Arias and Barcarolles - The Leonard Bernstein Pages
(James McGonigal)
This isn't the only Leonard Bernstein website out there, but it's got
to be one of the best. Here, you'll find all the info you need on the
great American composer. Biography? Got it. List of works? Yup, that's
here too. Plus, you'll find an engrossing essay on
Bernstein's "monumental" role as a musical educator, as well as a
terrific links page.
The Leonard Bernstein Collection
(Library of Congress Music Division)
My Twelve Tone Melody--the song Leonard Bernstein wrote to commemorate
Irvin Berlin's 100th birthday--could have been a form of self-address.
It is certainly an apt description for the Bernstein archive now
available online. The Library of Congress has set out to establish its
contention that Bernstein will remain a dominant force in contemporary
American music. Bernstein was unique, of course, in that he composed
and conducted in various musical domains. And according to the LOC,
the "collection is unique among online presentations because it is the
largest site where the items posted were not previously available in
the public domain." And apparently there was a ton of material to
choose from--more than 400,000 items to be exact. The online collection
provides a streamlined version of this material. It includes 85
photographs, 251 scripts--177 from the Young People's Concerts, 74 from
the Thursday Evening Reviews, and more than 1,100 letters. Bernstein's
melodies are not yet included. Never mind--there is more than enough
here to weigh on your mind.
