Bernstein, left, with John DeMain, preparing to conduct the world premiere of the opera A Quiet Place in 1983.
One of the burning questions in classical music circles in 20th century America was: Can an American conduct Bach, Beethoven and Brahms? For decades the answer from the “Big Five” orchestras in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and Cleveland was no. Their lead conductors were all Europeans.
But in 1958, when Leonard Bernstein became the first U.S.-born and educated conductor and music director of the New York Philharmonic, he proved that an American could get along very well with European masters.
As orchestras across the country celebrate Bernstein’s centennial this year, they remind us of his world-wide influence on music.
But John DeMain, who marks his 25th anniversary as conductor and music director of the Madison Symphony Orchestra this season, needs no reminder. The two maestros go way back.
In 1971, DeMain received conducting tips from Bernstein at Tanglewood, the famous music venue in Massachusetts. Bernstein also invited DeMain to conduct the premiere of his last opera, A Quiet Place, in 1983.
“We disagreed on the tempo for the ending of the opera. Bernstein thought it couldn’t go slow enough, and I thought it should be faster,” DeMain recalled in an Isthmus article in 2008. Bernstein eventually agreed to the faster tempo. While working together, he called DeMain “Giovanni,” Italian for John.
On Nov. 9-11 in Overture Hall, DeMain and the MSO will pay tribute to Lenny: composer, conductor, pianist, teacher and peace advocate.
The concert begins with selections from Bernstein’s ever-popular operetta, Candide, and his hit musical, On the Town. Probably the most unfamiliar of the selections is Bernstein’s second symphony, Age of Anxiety, inspired by W.H. Auden’s 1947 poem of the same title.
“This will be the first time the orchestra will play Age of Anxiety,” says DeMain. “In my opinion, it’s the best of Bernstein’s three symphonies.”
Auden’s poem takes place during wartime in a bar in New York where four strangers drink and discuss their lives, ambitions, memories and dreams. The symphony, which features piano, begins with a plaintive clarinet duet that develops into a set of complex variations. The thorny piano part, with its myriad of styles, seems impossible to play sometimes.
But fear not. The pianist will be Christopher Taylor, professor of piano at UW-Madison. Taylor, who is also a mathematician, has gained a reputation as one of America’s leading pianists by conquering some of the most complicated music on the planet.
The concert’s grand finale will hark back to a European master. “We’ll be playing Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony because that was the last piece that Bernstein conducted before his death,” says DeMain.
Bernstein’s final concert with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood in August 1990 was sold out. He had problems getting through Beethoven’s Seventh because he was near death. But after conducting it so many times during his life, Beethoven was in his blood and Bernstein was able to carry on and bring the symphony to a spectacular finish.
