Leonard Bernstein Gushing About Stravinsky Is My wedneSDAY Mood
Don’t you love bromances? My favorite one is the between cool signature-haver Leonard Bernstein and unlikely Coco Chanel boyfriend Igor Stravinsky. Bernstein thought Stravinsky was pretty much a genius, going so far as to call him “the giant of this century”, so much so that he made a short film tribute to the Russian composer. In the film Bernstein talks about works like the Rite of Spring and the Symphony of Psalms. There’s even some good footage of Igor himself conducting an orchestra, discussing the riot his Rite of Spring premiere caused in Paris, and waving a stetson at a bunch of yeehawing cowboys, which have all the makings of a great Wednesday night.
PS: If you can’t get enough of Bernstein’s Professor Julliard realness, you can hear a whole playlist of his music lectures on Spotify under “Classical Music Explained: Bernstein’s Music Lectures”.