Lot 12
BERNSTEIN, LEONARD. (1918-1990). American composer, conductor, teacher, and pianist. Six unsigned autograph manuscript fragments and one autograph note written by Bernstein while attending the prestigious Boston Latin School. [Boston, ca. 1935-36].
AMs. ¼p. 8vo. On lined school notebook paper, “Barrie; RLS. I. To show by an incident in his mother’s life that even she was not perfect; and that she held her son before all other authors.”
AMs. 1p. Pencil notes on an 8vo. calendar sheet for Monday, August 25 and Tuesday, August 26. “Signs, Basket of flowers, Photograph...Tango de la Jalousie [1925 work by Danish composer Jacob Gade] Seranata Rimpianto [by Italian composer Enrico Toselli]...”
AMs. 2pp. 8vo. Fragments of essays on both sides of a lined sheet of schoolbook paper. “Column Left by Stuart Chase.” 10 lines in pencil regarding Chase’s thoughts on Socialism. On the recto is Bernstein’s 15-line commentary on Stephen Leacock 1922 essay in Harper’s Magazine “Oxford as I See It.”
AN. 8vo sheet on which Bernstein has written in ink, “Book Reports.”
AMs. 8vo sheet titled “Corrected Themes,” adding three lines about Taine’s History of English Literature.
AMs. 2pp. 8vo. Fragment of a school report about William Lyon Phelps’ essay on baseball, “The Great American Game.”
AMs. 2pp. 8vo. Bernstein’s fragmentary notes about Robert Browning’s poem “Rabbi ben Ezra.”
A talented conductor and composer, Bernstein is remembered both for the music he created and the music he shared with the world under his leadership of the New York Philharmonic. Bernstein grew up in Massachusetts where his musical instruction began at the age of 10. After attending the illustrious Boston Latin School, where he wrote the above notes, he graduated from Harvard and then studied under conductors Fritz Reiner and Serge Koussevitzky. His talent led him to posts with several prominent metropolitan orchestras including the New York Philharmonic where he introduced his popular “Young People’s Concerts.” Bernstein aspired to be a successful composer, working in the disparate areas of classical, liturgical, jazz, and contemporary music. His works include West Side Story, the oratorio Kaddish and music for the film On the Waterfront.
Our manuscript fragments show the literary and musical influences to which Bernstein was exposed as a student including Danish composer Jacob Gade (1879-1963), whose most famous work Tango de la Jalousie is mentioned; Italian composer Enrico Toselli (1883-1926), best known for his Seranata Rimpianto, also mentioned; J.M. Barrie (1860-1937), Scottish novelist best remembered for Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up; Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), Scottish author best known for his works Kidnapped, Treasure Island, A Child’s Garden of Verses, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; American economist and writer Stuart Chase (1888-1985); Canadian humorist Stephen Leacock (1869-1944); American author and critic William Lyon Phelps (1865-1943); and English poet Robert Browning (1812-1889), creator of such masterpieces as, My Last Duchess, The Pied Piper of Hamelin and The Ring and the Book.
In overall fine condition.
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