Leonard Bernstein: Larger Than Life

Georg Wübbolt's documentary serves up a warm-hearted tribute to Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990), the longtime maestro of the New York Philharmonic, offering a cinematic love letter that brooks no criticism, with Bernstein's heavy drinking, chain smoking, and penchant for partying dismissed as integral to the personality of a genius who excelled as conductor, composer, teacher, friend, and musical ambassador to the world. Employing archival footage and stills, along with excerpts from interviews with Bernstein, his children, and numerous colleagues and friends (including Stephen Sondheim and Christoph Eschenbach), the film covers Bernstein's studies at Harvard, where his meeting with the Philharmonic's Dimitri Mitropoulos led to his decision to become a conductor, and follows up with Bernstein's breakthrough work at Tanglewood, where he encountered another great influence, the Boston Symphony's Serge Koussevitzky. Larger Than Life also emphasizes Bernstein's close friendship with Aaron Copland, which stimulated not only his embrace of American music on the podium but also his own compositions in popular Broadway hits such as Candide and West Side Story. Special emphasis is naturally placed on Bernstein's educational outreach through TV appearances (on Omnibus and the Philharmonic's Young People's Concerts), as well as his advocacy for the symphonies of Gustav Mahler, which had been on the periphery of the repertory. The documentary does a splendid job of capturing Bernstein's gregariousness and seemingly boundless enthusiasm, while also underscoring his absolute commitment to the cause of music and the extraordinary energy with which he communicated that devotion—which only makes the physical decline of his last years all the more poignant. Extras include extended interviews with conductors Kent Nagano, Marin Alsop, and Gustavo Dudamel. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)