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A new edition of Humphrey Burton´s celebrated biography of Leonard Bernstein, published to coincide with the centenary of his birth. With a new introduction by the author.

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A new edition of Humphrey Burton´s celebrated biography of Leonard Bernstein, published to coincide with the centenary of his birth. With a new introduction by the author.

´Humphrey Burton´s biography remains the essential account of American music´s dominant figure.´ Alex Ross

Composer, pianist, author, television teacher, Harvard lecturer, cultural icon, humanist and conductor without peer, Leonard Bernstein´s versatility was legendary. He captivated Broadway with such hits as On the Townand West Side Story and introduced middle America to classical music with his Young People´s Concerts on television. He composed three symphonies and a full-length opera, and he inspired the world´s leading orchestras to give some of the most memorable performances of the twentieth century.

Humphrey Burton was given exclusive access to Bernstein´s rich legacy of letters and papers, and the book draws on hundreds of interviews with family, friends and colleagues to reveal Bernstein´s fascinating and complex personality. His compelling narrative captures Bernstein´s high-spirited vitality on the page, providing a frank account of his homosexuality and his marriage and chronicling the lifelong conflict between the rival claims of Bernstein´s conducting and composing careers.

´Burton´s style is spare and unobtrusive: the picture he paints is a vivid one. So much energy. So much intelligence . Burton also demonstrates that behind Leonard Bernstein´s flamboyance (and the increasingly embarrassing public behaviour) there remained honesty of purpose and generosity of spirit. This biography is imbued with the same virtues. It is a book of exceptional quality.´ The Times

´Humphrey Burton has written a book worthy of a great man.´ Daily Telegraph

´This book brings Bernstein´s exuberant vitality to the page, showing why he became one of the most celebrated musical figures of the [twentieth] century.´ Gramophone

´The richness of the tapestry makes all the names, dates and places a compelling read, since at every turn we are in the company of an exceedingly alive man.´ O

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