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Since I Know That You Can't Get Enough of Lenny, Here's Some More for His 100th.

Posted by Mel (A) on August 26, 2018 at 15:05:24

Here are two Lenny articles from today's NY Times

To which I'll add my own Bernstein story, far less profound, but it left an impression. Bernstein came to Paris in the mid '70s to conduct the Orchestre National de France in French repertoire. It resulted in some concerts and some recordings. IIRC the Orchestre National de France was the second orchestra of the City, the broadcast orchestra. It was generally housed in what was then called the Maison de l'ORTF, now the Maison de la radio, with several concert hall studios in it.

I was then living in Paris and a professional pianist friend told me that Bernstein was rehearsing at the ORTF and would I like to go. Yeah! When we got there the audience area was dark and virtually no one there but Bernstein, the orchestra and some others who might have been record producers, etc. He was going through some Ravel.

All thoroughly enjoyable of course, but one incident was unforgettable. He was rehearsing Ravel's Tzigane. After the violin's opening cadenza, it is joined by the harp in a section marked quasi cadenza. Bernstein stopped the harpist repeatedly. She was not playing it as he thought it should be played and I have to believe she was playing it incorrectly. After a number of embarrassing attempts where he conducted her as though a teacher to a student, he marched through the orchestra and went over the score with her helping her read the difficult (I suppose) part and conducting right in her face. It took a while but finally she got it and he planted a big kiss on her cheek. I'm sure that didn't make up for her difficult moments. It struck me at the time that the harpist for a leading French orchestra must have played it her way, which is to say incorrectly, for other conductors up to that day, with no interventions.

As if my day was not sufficiently interesting, when the rehearsal came to an end we walked into the adjoining studio where Aaron Copland was rehearsing Bernstein's Candide Overture.

"Playing for Lenny: Musicians Recall the 'Magical' Bernstein"
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/23/arts/music/leonard-bernstein-centennial-boston-symphony-tanglewood.html?rref=collection%2Fissuecollection%2Ftodays-new-york-times&action=click&contentCollection=todayspaper®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=collection

• In Praise of Bernstein as Conductor: Movement That Mesmerize   (Open in New Window)

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Kimber Kable

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