being recycled in the
Chichester Psalms
the following year. Perhaps Bernstein also contemplated including Sabina's opening aria (“Oh! Oh! Oh!”), described by Wilder in unflattering terms in this letter. Sketches for this survive in the Leonard Bernstein Collection.

48
“Kanagawa” is a reference to
Pacific Overtures
. Tryouts for this show started at the Shubert Theatre, Boston (8–29 November 1975), and then the Kennedy Center Opera House, Washington, D.C. (4–27 December 1975), before opening on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre on 11 January 1976.

49
The reviews for the Boston tryout of
Pacific Overtures
.

50
The “button problem” refers to finding the most effective way to end a song.

51
The tryouts of
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
were in Philadelphia: it was proving to be an exceptionally troublesome show. Jerome Robbins was not only Bernstein's most regular theatrical collaborator and a trusted friend, but he was also a brilliant “show doctor.” Despite a score that is often very beautiful,
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
failed when it moved to Broadway.

52
4 May 1976 was the opening night of the troubled
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
on Broadway, where it ran for just seven performances.

53
Fine and Schapiro is a famous Kosher restaurant and delicatessen in New York.

54
Ramin (and Hershy Kay) orchestrated
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
.

55
Richard Avedon (1923–2004), American photographer who helped to “define America's image of style, beauty and culture for the last half-century,” according to his obituary in
The New York Times
(1 October 2004). Avedon and his wife Evelyn were close friends of the Bernsteins, and he loved Bernstein's music (a few years earlier, on 3 January 1972, he had written to Bernstein and Felicia about
Mass
: “I play it over and over (not while I'm photographing), and when I'm not listening, I sing ‘I Go On’ and cry a lot. How can I thank you?”).