Fall/Winter 2019/2020
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News for Friends of Leonard Bernstein Fall/Winter 2019/2020 COPYRIGHT RUTH ORKIN 2 Centennial Wrap-up 8 “Freiheit” Berlin: 1989 12 BTHVN2020 Inside... 4 Artful Learning 9 Pacific Music Festival 13 In the News 7 On the Town in Japan 10 Remembering Friends 16 Looking Ahead FW201920_PFR_draft1.indd 1 11/4/19 10:08 AM Centennial Celebration Wrap-up by Heather Wallace with artists, institutions, and festi- vals throughout the world. he Leonard Bernstein According to Bachtrack.com’s at 100 Celebration far 2018 statistical performance sur- exceeded anyone’s expec- vey, Leonard Bernstein was the he storm of events celebrating tations—even our own. third most performed composer TBernstein at 100 is finally subsid- TWhen The Leonard Bernstein for the year, alongside Beethoven, ing. In this issue, we take a bird’s- Office began planning its two-year Mozart, Bach, and Brahms, taking eye view of all that transpired—and global venture, we couldn’t predict a top spot among the perpetual we marvel. the results of our efforts—but we greats. Bachtrack also reported And yet, in this 101st year, plunged in anyway. that four of the five most played the force of the Maestro’s ener- We began by organizing “sum- concert works in 2018 were gy continues to make itself felt mits” in several culturally vibrant Bernstein compositions: Symphonic in innumerable ways. The Artful cities: gatherings with leaders from Dances from West Side Story, Learning teaching model, based the area’s major cultural institu- Overture to Candide, Serenade on Bernstein’s philosophies of edu- tions to brainstorm about their (after Plato’s Symposium), and cation, has received an enormous ideas for celebrating Bernstein. Chichester Psalms. boost through the release of a short Cross-pollination was strongly A whopping 612 orchestras film that illustrates how the model encouraged. performed Bernstein works, transforms teaching and learning Together with our partners— magnifying the composer’s sig- into an engaging, creative experi- Concord (Boosey & Hawkes nificance in the canon of 20th ence for students and teachers alike. and Tams-Witmark), Deutsche century music. In a particularly Now, so many more people around Grammophon, Hal Leonard, notable expression of enthusi- the world will be able to discov- Music Theatre International asm, Serenade for solo violin and er this extraordinary, visionary (MTI), Universal Music Publishing orchestra had 276 performances approach, which speaks so directly Group, and Sony—we found innu- by 139 orchestras, featuring 80 to the needs of our era. merable ways to make Bernstein’s accomplished violin soloists. West Side Story is making music accessible on a global scale. Bernstein’s three symphonies front page news, with an edgy new Between the September 2017 saw a particularly noteworthy Broadway revival in the works, and kickoff at the John F. Kennedy increase in performances. Leading a film remake featuring a rather Center for the Performing Arts orchestras that championed all well-known director (see our back in Washington D.C., and the last three symphonies during the page). notes played at Ravinia in August Centennial include the New York While we look excitedly into 2019, over 5,700 Centennial- Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony the future, we also contemplate related events have been tabulated Orchestra, Real Orquesta the past. We’ve lost several friends worldwide. The scope of the cele- Sinfonica de Sevilla, and Orchestra and associates this year, each of bration was not only astounding, dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa whom had a vibrant connection to but wholly fitting. Jamie Bernstein Cecilia. The latter’s recording of Leonard Bernstein. With every such said, “We quickly realized that the symphonies under the baton of loss, we re-experience the loss of Leonard Bernstein is especially Antonio Pappano garnered critical Bernstein himself—which makes the suited to a centennial celebration, acclaim. legacy he left behind for us all the because he was so multifarious. Opera and theater companies more precious. There’s something for everyone worldwide embraced Bernstein’s J.B. ■ to celebrate!” In addition to per- works. To cite one example: formances in profusion, there Candide, one of Bernstein’s most Prelude, Fugue & Riffs Prelude, were exhibitions, symposia, and popular works for the stage, rose documentaries; books and educa- from the 92nd most performed tional initiatives; broadcasts and opera world-wide in 2017, to the podcasts; recordings, videos, and 11th most performed opera world- beyond—all occurring on six con- wide in 2018. A Quiet Place was tinents and in all 50 states, cele- performed by opera companies in brating the multifaceted career and Fall/Winter 2019/2020 Austria, Germany, Hungary, the life of Leonard Bernstein. Netherlands, and the US. MASS The Centennial was a unique was another success, with perfor- opportunity for The Leonard mances in Asia, Europe, North Bernstein Office to strengthen its America, and South America. ties with valued associates, as well West Side Story continued as to explore new relationships its longtime success, and pop- 2 FW201920_PFR_draft1.indd 2 11/4/19 10:08 AM ularity, with both theatre and opera companies worldwide. The Centennial’s performances included exciting new productions from Opera Australia’s Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour; Takarazuka Revue’s all-female production in Japan; the Fugard Theater’s in South Africa; the Guthrie Theatre’s production in Minneapolis; the Komische Oper in Berlin; and SOM Productions in Spain; to name only a few. The Centennial was an occa- sion for revisiting time-honored dance works, as well as bringing exciting new choreographies to life. Bernstein’s first collaboration with Jerome Robbins, the ballet Fancy Free, had performances by major ballet companies in New York, Paris, Boston, San Francisco, Houston, Pittsburgh, Speakers who performed Symphony No. 3: Kaddish (left to right): Row 1: Brigitte Fassbender, Cincinnati, and Washington, Tamás Dunai, Judith Pisar, Reiner Schoene, Laila Robins, Veselin Budakov; Row 2: Jamie Bernstein, DC. The Royal Ballet’s Bernstein Jeremy Irons, Brian Caspe, Dame Josephine Barstow, Leah Pisar, Itay Tran; Row 3: Andrew Tarbet, Charlotte Blake Alston, Ruth Brauer-Kvam, Vladimír Polívka, Claire Bloom, Thomas Fulton Celebration, which included new ballets by Wayne McGregor, Christopher Wheeldon, and Liam box sets and remastered record- Bernstein’s music reach new audi- Scarlett, was screened to the- ings for the Centennial. Several ences. The GRAMMY Awards aters throughout Europe, Asia documentaries were released for paid homage to the composer and Australia, and later released DVD and telecast; a sampling at the 60th Annual GRAMMY on DVD. In Germany, Kim includes Leonard Bernstein: A Awards Ceremony with a per- Brandstrup set a new ballet to Genius Divided; Bernstein and formance of “Somewhere” from the music of Dybbuk. New York Me; Leonard Bernstein Reflections; West Side Story by TONY and City Ballet premiered Justin Peck’s Leonard Bernstein: Larger Than GRAMMY award-winning artist Easy, set to Bernstein’s Prelude, Life, The Genius of Bernstein; and Ben Platt. The Boston Symphony Fugue & Riffs. In the world of Passions: Bernstein by Dame Kiri Orchestra’s gala concert The contemporary dance, such chore- Te Kanawa. Bernstein Centennial Celebration ographers as Larry Keigwin, Tom In addition to the re-release of at Tanglewood was subsequently Gold, Doug Varone, and Kyle Humphrey Burton’s authoritative broadcast in the US, Germany, Abraham found inspiration in the Bernstein biography, many new and Japan. The New York music and celebration of Leonard books graced the Centennial— Philharmonic’s New Year’s Eve: Bernstein. including such titles as Leonard Bernstein on Broadway con- New orchestrations appeared Bernstein: I Fell in Love with cert was telecast on “Live from during the Centennial—including Schleswig-Holstein (Kuhnt/ Lincoln Center.” Bernstein’s music the premieres of new orchestra- Alexander Bernstein); On the Road was featured on three televised Fugue & Riffs Prelude, tions of the scores to A Quiet & Off the Record with Leonard Fourth of July Specials in 2018: Place, Fancy Free, and Dybbuk, Bernstein (Harmon); Leonard A Capitol Fourth in Washington as well as a new arrangement for Bernstein and the Language of D.C.; Macy’s Fourth of July orchestra of Bernstein’s piano Jazz (Baber); Maestros and Their Fireworks in New York City; Anniversaries, created by Garth Music (Mauceri); Famous Father and the Boston Pops Fireworks Girl: A Memoir of Growing Up Spectacular in Boston. Bernstein Edwin Sunderland, Vice President Fall/Winter 2019/2020 for Creative Projects at the Bernstein (Jamie Bernstein); and even had his moment on an epi- Bernstein Office. Leonard Bernstein 100: The sode of Jeopardy! with an entire Bernstein’s principal record- Masters Photograph the Maestro category of “Leonard Bernstein ing companies, Sony Classical (Sherman/Jamie Bernstein). at 100.” The Chicago Symphony and Deutsche Grammophon, National and international tele- Orchestra’s production of MASS, issued lavish commemorative vision and radio broadcasts helped (continued on page 6) 3 FW201920_PFR_draft1.indd 3 11/4/19 10:08 AM Artful Learning Update COURTESY PATRICK BOLEK COURTESY PATRICK Educators use by Patrick Bolek movement connected to GREEN SCHOOL - BALI learning in LEARNING TOUR Lansing, MI. rtful Learning Executive ADirector Patrick Bolek trav- eled to Indonesia in May as part of an extended expedition to learn more about the initiatives