Going My Way. Today

Just finished watching Maestro with Bradley Cooper as the main character and director. Bradley becomes Bernstein in both looks, voice and mannerisms. It is an epic love story between Bernstein and his wife, and his tendencies to have affairs with other men.

I always was an admirer of Leonard Bernstein because of my love of classical music and as a young man purchased his records, read his books, watched his “Young People Concerts”, and loved his compositions, both Broadway and classical.

The movie incorporates Bernstein’s music throughout, as well as his conducting of Mahler symphonies of which Bernstein’s love of Mahler’s music helped bring this Composer to the forefront. Bernstein is actually buried with the score of Mahler’s 5th Symphony, the Adagio movement, placed upon his chest.

What would have made this movie more of a powerhouse for me if Bradley went into more depth with his relationship with Aaron Copland, another wonderful Composer, as well as Bernstein’s dealings with the conductors Bruno Walter and Serge Koussevitsky, but perhaps it would have been too complex to follow like the Oppenheimer movie.

With all the brilliance of Leonard Bernstein, he felt inadequate because Bernstein felt writing scores for Broadway was secondary to composing classical music, which he did but not with the critical acclaim he expected. How silly was he to think that way as we all still cherish many decades later, his music from ‘West Side Story” to “On the Town”.

Just one more note, when Leonard Bernstein died, his funeral procession transversed the streets of New York as many New Yorkers, both male and female, office and construction worker, lowered their heads and hats and whispered, “Thank you Lenny”. Yes, Mr. Bernstein touched the hearts of all.