“A Double Man”

Donald Macleod explores as cracks appear in the Bernstein’s personal life, and Leonard has his first flop with the musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of Leonard Bernstein - one of the most iconic personalities in the musical life of America, and a key figure in the formation of the cultural identity of the United States. Over the course of this week, Donald discovers how Bernstein rose to conquer both the concert hall and the Broadway stage, and succeed both as conductor, and, more importantly for him personally, as composer.

We will explore Bernstein’s whirlwind life. A journey from a cocksure teenager giving piano lessons in his local neighbourhood to his studies at Harvard, where the connections he made – with the composer Aaron Copland and the conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos - prepared him, not as his father hoped, for a career in business, but instead for a life in music.

Donald also explores Bernstein’s friendship with the conductor Serge Koussevitsky and the events that led to his headline-grabbing success as a stand-in conductor for Bruno Walter in his mid-twenties. We'll also hear about his rise to prominence as a composer during the days of the Second World War with a pair of Broadway scores.

Donald also details Bernstein’s conflicted personal life – from his marriage to the actress and TV star Felicia Montealegre to his own TV career and his social life mixing with the celebrity set of New York City. And we’ll find out how his marriage hit the rocks as he underwent a difficult period in his personal life, like his hero Mahler, “like being two different men locked up in the same body”.

By the late 1950s, Leonard Bernstein was feted by all sides – his new hit West Side Story was greeted by rave reviews, and his first season as principal conductor of the New York Philharmonic revived the orchestra’s fortunes. However, this high wasn’t to last. In his personal life, crack were beginning to show, and they soon spread.

In Thursday’s programme, Donald explores this period in Bernstein’s life when his marriage began to struggle under the strain of his promiscuity and absences. Bernstein also began to see his creative endeavours fall short with a troubling reception for his opera Candide and his new musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue beset by difficulties. And there were also the first ominous signs of health problems for both Bernstein and his wife.

West Side Story – Overture
West Side Story Orchestra
Johnny Green, conductor

Mass – Pax: Communion - movements II & III
Douglas Butler, boy soprano
Kevin Vortmann, tenor (Celebrant)
Vocal Soloists
Westminster Symphonic Choir
Temple University Concert Choir
Philadelphia Orchestra
Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor

Candide: Overture
Vienna Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Suite
São Paulo Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop, conductor

SongFest - excerpt
National Symphony Orchestra of Washington
Leonard Bernstein, conductor

Producer: Sam Phillips