Bernstein: A Biography [Paperback]

Joan Peyser (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1998

Published in nine countries and widely praised for its candid approach, the acclaimed biography of revered and controversial conductor/composer Leonard Bernstein is now revised to include a new chapter focusing on the artist's death and subsequent tributes. 36 illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Since conductor/composer Leonard Bernstein is nearly 70 years old, it is remarkable that no one has previously attempted a full-scale biography. Peyser, author of books about contemporary music and Pierre Boulez, among others, is well equipped and has gone at her complex and controversial subject with gusto. She has been totally frank, and a great deal of information hitherto only whispered about is here: Bernstein's homosexuality, his drinking, his crushing depressions, his vast ego, his competitiveness. In Peyser's hands, this material has been carefully deployed to show the reasons for some of the life and career choices he has made, rather than just to gossip. There is invaluable background about his various compositions; there is also rather too much facile Freudianizing about his relationship with his father and with such other father figures as Serge Koussevitzky and Dimitri Mitropoulos. Above all, Bernstein is carefully placed in both an artistic contextas a vastly talented American classical musician in a Europe-dominated periodand a political one, as a longtime passionate leftist who was by no means a trendy convert to '70s "radical chic." Despite moments of disorganization, Peyser has done a heroic and eminently readable job. Photos not seen by PW. 50,000 first printing; $75,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 510 pages
• Publisher: Billboard Books; Rev Upd edition (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823082598
• ISBN-13: 978-0823082599
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,079,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I guess inquiring minds want to know, January 18, 2000

By 

"fronker" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bernstein: A Biography (Paperback)

The USA Today endorsement of this book neatly summarizes its raison d'etre: 'A spicy Bernstein bio.' If you are seeking all of the outrageous anecdotes, all of the juicy nitty gritty, all of the 'naughty bits' that make up the Bernstein story, then look no further: this book supplies these in abundance.

If, however, you desire any kind of intelligent or intriguing assesment of Bernstien's musical legacy, any discussion whatsoever of Bernstein's music itself, or even any thoughtful, balanced, or interesting discussion of why Bernstein was the person that he was, then you will be sorely disappointed. This is truly a biography in the National Enquirer style.

True, Leonard Bernstein was a self-serving, outrageously flambouyant personality. But so was Mozart, and, while interesting, I certainly want much more from a Mozart biography than explications of his obscene letters.

On example: Chapter 34 ends in 1982, when Bernstein was at work on his last opera, 'A Quiet Place', as composer in residence at Indiana University. Ms. Peyser ends the entire chapter by fully quoting a bawdy limerick that Bernstein apparently sang to the Dean of the School of Music at a party. The limerick, dealing with the size of genitalia, ends:

But you're a goy, And boy oh boy! I'll just betcha it's built for two!

End of chapter. No comment from Peyser. Apparently, the wisdom that she wants to impart to the ages regarding Leonard Bernstein in 1982 was that, at a certain party, he sang a song about the Dean's ying-yang.

This is about as significant (and interesting) as ending a chapter in a Mozart biography by quoting a letter in which Mozart jokes about defecation.

Bernstein and penies. Mozart and ca-ca.

Musicians writing about music?

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I'm taking a middle of the road stand on Joan Peyser's BERNSTEIN: a biography, November 11, 2005

By 

Alan Majeska "Alan Majeska" (Bad Axe, MI, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bernstein: A Biography (Paperback)

I'm taking a middle of the road stand on Joan Peyser's BERNSTEIN: a BIOGRAPHY. Some Bernstein fans hate this book, as they feel it villified Lenny, talking too much about his alleged homosexual feelings over the years. But there are many references to Bernstein concerts and recordings which are fascinating, discussion of his wife, Felicia Montealegre (who died in 1976), his 3 children; and Peyser's writing style kept my interest and attention to the point where I'd read several chapters at a time, and found it enjoyable.

I hero worshipped Lenny in the early 1970s (I was a teenager then)when first becoming acquainted with Classical music. I enjoyed many of his LPs, which belonged to our local library: Mendelssohn Symphony 5 + Schubert 5 (New York Philharmonic, Columbia); Berlioz Overtures (Columbia); Handel's MESSIAH (excerpts, Columbia); "The joy of Music", a collection of Rossini, Falla, Bernstein, Mendelssohn, Offenbach movements and overtures (Columbia) and checked them out again and again. I used to think Bernstein was the coolest, most classy musician anyone could imagine, and still do in a way. I was heartbroken on the news of Bernstein's death (October 14, 1990 - I was nearly 32 at that time) although I had read reports that he had been very sick about 2 years before his death.

So, is Joan Peyser's book a good book or a poor one? That's for you to decide. I found alot to enjoy in it, but thought she could have lightened up a bit on Lenny: her reports of his personal life made him sound worse than he was. I like to think of Bernstein's warm, humane qualities, and his artistic contributions over all else:Bernstein had great intelligence and a depth of feeling which made him special, plus the tremendous energy and talent to have so many recordings made over his 45 year career.

So, this is worth a read, but I wouldn't take everything in this book about Bernstein's personal life as Gospel.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some clarity beneath the muck..., March 26, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Bernstein: A Biography (Hardcover)

While this much maligned biography may indeed dwell a little too much on Bernstein's personal life (how many times do we really need to be told he was gay? this gets tiresome after awhile...) Peyser does include a wealth of competently researched background on the life of this most American of musicians. If you aren't offended by the cheap and trashy (but rarely explicit) parts, it's worth a read. Keep your nose in joint and take this biography for what it is and you'll probably learn a few things!