It is three hours since I have returned from viewing a film which has deeply touched me: Bradley Cooper´s “Maestro” about the life of the Mozart of our time, American composer, pianist and Maestro Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990).
I hesitate to predict that the film– produced by Stephen Spielberg and Martin Scorsese among others–will run away with the Oscars because a year ago other excellent films I viewed, “Tar” and Spielberg´s autobiographical own film, failed to win the top prizes in favor of lesser films taking the honors.
In any case, it is yet another film about a great composer, in this case the first great Maestro born and bred in the United States to become an internationally-renowned celebrity.
And the film acted, directed and written (with Josh Singer) by Cooper comes shortly after Bernstein´s “West Side Story “was filmed for the second time by Spielberg.
Bernstein was relatively modest about himself as composer, declaring himself as a minor composer in comparison with greatest in musical history.
But it seems that musical history will delegate him to among the greatest composers of the 20th century with those who were big names at the time fading into being totally forgotten.
Ironically this touching film has relatively little music played and performed other than Bernstein´s “On the Town” ballet and part of the finale of his beloved Mahler´s Second Symphony.
The film is more about a bi-sexual husband who loved his Chilean-born actress wife Felicia Montealegre (so realistically portrayed by Carey Mulligan) and his family as much as he loved music.
And since music is a mirror of a composer´s life, perhaps the film explains more about Bernstein´s music than any academic study?
I am particularly touched by the film´s script because my oboe teachers all played in the New York Philharmonic under his baton. And I am a graduate of the Aaron Copland College (formerly Queens College) in New York and have met Copland and heard him speak on American music.
And Bernstein´s daughters, including Jamie, portrayed in the film, I have met when attending a concert of music Maestro Bernstein composed to set cooking recipes.
And I can never recall anyone speaking badly about Maestro-pianist-composer-educator Leonard Bernstein except for New York Times critic Harold Schonberg and his unauthorized biographer Joan Peyser, in what many consider her unjust portrait “Bernstein.”
In fact, Bernstein is still fondly recalled here in Rio de Janeiro, where before my arrival in the 1970s, he conducted and played a piano concerto at the Municipal Theater.
And I am also from the generation who grew up with and was inspired by Bernstein´s “Young People´s Concerts, “which have been imitated all over the world in attempts to communicate to younger generations the wonders and joys of so-called “classical” music.
I recall that when the NY Phil had to rehearse and perform contemporary music –other than Bernstein´s—under the Maestro´s baton, he set up(according to one of my teachers who played with him) a game with monetary rewards to keep the often-unruly orchestra musicians distracted.
Rumors of the Maestro´s homosexual affairs with students and co-artistic workers were always rampant but who really cares (other than his devoted wife and daughters)?
The Maestro is fortunate that he passed away before the METOO movement destroyed numerous artistic careers because investigating his romantic life, there must have been numerous affairs to expose.
And one can imagine the lawsuits which would have plague and distracted Maestro Bernstein today from his music.
As I was hypnotized by the movie, couldn’t help thinking that if movies had been invented when other great composers like Mozart were alive, there would be much to expose.
Somehow Cooper´s Maestro seems to be film which honors rather dishonors a great composer, And the actor´s resemblance to the Maestro we knew and loved is striking, to say the least.
One line in the movie remains with me as “crappy music” (thank you retired Israel Phil oboist Bruce Weinstein)—in my opinion—reigns around the world.
Bernstein:” We live in an age of great creativity in science but a lack of creativity in music.”
PS—Ages ago, an American engineer called Eugene Rausa told me that he received an urgent telephone (remember those?) call from Brazil´s great composer Guerra Peixe telling him “Rush over to my apartment to translate. A Mister Stein from the USA is visiting me.”
Mr. “Stein” turned out to be Leonard Bernstein with his boyfriend visiting Rio de Janeiro for Carnaval.
Why didn’t anyone call me?