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Musician

Leonard Bernstein

Born:

A presence on Broadway, in Hollywood, at Carnegie Hall and the New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein was a major force in twentieth century music. His exuberant and dramatic style caught the heart of America, bringing classical music to thousands of people from diverse backgrounds. More than any American conductor before him, Bernstein expanded the audience of classical music while maintaining a deep artistic integrity. Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1918. His parents were first generation Jewish immigrants from Russia. Though he began learning the piano at age ten, his family hoped he would follow a more practical route, and sent him to the Boston Latin School. After graduating, he attended Harvard University, where he majored in music. His interest was in becoming a concert pianist, but upon graduating he began to seriously study orchestration at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. More important than any of the formal training, however, were the summers he spent in Tanglewood, Massachusetts, studying with the great conductor Serge Koussevitzky. In 1942, Koussevitzky invited Bernstein to be the assistant conductor at Tanglewood. Though very young for a conductor, his flamboyant style and emotionally charged performances caught the attention of others in the classical music community--one of whom was Arthur Rodzinzki, who appointed him assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic. It was at the New York Philharmonic that Bernstein got his big break. Asked to fill in for an ailing guest conductor, Bernstein (then only twenty-five) conducted a difficult and energetic performance with only an evening's preparation. Impressing all who came, Bernstein found himself on the cover of The New York Times--an instant celebrity. Within two years he was named the director of the New York City Symphony. He spent much of the 1950s conducting, teaching, and becoming involved in composing for non- classical genres. Of his many popular efforts of the time, On the Waterfront (1954), Candide (1956), and West Side Story (1957) are the best known. For On the Waterfront he received an Academy Award, and for nearly everything he did, he received the acclaim of an adoring public. In 1957, Bernstein returned to the New York Philharmonic, where he was to make his greatest contribution to the music world. The versatile musical genius that had made him a success on Broadway and in the classical concert halls of the world, found its true home at Lincoln Center. For the next eleven seasons, Bernstein would energize the Philharmonic and American classical music in a way no other director had done. Taking advantage of the recent technological advance of television, Bernstein presented classical music to a wider audience. While he toured throughout the world, visiting seventeen different countries, he also concentrated on creating accessible performances for the average American. For both children and adults, he created shows which were both entertaining and educational. By the time of his resignation from the Philharmonic, he had conducted nine hundred and thirty nine concerts with the orchestra--an unprecedented amount.

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Article: Album Review

Roberto Magris: Lovely Day (s)

Read "Lovely Day (s)" reviewed by Edward Blanco


Veteran Italian jazz pianist Roberto Magris has enjoyed a four-decade career with the accumulation of over thirty albums as leader, in addition to appearing as a sideman on another 10 recordings. Yet, this highly versatile, creative and talented musician has never recorded a solo performance project until now. With Lovely Day(s), Magris finally keeps his promise ...

Article: Live Review

Dolomiti Ski Jazz - Edizione 2025

Read "Dolomiti Ski Jazz - Edizione 2025" reviewed by Paolo Peviani


Dolomiti Ski Jazz--XXIX Edizione Val di Fiemme, Val di Fassa, Val di Cembra 07-16 marzo 2025 Fedele al motto “musica calda tra paesaggi innevati", anche questa ventinovesima edizione del Dolomiti Ski Jazz ha puntato sul consueto mix di concerti di intrattenimento sulle terrazze dei rifugi per allietare la pausa pranzo degli sciatori, ...

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Article: Album Review

Brussels Jazz Orchestra & Naima Joris: Saudade

Read "Saudade" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Dopo il disco con Camille Bertault dedicato a Serge Gainsbourg del 2023, la Brussels Jazz Orchestra torna a incidere con una cantante e presenta al pubblico del jazz Naima Joris, singer-songwriter molto apprezzata nell'Europa settentrionale per le sue interpretazioni introspettive ed evanescenti. Figlia di Chris Joris, uno dei protagonisti del jazz in Belgio, Naima ...

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Article: Album Review

Marc Copland: Alter Ego Lausanne 2022

Read "Alter Ego Lausanne 2022" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Pianist Marc Copland began his jazz journey playing the alto saxophone. It was an electric alto saxophone. Plugged-in saxophones are not heard much in jazz. And that is a shame. It seems like a good idea, juicing up the horn and making new sounds. But Copland soon found this way of making music limiting. He went ...

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Article: Album Review

Angela Verbrugge: Somewhere

Read "Somewhere" reviewed by Katchie Cartwright


Based in Victoria, British Columbia, Angela Verbrugge keeps a busy schedule as a singer, touring in Canada and farther afield. In addition to performing, she writes songs--jazz songs, new standards--with lyrics that are engagingly personal and funny, containing the occasional acerbic twist. As a lyricist, she often speaks to the quotidian. Her texts are a perfect ...

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Article: Album Review

Alan Barnes & David Newton: 'Tis Autumn

Read "'Tis Autumn" reviewed by Neil Duggan


You may have heard of the 10,000-hour rule, perhaps from Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers, where he describes how it takes around 10,000 hours of intensive practice to master complex skills like playing the saxophone or the piano. That amounts to around 20 hours a week for a decade. Imagine, then, the calibre of performance that saxophonist ...

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Article: Live Review

Il Christian Pabst Trio a Postignano

Read "Il Christian Pabst Trio a Postignano" reviewed by Enrico Tomassini


Christian Pabst Trio Chiesa di S. Annunziata Un castello all'orizzonte Borgo Castello di Postignano (PG) 3 agosto 2024 La dodicesima edizione della rassegna Un castello all'orizzonte ha portato nel piccolo borgo umbro di Postignano concerti di musica classica e jazz, mostre fotografiche ed esposizioni permanenti, presentazioni di libri, proiezioni di ...

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Article: Album Review

Tom Nazziola: Reflections On Love

Read "Reflections On Love" reviewed by Neil Duggan


Many albums feature arrangements of standards, so what does it take to stand out from the crowd? Solutions to the problem include choosing the seldom-played lesser-known standards, changing the chords to reharmonize the songs while keeping the melody and changing the instrumentation throughout the album. Tom Nazziola uses all these tools on his album Reflections On ...

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Article: Radio & Podcasts

Don Was, divr, Roberto Gatto, Lucy Woodward, Peter Erskine & More

Read "Don Was, divr, Roberto Gatto, Lucy Woodward, Peter Erskine & More" reviewed by Ludovico Granvassu


The return of Don Was behind the bass, tributes to Tony Williams and Leonard Bernstein and much more in another energizing edition of Mondo Jazz.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 The Jazz Defenders “Snakebite Playfight" Memory in Motion (Haggis) 0:16 Host talks 4:56 Lucy ...


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