Bernstein centennial to be celebrated in concert at Temple Emanu-El

On Sunday, Dec. 16, at 3 p.m., Arts Emanu-El welcomes Kol Arev, the chamber choir of Hebrew College, which will present a musical extravaganza in honor of Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday. The program includes selections from “On the Town,” “Candide,” “West Side Story” and “Chichester Psalms,” as well as sacred and secular music by Bernstein’s colleagues. 

Leonard Bernstein had a unique and multifaceted career. He was a conductor and composer of serious art music, as well as a composer of music intended for popular consumption. He was a respected pedagogue for young people’s concerts and a teacher in academic settings. 

Bernstein grew up in Boston, where his family joined the Conservative synagogue Mishkan Tefila in 1923. This was the place where he learned the power of music. Under the leadership of the synagogue’s music director, Solomon Gregory Braslavsky, the services were each renown for their musical quality throughout New England. According to reports, in 1946 Bernstein wrote to Braslavsky, “I have come to realize what a debt I really owe to you … I shall probably never be able to estimate the real influence those sounds exerted on me.”

Bernstein graduated cum laude from Harvard in 1939, and then went to the Curtis Institute of Music for advanced study. While at Harvard, Bernstein befriended Aaron Copland, who became a lifelong friend and mentor. At Curtis, Bernstein formed a lasting friendship with classmate Lukas Foss, and with Irving Fine and Morton Gould, all acclaimed musicians, whose works will be performed. 

With Copland’s support, Bernstein joined the first class of the Berkshire Music Center (now the Tanglewood Music Center). He studied conducting   with the school’s founder, Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) conductor Serge Koussevitzky, and composition with Copland. He continued a lifelong relationship with Tanglewood.

Fancy Free, a ballet, was the result of a collaboration between Bernstein and choreographer Jerome Robbins in 1944. It broke box office records and was expanded into a full Broadway musical, titled “On the Town.” Kol Arev will perform “Some Other Time” and “I Can Cook Too” from this show.  

In 1953, Bernstein transformed Voltaire’s satirical novella, “Candide,” into musical theater. In the 1750s, Voltaire charged society with puritanical snobbery, and inquisitional attacks on the individual. Bernstein, who liked to question the status quo, believed that this was true in the 1950s. He created a show that would capture a contemporary Voltaire’s point of view. “Make Our Garden Grow,” from Candide, is on the program.

“West Side Storys’ ” 1957 Broadway opening was the result of another collaboration between composer Leonard Bernstein, choreographer Jerome Robbins, playwright Arthur Laurents and a young Stephen Sondheim, who signed on to provide the lyrics. Reactions ranged from passionate raves to stunned walk-outs. The musical selections that will be performed are “I Feel Pretty”  and “Maria.”

“Chichester Psalms” was not a typical piece for the Anglican Church or for the 1960’s avant-garde music world. The work for boy soloist, quartet, choir and orchestra reflects the rich variety of influences that characterized Bernstein’s life and music. It was commissioned by the dean of England’s Chichester Cathedral, who encouraged Bernstein to include “a hint of ‘West Side Story’ ” in the sacred music. Bernstein used Hebrew text instead of English. The third movement is on the program.    

Please join us as we honor this icon of American culture. Tickets ($18 in advance; $25 at the door) may be purchased at the following site: www.teprov.org/form/bernstein

PAMELA HANZEL is the chair of Arts Emanu-El at Temple Emanu-El in Providence.