NewsNewsletter
Prelude, Fugue, & Riffs
News and updates for friends and fans of Leonard Bernstein
Our newsletter has moved to a fully digital format, delivered monthly via email. Subscribe here or email pfr(at)leonardbernstein.com to join our mailing list. You can also find the latest articles on our website’s News Page. Below is an archive of our previous physical newsletters.
Fall/Winter 2021
MASS at 50 Special Edition: The Path to MASS; Artful Learning; My Life with MASS; Reflections on MASS; From the Archives: The Bernstein Project; From the Archives: Discussing MASS; Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Leon Levy Digital Archives; In Memoriam: Michael Morgan; Marin Alsop leads LSO in Candide; Candide in Munster; An Unusual Treasure Hunt; West Side Story
Fall/Winter 2021-2022 PDF
Spring/Summer 2021
Bernstein & Stravisnky: Eternal Modernists; New Sony Box Set:Bernstein Conducts Stravinsky: Happy Birthday, Igor Stravinsky (Excerpt from a Young People's Concert script); Michael Tilson Thomas & Leonard Bernstein Share Keyboard Real Estate; Artful Learning: Unsung School Day Heroes; From the Archives: Bernstein's Seemingly Simple Song; Leonard Bernstein Mahler's Symphonies Remastered in 8K; In Memoriam: Christa Ludwig; Remembering Roger Englander; In The News: Bernstein Remastered; Kennedy Center Announces 50th Anniversary Season; Summer Music Festivals; Summer Reading; American Ballet Theatre Premiere
Spring/Summer 2021 PDF
Fall/Winter 2020-2021
Celebrating Beethoven and Bernstein; So You Think You Know L(v)B?; Artful Learning Steps Into the Future; Bernstein and Beethoven's Fidelio; New York and Vienna: Assessing Bernstein's Beethoven Cycles; Bernstein Breathes Beethoven: A Look Into Bernstein's Legacy of the Beethoven Piano Concertos; Leonard Bernstein and the United Nations; From the Archives: Bernstein and Beethoven; Leonard Bernstein and His Impact on the Vienna Philharmonic; In the News: Dr. Jack Gottlieb Jewish Music Endowment Fund; The Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival Leonard Bernstein Award 2020; Leonard Bernstein's Songfest Receives Performance in Germany; New Book: Leonard Bernstein in Washington, D.C.
Fall/Winter 2020-2021 PDF
Summer 2020
70th Edition of Prelude, Fugue & Riffs; Artful Learning: Love in the Time of COVID-19; Beethoven and Bernstein; Isaac Stern at 100: Lenny & Isaac; New Orchestrations of Dybbuk and Fancy Free; Joey, Donald, and West Side Story; West Side Story Website Re-design; Remembering Richard Ortner; A Tribute to Nick Webster; Hans Weber: A Personal Appreciation; Bernstein After 100: The Leonard Bernstein Office Looks Ahead; New Recordings; ASU Production of MASS Honored; Stephen Sondheim Turns Ninety; Sir Humphrey Burton.
Summer 2020 PDF
Fall/Winter 2019/2020
Centennial Wrap-up; Artful Learning; On the Town in Japan; "Freiheit" Berlin: 1989; Pacific Music Festival; Remembering Friends; BTHVN2020; In the News; Looking Ahead
Fall/Winter 2019/2020 PDF
Spring/Summer 2019
Annus Mirabilis; Artful Learning; Bernstein, Blitzstein and Weill; Candide as Existential Vaudeville; Remembering Friends; In the News; New Releases
Spring/Summer 2019 PDF
Fall/Winter 2018-2019
Worldwide Centennial Celebrations in Pictures, One Helluva Virtual Party, The Masters Photograph the Maestro, 31 Austin Grants, Choreographers Celebete Bernstein at 100
Fall/Winter 2018/2019 PDF
Spring/Summer 2018
Worldwide Centennial Celebrations, Library of Congress Bernstein collection, Vadim Gluzman on Serenade, Jamie Bernstein's memoir of growing up Bernstein, remembering Jose Antonio Abreu
Spring/Summer 2018 PDF
Fall/Winter 2017-2018
The Bernstein Centennial around the world; remembering Richard Wilbur; Leonard and Felicia Take a Knee
Fall/Winter 2017/2018 PDF
Spring/Summer 2017
Special Edition: Leonard Bernstein at 100
Spring/Summer 2017 PDF
Fall/Winter 2016-2017
The Tanglewood Rituals; Artful Learning: Full STEAM Ahead; Lenny's Legacy; Violeta Parra's Centennial and Bernstein's Love for the Nueva Cancion Chilena Movement; Remembering Gordon Davidson; West Side Story in concert at the Hollywood Bowl Fall/Winter 2016/2017 PDF
Spring/Summer 2016
High-brow, Low-brow, All-brow; Artful Learning: Exceeding Expectations; A Talk at IAMA; Leonard Bernstein's Batonmaker; Remembering John Evans; Music and Love in Chile; The Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic; MASS in the Czech Philharmonic; SONY Honors Carnegie Hall; There's a Place for Us...in Queens; Bernstein Through a Jazz Lens; On the Town; Some Performances; Note to Readers; Bernstein Meets Broadway Wins Award; Leonard Bernstein Collection: Volume 2. Spring/Summer 2016 PDF
Fall/Winter 2015-2016
On The Waterfront: The Score; Artful Learning Update; On The Waterfront: Restoration and Adaptation; On The Waterfront Film With Live Orchestra Performances; Misty Copeland Dances "On The Town"; "Kaddish" for Samuel Pisar; Candide at Glimmerglass Festival; Candide in Munich; West Side Story Productions; A Quiet Place; Somewhere Project Update; Leonard Bernstein: An Album of Family & Friends; Bernstein in China; Leonard Bernstein Award; Leonard Bernstein Honored in Chicago; Some Performances; New Recordings. Fall/Winter 2015/2016 PDF
Spring/Summer 2015
A Father Champions His Son; From the Artful Learning Blotter; Bernstein's Seemingly Simple Song; MASS in Philadelphia; LB, MLK, and American Diplomacy in Berlin; Leonard Bernstein at 100; Boosey & Hawkes Program Guide; "Age of Anxiety" Ballet; New Books. The Somewhere Project: A Citywide Exploration of "West Side Story"; A Memory of "On The Town"; New York Philharmonic to Premiere "On The Waterfront Film with Live Orchestra"; La Guardia Goes "On The Town"; "On The Town" Cast Album; Sony Releases Remastered Sibelius Recordings. Spring/Summer 2015 PDF
Fall/Winter 2014-2015
Leonard Bernstein: Artist as Educator; Artful Learning Snapshot; West Side Story Film with Live Orchestra; West Side Berlin; Pacific Music Festival; Bernstein Meets Broadway. Fall/Winter 2014-15 PDF
Spring/Summer 2014
Leonard Bernstein: America's Music Director; Artful Learning Spotlight; News; Upcoming Performances; New York Festival of Song; NY Philharmonic Gala. Spring/Summer 2014 PDF
Fall/Winter 2013-2014
A Quiet Place; Artful Learning National Snapshot; The Leonard Bernstein Letters: Questions and Answers with author Nigel Simone; Tribute to John F. Kennedy; Leonard Bernstein, My Rabbi; Young People's Concerts DVDs, Volume 2 Fall/Winter 2013/2014 PDF
Spring/Summer 2013
Artful Learning Celebrates Success; West Side Story Film with Live Orchestra: Creating the Score; New York Philharmonic Archives Update; Le Sacre at 100. Spring/Summer 2013 PDF
Fall/Winter 2012-2013
Leonard Bernstein & POTUS; Artful Learning; West Side Story around the world; remembering Carlos Moseley Fall/Winter 2012-13 PDF
Spring/Summer 2012
Includes the West Side Story Project at Phoenix House; Artful Learning Update; Late Night with LB; West Side Story on tour; West Side Story film with live orchestra; Wonderful Town in UK Spring/Summer 2012 PDF
Fall/Winter 2011-2012
Letters Shed New Light on Bernstein Era; Artful Learning Update; MASS turns 40; Musical Instrument Museum Leonard Bernstein Display; Bernstein Online; Wonderful Town; Schleswig Holstein Presents Leonard Bernstein Award. Fall/Winter 2011/2012 PDF
Spring/Summer 2011
West Side Story Film with Live Orchestra; A Quiet Place at The New York City Opera; Lessons Learned from Chichester Psalms; Artful Learning Summit; The New York Philharmonic Digital Archives; Remembering Jack Gottlieb. Spring/Summer 2011 PDF
Spring/Summer 2010
A Quiet Place at New York City Opera; West Side Story Project Addresses Explores Youth Issues; Bernstein Festival in Seattle; A Choral Quilt; Working with Bernstein, by Jack Gottlieb, Published Spring/Summer 2010 PDF
Fall/Winter 2009
The Bernstein Project at London's Southbank Centre; Marin Alsop on MASS; MASS in Recordings and at the Vatican; Remembering Julia Vega; Thomas Hampson Named Scholar-in-Residence Fall/Winter 2009/2010 PDF
Spring/Summer 2009
Leonard Bernstein's Connecticut Studio Contents Given to Indiana University; Bernstein and Mendelssohn; Bernstein Boston Archive at Harvard; Peter Pan Flies Again; Remembering Lukas Foss Spring/Summer 2009 PDF
Fall/Winter 2008/2009
West Side Story Returns to Broadway; Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic; Opening Night at Carnegie Hall an All-Bernstein Celebration; Worldwide Festival Updates Fall/Winter 2008/2009 PDF
Spring/Summer 2008
"Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds" Festival in New York; Bernstein's 90th Birthday Celebrated Worldwide; Teachers Reflect on Bernstein Model; Remembering Harry Kraut; A White House Cantata Spring/Summer 2008 PDF
Fall/Winter 2007/2008
Special Edition: Celebrating 50 Years of West Side Story Fall/Winter 2007/2008 PDF
Spring/Summer 2007
Candide Kerfuffle in Paris; Artful Learning Goes to College; New Dybbuk Engraving; New Edition of Peter Pan; Carol Oja on Wonderful Town; Remembering Betty Comden Spring/Summer 2007 PDF
Fall/Winter 2006/2007
Candide at Theatre du Chatelet; Leonard Bernstein Center Update; Exulting Freedom in Music; New Kaddish Narration from Samuel Pisar; Bernstein on DVD Fall/Winter 2006/2007 PDF
Spring/Summer 2006
Bernstein Showcase at Harvard; Harvard Seminar Explores Bernstein's Boston Ties; Concerto for Orchestra; Stanley Drucker Remembers Lenny Spring/Summer 2006 PDF
Fall/Winter 2005/2006
Leonard Bernstein Center Moves to Gettysburg College; List of Leonard Bernstein Schools; "The Little Motive That Could"; MASS at Oakland East Bay Symphony; Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence at New York Philharmonic; New Kaddish Recording Fall/Winter 2005/2006 PDF
Spring/Summer 2005
A Talk with Betty Comden/The Birth of On The Town; Jamie Bernstein on Candide; Bernstein and On The Waterfront; Peter Pan; BBC Salutes Bernstein; Peabody Award for An American Life Spring/Summer 2005 PDF
Fall/Winter 2004/2005
Young People's Concerts Premiere on DVD; Proud To Be a Liberal; Leonard Bernstein Center for Learning Milestones and Progress Report; Leonard Bernstein: An American Life on WFMT; Songfest Critical Edition Fall/Winter 2004/2005 PDF
Spring/Summer 2004
The "Artful Learning" School Improvement Model; The Hook for Student Achievement; artfullearning.com; New Chichester Psalms Ballet; Wonderful Town Wows Broadway; DG's Bernstein Collectors Edition Spring/Summer 2004 PDF
Fall/Winter 2003/2004
Sixtieth Anniversary of Leonard Bernstein's Historic New York Philharmonic Debut; Philharmonic Musicians Remember; Bernstein: A Jewish Legacy; Broadway Stars Salute Bernstein Fall/Winter 2003/2004 PDF
Spring/Summer 2003
Bernstein's Congressional Testimony in Support of the Arts; Leonard Bernstein Center Update; Remembering Adolph Green; Bernstein Beat at Carnegie Hall; West Side Story Around the World Spring/Summer 2003 PDF
Fall/Winter 2002/2003
Bernstein's Mahler on CD and Video; Jamie Bernstein on Discovering Mahler; "The Handshake That Changed My Life"; Festival Updates; Bernstein Live Edition for Teachers Fall/Winter 2002/2003 PDF
Spring/Summer 2002
Young People's Concerts Return to TV; A West Side Story Teaching Diary; Bernstein Research; Teaching Teachers; Discography Overview; Milestones for Trouble in Tahiti; New Ballet with Dybbuk Score Spring/Summer 2002 PDF
Fall/Winter 2001/2002
Bernstein's Conducting Classes at Juilliard; A New Young People's Concert; Bernstein's Music in Cuba; New West Side Story Website; 40th Anniversary of West Side Story Movie Fall/Winter 2001/2002 PDF
Spring/Summer 2001
United States Postal Service Issues Leonard Bernstein Stamp; New West Side Story Suite for Violin and Orchestra; Leonard Bernstein Center Guides More Schools; The Bernstein Family Foundation; Pacific Music Festival 2001; New Online Store Spring/Summer 2001 PDF
Winter 2001
Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic; Bernstein Tribute/Benefit in Paris; Bringing Bernstein to Beijing; In Depth with Leonardbernstein.com; The Bernstein Plaque in Vienna Winter 2001 PDF
Fall 2000
A Maestro for the Ages; Ten Years Since Bernstein's Death; Bernstein Live Special Edition from New York Philharmonic; Kaddish in Nuremburg; Bernstein Day in France Fall 2000 PDF
Spring/Summer 2000
Library of Congress Online Bernstein Collection; Midori on How Leonard Bernstein Inspired Her; West Side Story at La Scala; West Side Story and The Gap; MASS at the Vatican Spring/Summer 2000 PDF
Winter 2000
The Correspondence of Koussevitsky and Bernstein; Orchestra of St. Luke's Arts Education; Bernstein and the MacDowell Colony; Bernstein Performances Featured in New York Philharmonic's An American Celebration Winter 2000 PDF
Autumn 1999
Bernstein's Late-Night Thoughts; Leonard Bernstein Music Publishing Co. Updates; New Photobook of Leonard Bernstein's Last 10 Years Autumn 1999 PDF
Spring/Summer 1999
Bernstein at the Piano; Indiana University School of Music and Bernstein; Pacific Music Festival; Kaddish; Candide in London; Latest Recordings Spring/Summer 1999 PDF
Winter 1999
The Norton Lectures Revisited; Bernstein at Madame Tussaud's; Looking Back and Looking Forward at Indiana University; The Harvard Years; Happy Birthday Sid Ramin Winter 1999 PDF
Autumn 1998
Dedication of Leonard Bernstein Oberschule in Berlin; "On the Road with Lenny"; Bernstein's Work Desk; Lenny and the LSO; Bernstein Featured on American Masters; Sony Classical, DG and the Smithsonian Celebrate Bernstein; Remembering Shirley Bernstein Autumn 1998 PDF
Spring/Summer 1998
Leonard Bernstein's Living Legacy in His 80th Year; Library of Congress and Website Updates; Lincoln Center Festival and Tanglewood Honor Bernstein; Deutsche Grammophon Update Spring/Summer 1998 PDF
Winter 1998
The Bernstein Auction at Sotheby's; The Website Turns One Year Old; Educational Essay Contest Winners; Leonard Bernstein Young Composers Competition; New Bernstein Ballet in Hamburg Winter 1998 PDF
Autumn 1997
Rethinking 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue; Berlin School Takes Leonard Bernstein's Name; On The Town at Shakespeare in the Park; Bernstein Auction; Bernstein-Inspired Initiatives in London and the Netherlands Autumn 1997 PDF
Spring/Summer 1997
Candide's Evolution; Barbara Cook's Cunegonde Audition; Saluting Schuyler Chapin; New Website Update; Remembering Robert Saudek; Wall-to-Wall Bernstein Spring/Summer 1997 PDF
Winter 1997
A Close Look at leonardbernstein.com; BETA Fund Supports Lawrence Philharmonic; Young People's Concerts Rebroadcast on Cable TV; Peter Jennings on Education; NY Phil Releases Debut Concert Winter 1997
Autumn 1996
Bernstein the Philanthropist; Boston Latin School Frieze; Marin Alsop and Jack Gottlieb on MASS; Launch of New Website; Remembering Clare Grundman Autumn 1996 PDF
Spring/Summer 1996
The Leonard Bernstein Center Goes National; Bernstein and Mitropoulos; Leonard Bernstein's New York; Nina Bernstein Honored; Tanglewood and Pacific Music Festival Updates Spring/Summer 1996 PDF
Winter 1996
West Side Story in Today's World; Moab Music Festival; First Leonard Bernstein Conducting Laureate; Joint Publishing Venture with Polygram; Place Leonard Bernstein in Paris Winter 1996 PDF
Autumn 1995
The Joy of Words (and Crosswords); NYU Honors Bernstein; Bernstein Center Update; BETA Fund Supports Alliance for Young Artists & Writers Autumn 1995 PDF
Spring/Summer 1995
"The Next Step" at Bernstein Center Pilot Schools; "The Day I Met Leonard Bernstein"; A Japanese Candide; Conducting Competition Announced; Pacific Music Festival Spring/Summer 1995 PDF
Winter 1995
"My Father and the FBI"; Remembering Bernstein in Vienna; "The Songs of West Side Story" Album Benefits Music Education; First Printing of Candide and West Side Story Full Scores Winter 1995 PDF
Fall 1994
A Conversation with Comden and Green/Wonderful Town; Launching the Special Music School; Why Nashville?; Licensing Leonard Bernstein's Music Fall 1994 PDF
Spring/Summer 1994
"Jeremiah" at 50; Young People's Concerts in Today's Classrooms; Country Music Association Supports Bernstein Center; Boston Symphony Announces Bernstein Memorial Spring/Summer 1994 PDF
Winter 1994
The Library of Congress and The Leonard Bernstein Archive; Aaron Davis Hall's International Series; Young People's Concerts Study Guide; Tel Aviv Salutes Leonard Bernstein Winter 1994 PDF
Fall 1993
Behind the Scenes at the Young People's Concerts; Brooklyn Philharmonic launches SOUNDSCAPE Program; On The Town Recording; Bernstein Exhibit at Carnegie Hall Fall 1993 PDF
Summer 1993
O Happy Birthday, Dear Daddy-O; A Weekend of Learning and Art; West Side Story and Candide in Full Scores; Young People's Concerts on Home Video; Street Dedication; BBC Radio Celebrates the Maestro's 75th Summer 1993 PDF
Spring 1993
Bernstein Recordings–Attempting the Impossible; Bernstein vs. The Studio; "I Hate Retakes"; Bernstein vs. Offcialdom; In Memoriam: Jennie Bernstein; Grammy Awards Spring 1993 PDF
Winter 1993
A Quiet Place/Trouble in Tahiti; Latest Bernstein Education Through the Arts Fund Grant; Critical Praise for Notes from a Friend by Schuyler Chapin Winter 1993 PDF
Fall 1992
Bernstein and Politics; Lenny and Israel; Leonard Bernstein and Amnesty International; Bernstein and AmFAR; 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Fall 1992 PDF
Summer 1992
Spreading the Tanglewood Idea; Bernstein Education Center; Notes from a Tanglewood Guide Summer 1992 PDF
Spring 1992
The Television Journey; The BETA Funds; Bernstein on Video; Final New Releases from Deutsche Grammophon Spring 1992 PDF
Winter 1992
Scraps and Scribbles–In Search of the Definitive Edition; NATAS Hall of Fame; ASCAP Remembers Bernstein; Critical Acclaim for Candide Winter 1992 PDF
Autumn 1991
Premiere Issue: The Definitive Candide; Young Conductors Remember their Teacher; Humphrey Burton's Bernstein "Portrait"; Recalling the Memorial Events Autumn 1991 PDF