Interesting to speculate as to the words being exchanged here ('caption competition' anyone?):
The Friends of Lenny B posted it as evidence of his support for Boulez, with these words: "In 1960, Leonard Bernstein said of Boulez: 'Boulez composes with a system, a terribly complex one, which is vaguely related to the serial systems we know in Schoenberg and Webern, but so different and advanced as to make the twelve-tone system seem quite old-fashioned.' "
Well, I don't know. I had a slightly different personal experience. In the 1980s, in the first flush of my concert-going enthusiasm, I had (still have) a book called Maestro - people probably know it:
When I was going to a concert by a conductor featured in the book, I took it with me, and would try and get the conductor's autograph at the end of the relevant chapter. I have quite a few (it's in there that I have Boulez's tiny signature).
The chapter before Boulez is Bernstein - the Bernstein chapter ends halfway down a left-hand page; and then the Boulez chapter starts immediately on the right-hand page.
When I went to get Lenny to sign the end of his chapter, I placed the book open in front of him and pointed to the blank space, requesting him to sign there. But he squinted at the 'Pierre Boulez' chapter heading on the facing page, clamped his teeth on his cigarette with a grimace, pointed to the name and growled "What's this all about? I got NUTHIN' to do with that guy....." There was a definite tone of distaste.
Slightly daunted and stammering, I was able to placate him - he duly signed. Actually his autograph - huge, in red ink, covering all the available blank space from one side of the page to the other, is a revealing contrast with the minute signature at the end of the following chapter!
I wonder if they're talking to one another in the great Green Room in the sky....
The Friends of Lenny B posted it as evidence of his support for Boulez, with these words: "In 1960, Leonard Bernstein said of Boulez: 'Boulez composes with a system, a terribly complex one, which is vaguely related to the serial systems we know in Schoenberg and Webern, but so different and advanced as to make the twelve-tone system seem quite old-fashioned.' "
Well, I don't know. I had a slightly different personal experience. In the 1980s, in the first flush of my concert-going enthusiasm, I had (still have) a book called Maestro - people probably know it:
When I was going to a concert by a conductor featured in the book, I took it with me, and would try and get the conductor's autograph at the end of the relevant chapter. I have quite a few (it's in there that I have Boulez's tiny signature).
The chapter before Boulez is Bernstein - the Bernstein chapter ends halfway down a left-hand page; and then the Boulez chapter starts immediately on the right-hand page.
When I went to get Lenny to sign the end of his chapter, I placed the book open in front of him and pointed to the blank space, requesting him to sign there. But he squinted at the 'Pierre Boulez' chapter heading on the facing page, clamped his teeth on his cigarette with a grimace, pointed to the name and growled "What's this all about? I got NUTHIN' to do with that guy....." There was a definite tone of distaste.
Slightly daunted and stammering, I was able to placate him - he duly signed. Actually his autograph - huge, in red ink, covering all the available blank space from one side of the page to the other, is a revealing contrast with the minute signature at the end of the following chapter!
I wonder if they're talking to one another in the great Green Room in the sky....
Great photo, Stanfordian.
Comment