1918. Early music study took place with private piano teachers, and

subsequently with Helen Coates and Heinrich Gebhard. He was graduated from Harvard in 1939 after which he attended the Curtis Institute of Music (a pupil of Fritz Reiner in conducting) and three summer sessions of the Berkshire Music Center as a student and protégé of Serge Koussevitzky. He made a sensational debut as conductor with the New York Philharmonic in 1943, appearing as a last-minute substitute for Bruno Walter who had fallen ill. Since that time he has risen to the front rank of contemporary symphony conductors, having led most of the world’s leading organizations, and being appointed music director of the New York Philharmonic in 1958. As a serious composer he first attracted attention with the _Jeremiah Symphony_ in 1944, which was performed by most of America’s leading orchestras, was recorded, and received the New York City Music Critics Award. He subsequently wrote other major works for orchestra as well as the scores to successful ballets, an opera, and several Broadway musical comedies that were box-office triumphs; the last of these included _On the Town_ (1944), _Wonderful Town_ (1953) and _West Side Story_ (1957). Bernstein has also distinguished himself as a musical commentator and analyst over television, concert pianist, and author. Whether writing in a serious or popular vein Bernstein consistently reveals himself to be a master of his technical resources, endowed with a fine creative imagination, a strong lyric and rhythmic gift, and a restless intelligence that is ever on the search for new and fresh approaches in his writing. High on the list of favorites in the semi-classical repertory are the orchestral suites he adapted from his two popular and successful ballets. _Facsimile_, choreography by Jerome Robbins, was introduced in New York in 1946. The ballet scenario revolves around three lonely people—a woman and two men—who find only frustration and disenchantment after trying to find satisfactory personal relationships. The orchestral suite from this vivacious score, vitalized with the use of popular melodies and dance rhythms, is made up of four parts. I. “Solo.” The principal musical material here is found in a solo flute. This is a description of a woman standing alone in an open place. II. “Pas de Deux.” Woman meets man, and a flirtation ensues to the tune of a waltz. The scene achieves a passionate climax, and is followed by a sentimental episode, romanticized in the music by a subject for muted strings and two solo violins and solo viola. The love interest dies; the pair become bored, then hostile. III. “Pas de trois.” The second man enters. This episode is a scherzo with extended piano solo passages. A triangle ensues between the two men and one woman, there is some sophisticated interplay among them, and finally there ensue bitter words and misunderstandings. IV. “Coda.” The two men take their departure, not without considerable embarrassment. _Fancy Free_ was Bernstein’s first ballet, and it is still his most popular one; he completed his score in 1944 and it was introduced by the Ballet Theater (which had commissioned it) on April 18 of that year. It was a success of major proportions, received numerous performances, then became a staple in the American dance repertory. It is, wrote George Amberg, “the first substantial ballet entirely created in the contemporary American idiom, a striking and beautifully convincing example of genuine American style.” The scenario, by Jerome Robbins, concerned the quest of girl companionship on the part of three sailors on temporary shore leave. Bernstein’s music, though sophisticated in its harmonic and instrumental vocabulary, is filled with racy jazz rhythms and idioms and with melodies cast in a popular mold. The orchestral suite is made up of five parts: “Dance of the Three Sailors”; “Scene at the Bar”; “Pas de deux”; “Pantomime”; “Three Variations” (Galop, Waltz, Danzon) and Finale. When this Suite was first performed, in Pittsburgh in 1945, with Bernstein conducting, the composer provided the following description of what takes place in the music. “From the moment the action begins, with the sound of a juke box wailing behind the curtain, the ballet is strictly Young America of 1944. The curtain rises on a street corner with a lamppost, side street bar, and New York skyscrapers tricked out with a crazy pattern of lights, making a dizzying background. Three sailors explode onto the stage; they are on shore leave in the city and on the prowl for girls. The tale of how they meet first one girl, then a second, and how they fight over them, lose them, and in the end take off after still a third, is the story of the ballet.” _Fancy Free_ was expanded into a musical-comedy by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, for which Bernstein wrote his Broadway score. Called _On the Town_ it started a one-year Broadway run on December 28, 1944, and subsequently was twice revived in off-Broadway productions, and was made into an outstanding screen musical. Georges Bizet Georges Bizet was born in Paris on October 25, 1838. Revealing a pronounced gift for music in early childhood he was entered into the Paris Conservatory when he was only nine. There—as a pupil of Marmontel, Halévy, and Benoist—he won numerous prizes, including the Prix de Rome in 1857. In that year he also had his first stage work produced, a one-act opera, _Le Docteur miracle_. After his return from Rome to Paris he started to write operas. _Les Pêcheurs de perles_ (_Pearl Fishers_) and _La jolie fille de Perth_ were produced in Paris in 1863 and 1867 respectively. Success came in 1872 with his first Suite from the incidental music to Daudet’s _L’Arlésienne_. After that came his masterwork, the opera by which he has earned immortality: _Carmen_, introduced in Paris two months before his death. Bizet died in Bougival, France, on June 3, 1875. His gift for rich, well-sounding melodies, and his feeling for inviting harmonies and tasteful orchestration make many of his compositions ideal for programs of light music, even salient portions of _Carmen_. _Agnus Dei_ is a vocal adaptation (to a liturgical Latin text) of the intermezzo from Bizet’s incidental music to _L’Arlésienne_. It is also found as the second movement of the _L’Arlésienne Suite No. 2_. A dramatic dialogue between forceful strings and serene woodwinds leads into a spiritual religious song. The _Arlésienne Suite No. 1_ is made up of parts from the incidental music, which Bizet wrote for the Provençal drama of Alphonse Daudet, _The Woman of Arles_ (_L’Arlésienne_). The play, with Bizet’s music consisting of twenty-seven pieces, was given at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in Paris in 1872. Out of this score the composer selected four excerpts and assembled them into an orchestral suite, which has become his most celebrated instrumental composition, and his first success as a composer. A knowledge of the plot and characters of the Daudet play is by no means essential to a full appreciation of Bizet’s tuneful suite. The first movement, “Prelude,” begins with a march melody based on an old French Christmas song. This is subjected to a series of variations. After the march tune has been repeated vigorously by the full orchestra there appears a pastoral interlude, scored originally for saxophones, but now usually heard in clarinets. This, in turn, is succeeded by a passionate song for strings, with brass and woodwind accompaniment. The second movement is a “Minuet,” whose principal theme is a brisk and strongly accented subject. In the trio section, the clarinet appears with a flowing lyrical episode. As the violins take this material over they become rapturous; the harp and woodwind provide intriguing accompanying figures. A brief “_Adagietto_” comes as the third movement. This is a sensitive romance for muted strings. In the finale, “Carillon,” we get a picture of a peasant celebration of the Feast of St. Eloi. The horns simulate a three-note chime of bells which accompanies a lively dance tune, first in strings, then in other sections of the orchestra. A soft interlude is interposed by the woodwind. Then the lively dance reappears, once again to be accompanied by vigorous tolling bells simulated by the horns. There exists a second suite made up of four more numbers from the incidental music to _L’Arlésienne_. This was prepared after Bizet’s death by his friend, Ernest Guiraud. This second suite is rarely played, but its second movement, “Intermezzo,” is celebrated in its liturgical version as “_Agnus Dei_” (which see above). The other movements are Pastorale, Minuet and Farandole. If the name of Bizet has survived in musical history and will continue to do so for a long time to come, it is surely because of a single masterwork—his opera _Carmen_. This stirring music drama—based on the famous novel of Prosper Mérimée, adapted for Bizet by Meilhac and Halévy—never fails in its emotional and dramatic impact. Carmen is the seductive gypsy girl who enmeshes two lovers: the bull fighter Escamillo, and the sergeant, Don José. Both she and Don José meet a tragic end on the day of Escamillo’s triumph in the bull ring. The background to this fatal story of love and death is provided by the Spanish city of Seville—its streets, bull ring, taverns, and nearby mountain retreat of smugglers. _Carmen_ was introduced at the Opéra-Comique on March 3, 1875. Legend would have us believe it was a fiasco, and further that heartbreak over this failure brought about Bizet’s premature death two months after the opera was first heard. As a matter of historic truth, while there were some critics at that first performance who considered the text too stark and realistic for their tastes, _Carmen_ did very well, indeed. By June 18th it enjoyed thirty-seven performances. At the start of the new season of the Opéra-Comique it returned to the repertory to receive its fiftieth presentation by February 15, 1876. It was hailed in Vienna in 1875, Brussels in 1876, and London and New York in 1878. Many critics everywhere were as enthusiastic as the general public, and with good reason. For all the vivid color of Spanish life and backgrounds, and all the flaming passions aroused by the sensual Carmen, were caught in Bizet’s luminous, dramatic score. The Prelude to _Carmen_ represents a kind of resumé of what takes place in the opera, and with some of its musical material. It opens with lively music for full orchestra describing the festive preparations in Seville just before a bull fight. After a sudden change of key, and several chords, the popular second-act song of Escamillo, the bullfighter, is first given quietly in strings, then repeated more loudly. Then there is heard an ominous passage against quivering strings which, in the opera, suggests the fatal fascination exerted by Carmen on men. This is repeated in a higher register and somewhat amplified until a dramatic chord for full orchestra brings this episode, and the overture itself, to a conclusion. The Prelude to Act II is constructed from a motive of an off-stage unaccompanied little song by Don José in the same act praising the dragoons of Alcala. The Prelude to Act III is actually an entr’acte, a gentle little intermezzo which Bizet originally wrote for _L’Arlésienne_. The Prelude to Act IV is also an entr’acte, this time of dramatic personality. The brilliant and forceful music is based upon an actual Andalusian folk song and dance; it sets the mood for the gay festivities in a public square on the day of a gala bull-fight with which the fourth act opens. It is sometimes a practice at concerts of semi-classical or pop music to present not merely one of the four orchestral Preludes but also at other times salient musical episodes from the opera, arranged and assembled into fantasias or suites. These potpourris or suites are generally made up of varied combinations of the following excerpts. From Act I: the “Changing of the Guard”; Carmen’s seductive and extremely popular aria, the Habanera (“_L’amour est un oiseau rebelle_”), which was not by Bizet but borrowed by him from a song by Sebastian Yradier (see Yradier); the duet of Micaëla and Don José, “_Qui sait de quel démon_”; and Carmen’s Séguidille, “_Près des ramparts de Séville_.” From Act II: “The March of the Smugglers,”; Carmen’s “_Chanson bohème_”; the rousing Toreador Song of Escamillo; and Don José’s poignant “Flower Song” to Carmen, “_La fleur que tu m’avais jetée_.” From Act III: Carmen’s Card Song, “_En vain pour éviter_”; and Micaëla’s celebrated Air, “_Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante_”. From Act IV: the Chorus, March, and Finale. Utilizing many of these selections, Ferruccio Busoni and Vladimir Horowitz each prepared striking concert fantasias for solo piano; Pablo de Sarasate, for violin and piano; and Franz Waxman for violin and orchestra for the motion picture, _Humoresque_, starring John Garfield. _Children’s Games_ (_Jeux d’enfants_) is a delightful suite of twelve pieces for piano (four hands) for and about children. Bizet wrote it in 1871, but shortly afterwards orchestrated five of these numbers and assembled them into a suite, op. 22. The first movement is a march entitled “Trumpeter and Drummer” (“_Trompette et tambour_”) music punctuated by trumpet calls and drum rolls, accompanying a troop of soldiers as it approaches and then disappears into the distance. This is followed by a tender berceuse for muted strings, “The Doll” (“_La Poupée_”). The third movement is “The Top” (“_La Toupie_”), an impromptu in which the violins simulate the whirr of a spinning top while the woodwinds introduce a jolly dance tune. The fourth movement, “Little Husband, Little Wife” (_“Petit mari, petite femme”_) is a quiet little dialogue between husband and wife, the former represented by first violins, and the latter by the cellos. The suite ends with “The Ball” (“Le Bal”), a galop for full orchestra. The _Danse bohèmienne_ is a popular orchestral episode that comes from a comparatively unknown (and early) Bizet opera, _La jolie fille de Perth_, introduced in Paris in 1867. This vital dance music appears in the second act, but it is also often borrowed by many opera companies for the fourth act ballet of _Carmen_. The harp leads into, and then accompanies, a soft, sinuous dance melody for the flute. The tempo rapidly quickens, and the mood grows febrile; the strings take over the dance melody in quick time, and other sections of the orchestra participate vigorously. _La Patrie_ Overture, op. 19 (1873) is music in a martial manner. A robust, strongly rhythmed march tune is immediately presented by the full orchestra. After some amplification it is repeated softly by the orchestra. The second main theme is a stately folk melody first given by the violins, clarinets and bassoons, accompanied by the double basses. This new subject receives resounding treatment in full orchestra and is carried to a powerful climax. After a momentary pause, a third tune is heard, this time in violas and cellos accompanied by brasses and double basses, and a fourth, in violas, clarinets and English horn with the muted violins providing an arpeggio accompaniment. Then the stirring opening march music is recalled and dramatized. The overture ends in a blaze of color after some of the other themes are brought back with enriched harmonies and orchestration. This music was written for a play of the same name by Sardou. Luigi Boccherini Luigi Boccherini was born in Lucca, Italy, on February 19, 1743. After studying music with various private teachers in Rome, he gained recognition as a cellist both as a member of theater orchestras in Lucca and later on tour throughout Europe in joint concerts with Filippo Manfredi, violinist. He served as court composer in Madrid from 1785 to 1787, and from 1787 until 1797 for Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia. His last years were spent in Madrid in poverty and poor health, and he died in that city on May 28, 1805. Boccherini, a contemporary of Haydn, was a prolific composer of symphonies, concertos, and a considerable amount of chamber music which were all-important in helping to develop and crystallize a classical style of instrumental writing and in establishing the classic forms of instrumental music. Despite the abundance of his creation in virtually every branch of instrumental music, and despite the significance of his finest works, Boccherini is remembered today by many music lovers mainly for a comparatively minor piece of music: the sedate _Minuet_ which originated as the third movement of the String Quintet in E major, op. 13, no. 5. Transcribed for orchestra, and for various solo instruments and piano, (even for solo harpsichord) this light and airy Minuet has become one of the most celebrated musical examples of this classic dance form. Several of Boccherini’s little known melodies from various quintets and from his Sinfonia No. 2 in B-flat were used by the contemporary French composer, Jean Françaix, for a ballet score, from which comes an enchanting little orchestral suite. The ballet was _The School of Dancing_ (_Scuola di Ballo_), with book and choreography by Leonide Massine; it was introduced by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in Monte Carlo in 1933. The book was set in the dancing school of Professor Rigadon. The professor tries to palm off one of his backward pupils on an impresario, while withholding his star; in the end all pupils leave him in disgust. The suite is in four parts. The first consists of “_Leçon_” and “_Menuet_”; the second, “_Larghetto_,” “_Rondo_,” and “_Dispute_”; the third, “_Presto_,” “_Pastorale_,” and “_Danse allemande_”; the last, “_Scène du notaire_” and “_Finale_.” An unidentified program annotator goes on to explain: “An occasional stern note in the ‘_Leçon_’ and strong chords in the ‘_Menuet_’ suggest the teacher. The violin and bassoon play a duet which very clearly pictures the inept pupil. Further atmosphere is furnished by a guitar-like accompaniment heard on the harp from time to time. One is soon acquainted with the characters who reappear in the various sections. The ‘_Larghetto_’ closely resembles a movement in one of Haydn’s symphonies, which suggests a tempting line of speculation. The orchestration of the ‘_Rondo_’ and the syncopation of the ‘_Danse allemande_’ are noteworthy.” François Boieldieu François-Adrien Boieldieu, genius of opéra-comique, was born in Rouen, France, on December 16, 1775. After studying music with Charles Broche, Boieldieu became a church organist in Rouen in his fifteenth year. Two years later his first opera, _La fille coupable_, was successfully given in the same city. In 1796 he came to Paris where from 1797 on his operas began appearing in various theaters, climaxed by his first major success, _Le Calife de Bagdad_ in 1801. In 1798 he was appointed professor of the piano at the Paris Conservatory. From 1803 until 1811 he lived in Russia writing operas for the Imperial theaters and supervising musical performances at court. After returning to Paris in 1811, he reassumed his significant position in French music. From 1817 to 1826 he was professor of composition at the Paris Conservatory, and in 1821 he was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. All the while he kept on writing operas and enjoying considerable popularity. His most significant work was the opéra-comique, _La Dame blanche_, a sensation when introduced in Paris in 1825. Ill health compelled him to abandon his various professional activities in 1832. Supported by an annual government grant, he withdrew to Jarcy where he spent the last years of his life devoting himself mainly to painting. He died there on October 8, 1834. Boieldieu, with Adam and Auber, was one of the founders of French comic opera, and his best works are still among the finest achieved in this _genre_. The Overture to _The Caliph of Bagdad_ (_Le Calife de Bagdad_) is Boieldieu’s most famous piece of music. The opera was a triumph when introduced at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on September 16, 1801. The libretto, by Saint-Just, is set in Bagdad where Isaaum is a benevolent Caliph, but given to mischievous pranks and tricks, including parading around the city in various disguises. Once, as an army officer, he meets and makes love to Zeltube. Her mother, suspicious of him, orders his arrest. When the Caliph reveals himself, he also discloses his intentions were honorable and that he intends making Zeltube his bride. The overture opens with a mellow song for strings. When the tempo changes, a sprightlier tune is heard in strings and brought to a forceful climactic point. The music now assumes a dramatic character after which a new subject, again in a sensitive lyrical vein, is offered by the strings. The Overture to _La Dame blanche_ (_The White Lady_) is also popular. _La Dame blanche_ is the composer’s greatest work in the opéra-comique form. It was received with such sensational acclaim when introduced in Paris on December 10, 1825 that, temporarily at any rate, the sparkling comic operas of Rossini (then very much in vogue) were thrown into a shade. In time, _La Dame blanche_ received universal acceptance as a classic in the world of opéra-comique. Between 1825 and 1862 it enjoyed over a thousand performances in Paris; by World War I, the total passed beyond the fifteen hundred mark. The libretto, by Eugène Scribe, is based on two novels by Sir Walter Scott, _The Monastery_ and _Guy Mannering_. The setting is Scotland, and the “white lady” is a statue believed to be the protector of a castle belonging to the Laird of Avenel. The castle is being administered by Gaveston who tries to use the legend of the white lady for his own selfish purposes, to gain possession of the family treasures. Anna, Gaveston’s ward, impersonates the white lady to help save the castle and its jewels for the rightful owner. The vivacious overture is made up of several of the opera’s principal melodies. The introduction begins with a motive from the first-act finale, and is followed by the melodious and expressive “Ballad of the White Lady.” The Allegro section that follows includes the drinking song and several other popular arias, among these being the ballad of “Robin Adair” which appears during the hero’s first-act revery and as a concert piece in the third act. Giovanni Bolzoni Giovanni Bolzoni was born in Parma, Italy, on May 14, 1841. He attended the Parma Conservatory, then achieved recognition as a conductor of operas in Perugia and Turin. In 1887 he became director of the Liceo Musicale in Turin. Bolzoni wrote five operas, a symphony, overtures, and chamber music, but all are now in discard. He died in Turin on February 21, 1919. About the only piece of music by Bolzoni to survive is a beguiling little Minuet which comes from an unidentified string quartet and which has achieved outstanding popularity in various transcriptions, including many for salon orchestras with which it is a perennial favorite. Carrie Jacobs Bond Carrie Jacobs Bond, whose art songs are among the most popular by an American, was born in Janesville, Wisconsin, on August 11, 1862. Coming from a musical family, she was given music instruction early, and made appearances as a child-prodigy pianist. After marrying Dr. Frank L. Bond, a physician, she went to live in Chicago where her husband died suddenly, leaving her destitute. For a while she earned a living by renting rooms, taking in sewing, and doing other menial jobs. Then she began thinking of supplementing this meager income with the writing of songs. To issue these compositions, she formed a modest publishing firm in New York with funds acquired from her New York song recital; for a long time her office was in a hall bedroom. Her first publication, just before the end of the century, was _Seven Songs_, which included “I Love You Truly” and “Just a Wearyin’ For You,” each of which she subsequently published as separate pieces. In 1909 she achieved a formidable success with the famous ballad, “The End of a Perfect Day,” of which more than five million copies of sheet music were sold within a few years. Her later songs added further both to her financial security and her reputation. She was invited to give concerts at the White House, received awards for achievement in music from various organizations, and was singled out in 1941 by the Federation of Music Clubs as one of the two outstanding women in the field of music. She died in Hollywood, California, on December 28, 1946. Carrie Jacobs Bond knew how to write a song that was filled with sentiment without becoming cloying, that was simple without becoming ingenuous, and which struck a sympathetic universal chord by virtue of its mobile and expressive lyricism. Besides “I Love You Truly,” “Just a Wearyin’ for You” and “The End of a Perfect Day,” her most famous songs included “His Lullaby,” “Life’s Garden,” “I’ve Done My Work,” and “Roses Are in Bloom.” Her songs are so popular that they have been often heard in various transcriptions for salon orchestras and band. Alexander Borodin Alexander Borodin was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, on November 11,