Review

Reviewed Work(s): The Leonard Bernstein Letters by Nigel Simeone

Review by: Paul R. Laird
Source: American Music, Vol. 32, No. 3 (Fall 2014), pp. 359-362
Published by: University of Illinois Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/americanmusic.32.3.0359
Accessed: 01-02-2017 13:00 UTC

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted
digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about
JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
http://about.jstor.org/terms

University of Illinois Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
American Music

This content downloaded from 179.105.29.134 on Wed, 01 Feb 2017 13:00:52 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
 Book Reviews 359

Because so many of the inhabitants of New Orleans embraced opera (as Henry
Kmen and John Baron have shown), one did not have to belong to the upper
classes or even attend the opera to gain exposure to ariasthey were simply
part of the ambient aural environment.
Such differences of opinion do not diminish my high regard for or the extraor-
dinary value of Brotherss Louis Armstrong, Master of Modernism. This book is a
monumental contribution to jazz studies and sets a new standard for scholarly
analysis of Armstrongs achievements as a creative artist and a great American
icon.
Bruce Boyd Raeburn
Tulane University

The Leonard Bernstein Letters. Edited by Nigel Simeone. New Haven, CT:
Yale University Press, 2013. ISBN: 9780300179095. Cloth. Pp. xviii,
606. $38.00.
Leonard Bernstein spent his life preternaturally active as a conductor, composer,
pianist, and musical commentator on television. His multifarious activities have
drawn the interest of musicologists, theorists, and music education scholars
who have approached Bernstein from a wide variety of perspectives. Indeed, a
striking number of books, articles, dissertations, and theses concerning his work
have appeared in the last decade alone.
A compilation of Bernsteins correspondence has now been published; its edi-
tor is Nigel Simeone, formerly the author of Leonard Bernstein: West Side Story
(Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2009). Many examples of Bernsteins correspon-
dence have long been available on the Library of Congresss American Memory
website, but this is the first edited collection of his letters. Simeone states that
Bernsteins extensive correspondence includes many tens of thousands (xi) of
items; indeed, Bernstein was a habitual correspondent about matters personal
and professional, and his secretary Helen Coates carefully organized his life
starting in 1944. She tried to save every letter, program, and scrap of paper that
came through the office, and Bernsteins one-time assistant, Charlie Harmon,
collected copies of more letters from some of Bernsteins correspondents after his
death. With all of that correspondence now in the Library of Congress, Simeone
faced many difficult choices in deciding what to include in his volume of 650
letters.
Simeone explains in his Introduction and Acknowledgments that because
his primary interest was to portray the man and musician, he tended to omit
letters from family. He included many letters from Bernsteins famous friends
and colleagues, especially musicians, but it was not even possible to include all
the letters from his fellow composers. The editor wished to shed light on his
major collaborations, but this was only possible in some cases. There are, for
example, fascinating epistles involving Fancy Free and West Side Story, but very
little involving On the Town and Wonderful Town. Other themes that Simeone
emphasizes in his opening essay include Bernsteins constant struggle between
conducting and composing, his frequent travels, his ambiguous sexuality, and
his marriage. Simeone describes his editorial procedure, which combines fe-
alty to sources with useful standardization. He allows most letters to speak for

This content downloaded from 179.105.29.134 on Wed, 01 Feb 2017 13:00:52 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

AM 32_3 text.indd 359 3/20/15 10:30 AM

 360 American Music, Fall 2014

themselves, but adds footnotes when needed, often to identify correspondents

or people referenced in the letters.
Simeone divides the collection into eight chapters and presents letters chrono-
logically, arriving at possible dates for undated letters through internal evidence
and offering footnotes to explain his reasoning. This is a provocative collection,
varying from weighty considerations, such as Bernsteins struggles with his ho-
mosexuality and the crises early in his marriage, to light communication between
friends, allowing a multilayered and unfiltered picture of the man to emerge.
The first chapter, The Early Years, covers from 1932 through spring 1941,
when Bernstein graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music. His enthusiasm
for music appears in early correspondence with Sid Ramin, and his relation-
ships with mentors Dimitri Mitropoulos and Aaron Copland are illuminated in
numerous letters. Mitropoulos was struck by Bernsteins talent and wrote him in
an intimate tone (e.g., no. 19, February 5, 1938). Bernsteins correspondence with
Copland was also suggestive of deep feelings, but the older composer tended
to give practical advice (e.g., no. 21, March 23, 1938). A revealing letter is no.
36 (July 13, 1939), wherein Bernstein tells Harvard friend Kenneth Ehrman that
The Big Boys (surely Copland and Mitropoulos) had decided that he should
become a conductor.
Chapter 2, First Successes, 194144, covers Bernsteins career through the
opening of On the Town, when the self-assured young musician strides onto the
national stage while managing conflicts and crises in his personal life. Clarinetist
David Oppenheim emerges as a best friend, Copland remains a valued friend
and advisor, and Serge Koussevitzky becomes a conducting mentor. Personal
matters include Bernsteins references to a possible cure for his homosexuality
through psychoanalysis (no. 110 to Copland, perhaps June 1942) and his desire
to avoid military service (no. 151 to Koussevitzky, August 1943). The correspon-
dence with Jerome Robbins from winter and spring 1944 reveals much about the
creation of Fancy Free.
Conquering Europe and Israel, 194549, chapter 3, traces the period when
Bernstein took over the New York City Symphony and began to guest conduct.
Simeone emphasizes major pieces that Bernstein wrote and directed, as well as his
work in Israel. A few letters from friends praise his work with the orchestra. He
wrote Koussevitzky and expressed his regard for Israel (no. 252, April 25, 1947),
and Bernsteins fascinating reaction to conducting Coplands Symphony no. 3 in
Prague appears in a letter to the composer (no. 253, May 27, 1947). Bernstein met
his future wife Felicia during this period. He was with her in California in late
1946 (no. 238), when they were first engaged, but they broke up in 1947 and did
not marry until 1951. Another interesting matter is Bernsteins effort to manage
his affairs with Koussevitzkyan effort leading him to remark What a difficult
relationship! to Helen Coates (no. 240, December 22, 1946). Bernsteins major
work in this period was his Symphony no. 2, whose basis in W. H. Audens The
Age of Anxiety was suggested by his friend Richard Adams Twig Romney (no.
257, July 25, 1947).
Chapter 4, Marriage, Passport Problems, and Italy, 195055, covers a dra-
matic half decade. Bernstein began his move toward marriage when he asked his
sister Shirley to mediate between him and Felicia (e.g., no. 298, April 26, 1950).
Felicia wrote him a loving letter before August 9, 1951 (no. 314), and they were
married on September 9. Their union had a rocky start (e.g., no. 317, October

This content downloaded from 179.105.29.134 on Wed, 01 Feb 2017 13:00:52 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

AM 32_3 text.indd 360 3/20/15 10:30 AM

 Book Reviews 361

9, 1951), but Felicia came to accept the unusual nature of their relationship (no.
320, perhaps late 1951 or 1952). The marriage eventually flourished, leading to
three children. Although Bernsteins passport problems have been covered in
other scholarship, Simeone helpfully provides his letter to the State Department
(no. 328, August 3, 1953) and his bitter commentary about the experience (e.g.,
no. 329, August 17, 1953) in addition to an extensive footnote. Lillian Hellman
proposed Candide to Bernstein that fall (no. 331), and the composer accepted the
project. He also conducted extensively in Italy in this period.
West Side Story is the primary topic of chapter 5, which covers 1955 to 1957.
Although the shows creators often worked together in New York City, they
also traveled, producing several fascinating letters (such as Robbins to Laurents
and Bernstein, no. 362, October 18, 1955, with Bernsteins marginal comments),
and during the final months the composer wrote informative epistles to Felicia,
who was with the children at her familys home in Chile (e.g., nos. 37678, July
1957). Candide opened in December 1956, and Bernstein made several provoca-
tive comments on its progress in this set of letters.
Chapter 7, The New York Philharmonic, 195869, shows how profoundly
this appointment changed Bernsteins life, limiting his opportunities to compose.
As the Philharmonics music director, Bernstein corresponded with composers;
represented here are letters from Foss, Milhaud, Stockhausen, Copland, Pou-
lenc, Schuman, Stravinsky, Feldman, Cage, Xenakis, Messiaen, Richard Rodney
Bennett, Randall Thompson, and Carter, the last sending a partial score of his
Concerto for Orchestra with interesting analysis (no. 544, October 24, 1969).
Simeone suggests that Bernstein has yet to receive adequate credit for works
commissioned while he directed the Philharmonic (391). Other themes in the
chapter include Bernsteins composition of the Kaddish Symphony and Chichester
Psalms, as well as his reactions to music in the film of West Side Story, including
his request that segments be rerecorded (no. 457, September 20, 1960).
In chapter 7, Triumphs, Controversies, Catastrophe, 197078, the catastrophe
was Felicias death from lung cancer, the diagnosis coming shortly after Bern-
stein had left her for a man. He returned to her and was shattered by her death.
The event is not widely reflected in the volume, but there is a lovely missive
of condolence from Betty Comden (no. 587, July 2, 1978). Other major events
from these years include the controversial meeting with the Black Panthers at
Bernsteins apartment in 1970 and the premieres of Mass, the ballet Dybbuk, and
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Most of Simeones chapter introductions are effective, with cogent identifica-
tions of major issues, events, and compositions, but he editorializes excessively to
open chapter 8, Final Years, 19791990. He sees an inevitable sense of declining
powers (534), especially in Bernstein the composer, citing A Quiet Place as an
example. While not well known, the opera is one of Bernsteins major dramatic
statements and includes a striking realization of American speech rhythms. The
chapter includes no evidence of collaboration between Bernstein and libret-
tist Stephen Wadsworth on his opera, and in general the late correspondence
is short on important biographical details. There are interesting missives sug-
gesting collaboration from Francis Ford Coppola (no. 595, March 7, 1980) and
Yevgeny Yevtushenko (no. 618, perhaps September 1986), the latter answered by
Bernstein with great interest (no. 619, September 27, 1986). There are also joint
discussions on projects with Jerome Robbins: Bernstein sent the choreographer

This content downloaded from 179.105.29.134 on Wed, 01 Feb 2017 13:00:52 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

AM 32_3 text.indd 361 3/20/15 10:30 AM

 362 American Music, Fall 2014

his Divertimento for Orchestra as possible grist for a ballet (no. 599, November 12,
1980), and Robbins wrote Bernstein twice (nos. 62829, AprilJune 1988) about
his music in the show Jerome Robbins Broadway. Bernstein continued to guest
conduct extensively, but that activity is not widely reflected in these late letters.
Despite the availability of some of Bernsteins correspondence online, Simeone
has provided those interested in Bernsteins life and works with a major boon,
among the most valuable scholarly publications concerning the man. The letters
have been carefully selected, usually introduced well, edited effectively, and
presented in a lovely book with a useful set of illustrations. Bernstein, never shy,
probably would be pleased.
Paul R. Laird
University of Kansas

Siren City: Sound and Source Music in Classic American Noir. By Robert
Miklitsch. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2011. ISBN:
0813548993. Paperback. Pp. xxii, 288. $32.95.
Compared to this poetic speech, the initial mano-a-mano exchange between Jeff and Stefanos
is hard as the nails in a flat tire. ... Like Dizzy Gillespie, who strategically underplayed in
cutting contests with younger, less experienced but overly ambitious musicians, Jeffs deadpan
reply trumps his interlocutors ostensibly bright repartee. (54)

Writing on mass-cultural forms like film or popular music is often dogged by

the twin problems of style and readership: high academic theorizing can seem
willfully to traduce such forms, while writing for the mass audience they actually
address can appear trivializing or condescending. Academic publishers are often
to blame, in their vaguely hopeful (if generally vain) assumption that people
who watch mainstream films and listen to popular music might only read or
purchase such books if they are written in an undemanding way that will not
put them off. Robert Miklitsch embraces this complex and self-contradictory
agenda with chaotic vengeance, inspired apparently by long undergraduate
teaching experience. His approach seems to have pleased the editor he warmly
thanks in his Credits (xxi) but whom we might prefer to blame for not helping
him to solve the stylistic and structural problems of this fundamentally erudite
and interesting book.
Perhaps the difficulties are doubled for a non-American reader, who might
not grasp the books off-the-cuff, street-talk style, which seems often modeled
upon the hard-boiled language of 1940s American noir gangsters and their
canaries (female nightclub singers who may also be sirens). Elsewhere the
writing shifts between the language of abstruse critical and psychoanalytic theory
and what Miklitsch calls his demotic mode (xv), as if trying to wear jeans and
T-shirt in an approachable way. Box-framed double-page inserts occasionally
ape the style of a website; three-dimensional sentences attempt to name the joint
authors of period popular songs in parenthetical inserts concerning the films in
which those songs appear, all within straining sentences that started out address-
ing another film entirely. The following comes from a paragraph about Stuart
Heislers The Glass Key and its graphic depiction of physical violence (178):
In fact, Lillian Randolphs performance of the Jule Styne-Frank Loesser
standard, I Dont Want to Walk Without You, which was originally intro-

This content downloaded from 179.105.29.134 on Wed, 01 Feb 2017 13:00:52 UTC
All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

AM 32_3 text.indd 362 3/20/15 10:30 AM