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Remembering Humphrey Burton (1931-2025)
Posted January 20, 2026
Remembering Humphrey Burton (1931-2025)
by Jamie Bernstein
Photo: Humphrey Burton filming Bernstein in Vienna, 1978. Photo by Siegfried Lauterwasser, courtesy of Unitel.
Before he crossed paths with Leonard Bernstein, Humphrey Burton was already a star in the world of broadcasting, running music and arts at the BBC and co-founding BBC2 as well as London Weekend Television. The Bernstein–Burton collaborations began in the 1960s and took on a grand momentum of their own, leading to a spectacular 20-year association in which Humphrey directed over 170 documentaries and filmed concerts with Bernstein, including historic cycles of symphonies by Mahler, Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, and many others—including Bernstein’s own compositions. One of my personal favorites is Humphrey’s 1985 film about the making of my dad’s studio recording of West Side Story, featuring opera singers. The project had its distinct ups and downs—but every bump in the road provided gold for Humphrey’s documentary.
My siblings and I knew it was hard for our dad to find people in the world with whom he could truly match wits. Humphrey Burton was one of those people. They shared blazing intellects, as well as that voracious double embrace of written words and musical notes.
They also shared that mad energy that made them seem to be functioning at a higher level of intensity than everyone else around them. Like his friend and colleague Lenny, Humphrey was what our mother used to call “a man with a motor.” So any dinner table, airport lounge, auditorium, or city street that contained them both would acquire an extra sparkle.
After our father died, Humphrey wrote what is still the definitive biography of Leonard Bernstein. For the purpose, he immersed himself in Bernstein’s copious archival material, which had not yet been donated to the Library of Congress and was still very disorganized. His task was immense: a true work of love. Humphrey’s book remains an invaluable and thoroughly engaging resource for scholars, musicians, and curious readers of all ages.
Humphrey’s work with Leonard Bernstein, both in the latter’s lifetime and afterward, provides an incalculably precious record of the Bernstein legacy. Our family could not possibly be more grateful to Humphrey Burton. And we will miss him terribly.