Synopses & Reviews
From his dazzling conducting debut in 1943 until his death in 1990, Leonard Bernstein's star blazed brilliantly. In this fresh and revealing biography of Bernstein's political life, Barry Seldes examines Bernstein's career against the backdrop of cold war Americaand#151;blacklisting by the State Department in 1950, voluntary exile from the New York Philharmonic in 1951 for fear that he might be blacklisted, signing a humiliating affidavit to regain his passportand#151;and the factors that by the mid-1950s allowed his triumphant return to the New York Philharmonic. Seldes for the first time links Bernstein's great concert-hall and musical-theatrical achievements and his real and perceived artistic setbacks to his involvement with progressive political causes. Making extensive use of previously untapped FBI files as well as overlooked materials in the Library of Congress's Bernstein archive, Seldes illuminates the ways in which Bernstein's career intersected with the twentieth century's most momentous events. This broadly accessible and impressively documented account of the celebrity-maestro's life deepens our understanding of an entire era as it reveals important and often ignored intersections of American culture and political power.
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"There have been full-scale Bernstein biographies by Joan Peyser, Meryle Secrest and Humphrey Burton, each unsatisfying in its own way. Barry Seldes offers something different—a trim volume that concentrates on
Bernstein's politics. . . . Seldes, who has written exactly the book he set out to write, has made a major contribution." - Opera News
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and#8220;A rich, thoroughly researched and immensely readable study.and#8221;
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"A remarkable new book."--Forward
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and#8220;In this insightful and creative study, Barry Seldes, a political scientist with a deep understanding of musicology, grapples with this powerful public artist by examining the lifelong interactions of his art with his politics.and#8221;
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and#8220;A major contribution.and#8221;
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and#8220;Almost two decades after Bernsteinand#8217;s death, this is the first in-depth look at the man with his politics. It was worth the wait.and#8221;
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and#8220;The bookand#8217;s greatest value . . . lies not simply in shedding new and more nuanced light on the story of and#8216;Our Lennyand#8217;, but in its consistent demonstrationand#8212;in accordance with Bernsteinand#8217;s own ideasand#8212;that any attempt to separate the musical sphere from the moral and political comes at an unconscionably high price.and#8221;
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“A major contribution.” Stephen Brown - Times Literary Supplement (TLS)
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and#8220;A useful, revealing, and genuinely fascinating discussion of Leonard Bernsteinand#8217;s role in the melee of 20th-century American Politics.and#8221;
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“Compelling. . . . Immaculately researched and extensively annotated. . . . This is a really important book.” Eric A. Gordon - Jewish Currents: A Progressive Monthly
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“A remarkable new book.” Musical Opinion
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and#8220;[Bernsteinand#8217;s] legacy is one of struggle and engagement that will serve as an example for others who are sure to follow him. Seldesand#8217; work is a valuable contribution to understanding that legacy.and#8221;
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“The most enlightening portrait yet of the often romanticised American conductor and composer.” Fred Mazelis - World Socialist Web Site
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and#8220;Compelling. . . . Immaculately researched and extensively annotated. . . . This is a really important book.and#8221;
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and#8220;A remarkable new book.and#8221;
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and#8220;The most enlightening portrait yet of the often romanticised American conductor and composer.and#8221;
Synopsis
"Finally, a biography of Bernstein that does not merely chronicle his career but truly explains it. Barry Seldes argues most convincingly that Bernstein's life in music is bound up with his political perspective, and his creative commitments reflected his social ones. What emerges from this meticulously researched, engagingly written, and utterly fascinating account is a richer, truer portrait of an important American composer, conductor, and citizen."and#151;Elizabeth Bergman, author of Music for the Common Man: Aaron Copland during the Depression and War
About the Author
Barry Seldes is Professor of Political Science at Rider University and the author of a wide range of essays on politics and culture.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Young American: Bernstein at Harvard
2. The Forties: Ascent and Blacklist
3. American Biedermeier
4. The Long Sixties
5. Norton Lectures
6. Bernstein at Sea
7. Understanding Bernstein
Epilogue: A Man in Dark Times
Notes
Index