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Leonard Bernstein's Letters

Leonard Berstein seated at a piano in this 1955 photograph. (Library of Congress via Wikimedia)
Leonard Berstein seated at a piano in this 1955 photograph. (Library of Congress via Wikimedia)

Leonard Bernstein is widely considered one of the great American composers and conductors. He was the longtime music director of the New York Philharmonic, and he composed the music for “West Side Story” and other musicals, in addition to serious works of contemporary American classical music.

In his life, Bernstein encountered other cultural luminaries and maintained healthy correspondences with them. A new collection, “The Leonard Bernstein Letters,” includes hundreds of letters from Bernstein’s six decades of correspondence.

Nigel Simeone edited the volume and he joins Here & Now‘s Meghna Chakrabarti to discuss Bernstein — both the musician and the man.

Guest

  • Nigel Simeone, editor of “The Leonard Bernstein Letters” and author of “Leonard Bernstein: West Side Story.”

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.