In a deeply intimate and broadly evocative memoir, the eldest daughter of revered composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein offers a rare look at her father around the centennial of his birth.
Her book answers the question she is most often asked: “What was it like to have a father who was the most celebrated and multifaceted Jewish-American musician of the 20th century?” Short answer: not boring. Longer answer: her book.
Leonard Bernstein was an enormous celebrity during one of the headiest periods of American cultural life, as well as the most protean musician in 20th century America. But to his eldest daughter, he was above all the man in the scratchy brown bathrobe who smelled of cigarettes; the jokester and compulsive teacher who enthused about Beethoven and The Beatles; the insomniac whose 4am composing breaks involved spooning baby food out of the jar. He taught his daughter to love the world in all its beauty and complexity. In public and private, Lenny was larger than life.
Jamie’s memoir details her youth growing up in an atmosphere bursting with music, theatre and literature. Leonard Bernstein and her mother, pianist and actress Felicia Montealegre filled the house with a veritable who’s-who of friends in arts and letters, creating an ebullient atmosphere that turned Jamie into a lifelong cultural enthusiast.
Jamie will be joined by UBC School of Music singers and pianists to bring to life some of her father’s lyrical works, with an overarching social justice theme.
JAMIE BERNSTEIN is an author, narrator, and filmmaker who has transformed a lifetime of loving music into a career of sharing her knowledge and excitement with others.