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| An Intimate Look at Leonard Bernstein | An Intimate Look at Leonard Bernstein |
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| Like a boxer preparing to enter the ring, Leonard Bernstein appears bare-chested, a towel draped over his shoulders. He and his wife, Felicia Montealegre, hold a white shirt, his gaze locked on her; is he seeking comfort, or are they really just fixing the shirt? There’s not much time. Soon he is to walk out on the Carnegie Hall stage as the new music director of the New York Philharmonic on the opening night of its 1958-59 season. | Like a boxer preparing to enter the ring, Leonard Bernstein appears bare-chested, a towel draped over his shoulders. He and his wife, Felicia Montealegre, hold a white shirt, his gaze locked on her; is he seeking comfort, or are they really just fixing the shirt? There’s not much time. Soon he is to walk out on the Carnegie Hall stage as the new music director of the New York Philharmonic on the opening night of its 1958-59 season. |
| This image by Gordon Parks is part of a new book, “Leonard Bernstein 100: The Masters Photograph the Maestro,” a collection of 100 photographs of the composer, conductor, educator and most successful force in American classical music. The book, published in honor of Mr. Bernstein’s very celebrated centennial, was created by Mr. Bernstein’s daughter Jamie and the music photographer Steve J. Sherman. The book features many unpublished photos of Mr. Bernstein by some of the most famous photographers in the world, from Irving Penn to W. Eugene Smith, Richard Avedon, and Henri Cartier-Bresson. After all, master does recognize master. | This image by Gordon Parks is part of a new book, “Leonard Bernstein 100: The Masters Photograph the Maestro,” a collection of 100 photographs of the composer, conductor, educator and most successful force in American classical music. The book, published in honor of Mr. Bernstein’s very celebrated centennial, was created by Mr. Bernstein’s daughter Jamie and the music photographer Steve J. Sherman. The book features many unpublished photos of Mr. Bernstein by some of the most famous photographers in the world, from Irving Penn to W. Eugene Smith, Richard Avedon, and Henri Cartier-Bresson. After all, master does recognize master. |
| “I was using the Library of Congress a lot and I started seeing photograph after photograph of him by my heroes,” Mr. Sherman said. “When I was a kid and the new issue of Life or Look magazine would come into our house, I would grab it and go up to my room, close the door and spend hours looking at their pictures.” | “I was using the Library of Congress a lot and I started seeing photograph after photograph of him by my heroes,” Mr. Sherman said. “When I was a kid and the new issue of Life or Look magazine would come into our house, I would grab it and go up to my room, close the door and spend hours looking at their pictures.” |
| The book is divided into two main parts. The first and larger consists of photographs of Mr. Bernstein, including some by Mr. Sherman himself; the second is a sampling of archives, musical scores, letters and writing. There are several narratives. The first is chronological, the second emotional and the third somewhat a history of photography. | The book is divided into two main parts. The first and larger consists of photographs of Mr. Bernstein, including some by Mr. Sherman himself; the second is a sampling of archives, musical scores, letters and writing. There are several narratives. The first is chronological, the second emotional and the third somewhat a history of photography. |
| One of the biggest surprises is the addition of photographs by Stanley Kubrick. Long before he was busy changing cinematic history, the Bronx-born 17-year-old worked as a photographer for Look magazine. “The amazing thing is that we did not know these Kubrick photos existed until very recently,” Ms. Bernstein said. | One of the biggest surprises is the addition of photographs by Stanley Kubrick. Long before he was busy changing cinematic history, the Bronx-born 17-year-old worked as a photographer for Look magazine. “The amazing thing is that we did not know these Kubrick photos existed until very recently,” Ms. Bernstein said. |
| One of those photographs, from December 1949, shows Mr. Bernstein chatting behind a hazy cloud of cigarette smoke, framed by Betty Comden of the writing team Comden and Green, who created libretti for many hit Broadway shows and musicals. | |
| Most of the photos in the book were, in fact, not taken on stage. One, from 1970 by Milton H. Greene, known mostly for his photographs of Marilyn Monroe, shows the Bernstein family perched on the branches of a copper beech tree in Fairfield, Conn. Mr. Greene, a neighbor and family friend, was photographing the family Christmas card. At the bottom of the tree, there is a dark gash. Several years earlier, not longer after John F. Kennedy was shot, the Kennedys had come over to the Bernsteins’ for the weekend. By the end of the weekend, John-John, a toddler, had escaped his Secret Service bodyguards, crawled into the driveway, and sat up in the car and released the emergency brake. He managed to escape before the car smashed into the tree. | Most of the photos in the book were, in fact, not taken on stage. One, from 1970 by Milton H. Greene, known mostly for his photographs of Marilyn Monroe, shows the Bernstein family perched on the branches of a copper beech tree in Fairfield, Conn. Mr. Greene, a neighbor and family friend, was photographing the family Christmas card. At the bottom of the tree, there is a dark gash. Several years earlier, not longer after John F. Kennedy was shot, the Kennedys had come over to the Bernsteins’ for the weekend. By the end of the weekend, John-John, a toddler, had escaped his Secret Service bodyguards, crawled into the driveway, and sat up in the car and released the emergency brake. He managed to escape before the car smashed into the tree. |
| “For me, that photograph has nothing to do with the Jackie O. story,” Mr. Sherman said. “It’s really about how do you get a family up a tree?” | “For me, that photograph has nothing to do with the Jackie O. story,” Mr. Sherman said. “It’s really about how do you get a family up a tree?” |
| Another photo from 1970 was taken by Stephen Salmieri. In it, Mr. Bernstein and Ms. Montealegre pose with Donald L. Cox, the field marshal for the Black Panthers, at Ms. Montealegre’s fund-raising party for the group. According to Jamie Bernstein’s book, “Famous Father Girl: A Memoir of Growing Up Bernstein,” Felicia Montealegre hosted the party independently of her husband. It wasn’t until midway through the party that Mr. Bernstein — who would then become a subject of F.B.I. scrutiny — returned home to a room full of guests. By that summer, New York magazine would release an issue devoted to “These Radical Chic Evenings,” a 20,000-word account written by the uninvited Tom Wolfe. When asked to comment on Mr. Wolfe’s essay, a minister for the Black Panthers called the author a “blatant, lying, racist dog.” | Another photo from 1970 was taken by Stephen Salmieri. In it, Mr. Bernstein and Ms. Montealegre pose with Donald L. Cox, the field marshal for the Black Panthers, at Ms. Montealegre’s fund-raising party for the group. According to Jamie Bernstein’s book, “Famous Father Girl: A Memoir of Growing Up Bernstein,” Felicia Montealegre hosted the party independently of her husband. It wasn’t until midway through the party that Mr. Bernstein — who would then become a subject of F.B.I. scrutiny — returned home to a room full of guests. By that summer, New York magazine would release an issue devoted to “These Radical Chic Evenings,” a 20,000-word account written by the uninvited Tom Wolfe. When asked to comment on Mr. Wolfe’s essay, a minister for the Black Panthers called the author a “blatant, lying, racist dog.” |
| There is a range of emotions that informs the images. In some of the photos, Mr. Bernstein looks quite tormented, while other photos show him ecstatic, in the arms of his loved ones, bursting with impatient ideas. One photo shows him embraced by Aaron Copland with the biggest grin in the world, and another shows Mr. Bernstein with his hand on the shoulder of a young musician about to have a huge night. | There is a range of emotions that informs the images. In some of the photos, Mr. Bernstein looks quite tormented, while other photos show him ecstatic, in the arms of his loved ones, bursting with impatient ideas. One photo shows him embraced by Aaron Copland with the biggest grin in the world, and another shows Mr. Bernstein with his hand on the shoulder of a young musician about to have a huge night. |
| “His whole approach to life was that he was so curious about everything,” Ms. Bernstein said. “And the minute he found out anything that he was interested in, he had to immediately turn around and share it with somebody else.” | “His whole approach to life was that he was so curious about everything,” Ms. Bernstein said. “And the minute he found out anything that he was interested in, he had to immediately turn around and share it with somebody else.” |
| Mr. Sherman included a few of his own pictures of the maestro conducting. When Mr. Bernstein conducted, it was almost like he was a vessel transmitting the most urgent signals from some magical place. | Mr. Sherman included a few of his own pictures of the maestro conducting. When Mr. Bernstein conducted, it was almost like he was a vessel transmitting the most urgent signals from some magical place. |
| Truly, most people can hear when Leonard Bernstein is on the podium (just compare his version of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 with that of the one conducted by Sir Simon Rattle). The maestro’s distinction was in the spaces between notes. And he embodied those pauses with such dignity, summoning new notes with impassioned gestures (which were so remarkable that he sometimes lost track of his baton). | Truly, most people can hear when Leonard Bernstein is on the podium (just compare his version of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 with that of the one conducted by Sir Simon Rattle). The maestro’s distinction was in the spaces between notes. And he embodied those pauses with such dignity, summoning new notes with impassioned gestures (which were so remarkable that he sometimes lost track of his baton). |
| “L. B. really used his body to express the music,” Ms. Bernstein wrote in an email. “People thought he was dancing on the podium. Audiences — critics too — thought he was carrying on for their benefit, and he was often criticized for being flamboyant. But if you ask any orchestra musician who worked with him, they will tell you that his every gesture was a precise and specific communication to the players. It was just a lucky accident that watching him from the audience helped you understand the music too!” | “L. B. really used his body to express the music,” Ms. Bernstein wrote in an email. “People thought he was dancing on the podium. Audiences — critics too — thought he was carrying on for their benefit, and he was often criticized for being flamboyant. But if you ask any orchestra musician who worked with him, they will tell you that his every gesture was a precise and specific communication to the players. It was just a lucky accident that watching him from the audience helped you understand the music too!” |
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