Leonard Bernstein ‘Memory Project’ Brings Fans Of Composer Together
Image by Erich Auerbach/Getty Images
For some, Leonard Bernstein was the person who opened up the world of classical music for the first time. Others played in his orchestras. One man remembers hearing of Bernstein’s death as a 9-year-old.
Composer, conductor and teacher, Bernstein touched the lives of millions of people around the world during his 50-year career, and now they have a chance to tell their stories for generations to come.
“There were so many people that were moved and inspired by Leonard Bernstein, not only in a public way but in a very personal way,” said the conductor’s longtime personal assistant, Craig Urquhart.
The Leonard Bernstein Memory Project invites fans, friends or just people who were influenced by his work to contribute brief anecdotes, photos or videos online.
The project is part of a two-year centenary celebration of the musician’s life and work called Leonard Bernstein at 100 that starts in September and will feature more than 1,000 concerts and celebrations around the world.
“We hope to hear from people who studied with him, musicians who performed with him in orchestras,” Urquhart said.
Bernstein, the longtime director of the New York Philharmonic, was known for the emotion he brought to his conducting and interpretation of classical works. He died in 1990, leaving a legacy that includes popular musicals like “West Side Story,” television lectures and hundreds of recordings.—Reuters
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
