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Leonard Bernstein conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall, 6/24/88.

Leonard Bernstein conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall, 6/24/88.

I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein was an American composer, conductor, author, music lecturer, and pianist, and, according to music critic Donal Henahan, he was “one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history.” (He was gorgeous, too, if I can say that!.😉 ) He was also a wonderful teacher. Someone who taught you to love music. From 1954 till his death in 1990, he did a series of television lectures on classical music. I think watching his program is how I fell in love with so many pieces.

But the thing I loved the most about Bernstein was watching him conduct. Beginning in 1958 he became the conductor for the New York Philharmonic. He was so in tune with his orchestras that he could conduct with just a small movement of his face and nuanced body language…

It was watching Bernstein get lost in the process that made me fall in love with this guy! That’s when I decided I would like to learn to play the piano so I could lose MYSELF like that. Bernstein said:

Any great work of art . . . revives and readapts time and space, and the measure of its success is the extent to which it makes you an inhabitant of that world — the extent to which it invites you in and lets you breathe its strange, special air.

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Have you ever gotten lost in a piece of music? A painting? A beautifully written poem or story? Or even a breathtaking landscape out in nature? That’s what he’s talking about.

93fb79573741dcfa99073c75b4e1346dWhat made me think of this quote this morning was a visit this morning to Denzil Walton’s blog Discovering Belgium. One post in particular had me caught up in my imagination like when I’d watch Bernstein conduct. You can visit it at The Extraordinary Tower of Eben-Ezer. It was very fascinating!

Anyway, I truly hope there is something magical in your life that you can get caught up in. If so, I hope you’ll share it in the comments below..🙂

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Picture Source:
Leonard Bernstein — The Huffington Post
The Extraordinary Tower of Eben-Ezer — Pinterest

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