GIFT FOR MUSIC— LEONARD BERNSTEIN

  (来源：英语学习门户 http://www.EnglishCN.com)

In 1986, Leonard Bernstein said, “God knows, I should be dead by now. I smoke, I drink, I stay up all night… I was diagnosed as having emphysema in my mid-20s. I was told that if II didn’t stop smoking, I’d be dead at 35. Well. I beat the rap.” But in recent months he canceled engagements and a fortnight age announced that, on his doctor’s advice, he was retiring as a conductor, In 1990, Leonard Bernstein, 72, died in his Manhattan apartment after a heart attack brought on by lung failure.  Perhaps to abandon conducting was to end a love affair, to give up life.

A first-generation Jewish American, Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Mass. In 1918. His father, Samuel, who was in the beauty-supplies business. Hoped his son would someday work with him. But at 10 Lenny discovered the piano. When he used his allowance to pay for lessons his father stopped doling it out— but reinstated it after discovering his son was playing in a dance and to earn money. At the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia (after graduating from Harvard, at 20. with honors), Bernstein was the most gifted pupil of the great Fritz Reiner. This so enraged one student that he threatened homicide.

Contrary to legend, the golden boy did have some lean times. In 1942. Bernstein moved to New York City armed with glowing references, but couldn’t find work. Lyricist Irving Caesar happened to hear him play the piano and thought he resembled his former collaborator George Gershwin. Bernstein told him that he needed $10 a week to stay alive. “What!” Caesar exclaimed. “You, a genius, starving? Ten dollars a week for a genius? I’ll get you fifty!” And promptly got him a job transcribing music. Within two years Bernstein had published his first symphony, written a successful ballet (“Fancy Free”), had a hit Broadway show (“In the Town”) and made his now legendary New York Philharmonic conducting debut in Carnegie Hall. Filling in for an ailing maestro, the dashing 25-year-old(who had a fierce hangover) was such a smash he got as much front-page space in New York Times as the American submarines that sank seven Japanese ships.

The great creative output of the late ‘40s and ‘50s— the musicals “Candide”, “Wonderful Town” and “West Side Story”, the film score for “ On the Waterfront,” the ballet “The Age of Anxiety”— came, with good reason, before Bernstein acquired an orchestra. In 1958, he became music director of the New York Philharmonic — the first American-born conductor to head a top symphony orchestra. He revived the works of Mahler and Nielsen and programmed such contemporary music, even if he, a dedicated tonalist, was uncomfortable with it.

Bernstein, says Leonard Slatkin, music director of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. “not only opened doors for all of us, but was the musical conscience of this country for years. We couldn’t have had a better spokesman.” After leaving the Philharmonic in 1969, Bernstein, the original globe-trot-ting maestro, maintained close ties with many orchestras, including (with typical Bernstein irony) the Israel Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic.

Since the late ‘50s his compositions have often been disappointing, but he was back in form in some recent works, especially the delicious Arias and Barcarolles. Though he had become white-haired and craggy, he retained the passion and quickness of a wunderkind, and no one could dispute the depth of understanding he brought to the podium, particularly in recent years, when his interpretive powers were sharper than ever.

音乐天才—伦纳德·伯恩斯坦

1986年，伦纳德·伯恩斯坦说：“天晓得，我怎么能活到现在。我抽烟，喝酒，整夜不眠······。我在25岁时就被诊断患有肺气肿。医生告诉我如果不戒烟，35岁就得死。不过，我福大命大。”但在最近的几个月他取消了约会并在半个月前宣布，遵照医嘱，他不再担任乐队指挥。1990年，伦纳德·伯恩斯坦，因肺衰竭突发心脏病，在他曼哈顿的公寓里去世，享年72岁。或许放弃指挥就意味着一个爱好的终结，生命的尽头。

伦纳德·伯恩斯坦1918年生于马萨诸塞州的劳伦斯市，是第一代美国犹太人。其父塞缪尔做的是美容用品的生意，他寄希望于儿子能秉承父业。但伦尼（伦纳德的爱称）十岁时，发现了钢琴。当他用自己的零花钱来学琴时，父亲就不再给他钱了，但当他发现儿子靠为舞蹈伴奏而挣钱时，就又恢复了补给。在费城的柯蒂斯学院（20岁时从哈佛大学以优异成绩毕业后），伯恩斯坦是伟大的弗里茨·赖纳的最具天赋的学生。有个学生因愤愤不平而扬言要杀了他。

与传说的相反，这个成绩斐然的男孩的确曾几度陷于窘境。1942年，伯恩斯坦带着热情中肯的推荐信来到纽约，然而却无法找到工作。抒情诗人欧文·凯撒偶然听到他弹奏钢琴并觉得他很像自己以前的合作者乔治·格什温。伯恩斯坦对他说他一周需要十美元来维持生计。“什么！”凯撒惊叹道。“你，一个天才，在饿肚子？一个天才每周就值十美元？我要让你每周有五十美元！”他很快就为他找到一份改编乐曲的工作。在不到两年的时间里伯恩斯坦就发表了他的第一首交响乐，成功地创作了他们一个芭蕾舞剧（“自由遐想”），写了一部轰动一时的百老汇音乐剧（“在小镇里” ），并在卡内基音乐厅首次指挥当今已成为传奇的纽约爱乐乐团。这个干劲十足、患有严重宿醉毛病的25岁月小 伙子因临时代替生病的指挥大师随即就一炮打响，在《纽约时报》上成了与美国潜艇击沉七艘日本舰同样重要的头条新闻。