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Music Was It: Young Leonard Bernstein (2011)

by Susan Goldman Rubin(Favorite Author)

3.83 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1580893449 (ISBN13: 9781580893442)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Charlesbridge

review 1: So much I didn't know about Bernstein. I am from/live in the Boston area, and there was a lot in here about his connections to Boston and to Sharon, where his family had a summer house. I really liked how the book showed his tenaciousness and dedication, even in the face of his father constantly trying to persuade him to abandon music as a profession. Even with that, he seemed to have been close to his family and they did support him in many ways, despite not always agreeing with his decisions. It is hard to read about music without hearing it, and I'm not sure young readers would have the context to understand how groundbreaking much of what Bernstein's work was. I liked how it kept its focus just on the years leading up to his debut at Carnegie Hall, and really honed in ... moreon what it took to get there.
review 2: For most of his life ‘Lenny’ followed a dream of his that most people thought was impossible. Lenny wanted to be a musician, and not just any musician, he wanted to be a famous conductor and lead an entire orchestra. Music Was IT is Lenny’s biography, which tells the story of Lenny’s many challenges, the biggest being his father (who never believed in him) and his Jewish heritage, which was not a good thing to have when you’re a kid growing up in the early 20th century. Even worse, when Lenny was learning to be a musician (by paying for his own lessons I might add), almost every famous musician and conductor in the world was European, and trained in Europe: not American, and certainly not Jewish. But Lenny kept studying music anyway, because ever since he first started playing his aunt’s beat-up old piano, he knew that music was the only thing he ever wanted to do. That. Was. IT. This intriguing and informative look at one of the greatest, and most unlikely, success stories in 20th century music should also interest history fans; not just because it provides a view of what the United States looked like outside of the factories during World War II (something you don’t see every day), but also because of the many historical photographs throughout its pages that are so well-timed you’d think they’re reading along with you. less

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