Leonard Bernstein : the political life of an American musician / Barry Seldes.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Seldes, Barry, 1938-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bernstein, Leonard, 1918-1990--Political activity.

Bernstein, Leonard.

Bernstein, Leonard, 1918-1990--Political and social views.

Musicians--Political activity--United States.

Musicians.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (301 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

From his dazzling conducting debut in 1943 until his death in 1990, Leonard Bernstein's star blazed brilliantly. In this fresh and revealing biography of Bernstein's political life, Barry Seldes examines Bernstein's career against the backdrop of cold war America-blacklisting by the State Department in 1950, voluntary exile from the New York Philharmonic in 1951 for fear that he might be blacklisted, signing a humiliating affidavit to regain his passport-and the factors that by the mid-1950s allowed his triumphant return to the New York Philharmonic. Seldes for the first time links Bernstein's great concert-hall and musical-theatrical achievements and his real and perceived artistic setbacks to his involvement with progressive political causes. Making extensive use of previously untapped FBI files as well as overlooked materials in the Library of Congress's Bernstein archive, Seldes illuminates the ways in which Bernstein's career intersected with the twentieth century's most momentous events. This broadly accessible and impressively documented account of the celebrity-maestro's life deepens our understanding of an entire era as it reveals important and often ignored intersections of American culture and political power.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Introduction

1. Young American: Bernstein at Harvard

2. The Forties: Ascent and Blacklist

3. American Biedermeier: 1951-1959

4. The Long Sixties: 1960-1973

5. Norton Lectures: 1973

6. Bernstein at Sea: 1974-1990

7. Understanding Bernstein

Epilogue: A Man in Dark Times

NOTES

INDEX

Notes:

"Roth Family Foundation music in America imprint"--Prelim. p.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 197-250) and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN:

9780520943070

0520943074

OCLC:

808600715