The Leonard Bernstein Letters (70 page)

Dear Lenny,

Thanks for your graciousness in remembering the dim dark days when it looked like everything was off. My faith was simple because with so many remarkable tunes the production just had to work.

Roger

Dear Lenny or Lennie,

I have one of the most unusual and authentic excuses ever proffered for not writing you before this: my electric typewriter blew a fuse. Started to print words like thhhisss, and made interpretation even more difficult than blotted longhand. But I hope this reaches you before you leave for London. Helen tells me that you've been receiving almost none of the mail she's sent you. In a way, I hope it's true, because otherwise my news may be redundant to you.
⁶⁶

First of all, your questions about the show
⁶⁷
could not have arrived at a more opportune time. Ten minutes ago, the phone rang – it was Martin Charnin, informing me that Stephanie Augustine suddenly had to go on for Carol [Lawrence]. This was at four-thirty, so my guess is that something happened to her during the Kaleidoscope (the ballet starts around four-fifteen – by the way, today is matinee day, in case you're hopelessly confused by my incoherence). Charnin couldn't fill me in on the details, since he had to go on for Krupke (the number, not the actor), but I'm going to the show to see how Mrs. Hyman
⁶⁸
does. […]

On the whole, the cast has been healthier than I expected – a few cases of flu (Al De Sio, who had refused the shot, and whose name outside the theater has been spaced so as to read Aldesio; Charnin, who had received the shot, and one other, whose name escapes me at the moment), a few broken ankles, torn ligaments and sprained wrists (Calin, Roll, Grover Dale, Lynn Ross) […] But there have been no serious crises until today.

I don't know if Helen sent you all the notices, but knowing her maternal instincts, I suspect she omitted Harold Clurman's in
The Nation
. I'm afraid it's
the end of Frank Lewis and his ground rules
⁶⁹
for us, friend, since I'm cancelling my subscription immediately and trust you will do the same. Clurman's was a nasty, personally antagonistic (why? that's the question on a hundred lips; what did you do to him?) piece accusing us of base motives in writing the show. He called it a “phoney” and said we were “intellectuals slumming” for the purpose of making money. The review was framed by statements to the effect that the show would run a year, but no longer. The only personal pan in the review was directed at me, but he obviously was offended by the whole thing.
⁷⁰
His, however, is the only real blast we got (
Time
and
The New Yorker
weren't great, but they weren't more than ordinarily unkind) […]

From all indications, however, the show is a smash. We're sold out through February, even though tickets haven't yet been placed on sale beyond December 21st (the extra months are the result of mail orders). The License Commissioner has demanded an investigation of the box office; this, Hal [Prince] assures me, is the sign of a genuine blockbuster – it happened on
My Fair Lady
and
South Pacific
. The question is how long will the situation last. Part of the cause for the unavailability of seats, even at the brokers', is the continual flow of theater parties – every matinee and evening for the next six weeks except for six performances or so. There will be an Actors' Benefit performance November 24th, so jot it down – it should be very exciting. Anyway, Art or no, we'll be making money for a while.

Someone named Ullman (Abe, I believe) at Schirmer's keeps calling me for house seats and telling me apocryphal news of sheet music sales and forthcoming recordings. So far, only one has been out on the market: Jill Corey singing “I Feel Pretty” […]

Rosemary Clooney has recorded “Tonight”, but I haven't heard it yet. So has Vera Lynn, an English thrush, as we say in
Variety
. Sammy Davis wants to do “Cool”, “Something's Coming” and “Tonight”, but no action yet. Mickey Calin got a recording contract with something called Teen-o-Rama Records (they told him that he'd get his picture in all the teenage fan magazines, so he signed) and is recording “Cool” tomorrow. (He's also gotten numerous movie offers, which should be a surprise to no one.) Incidentally,
Variety
named the Corey version of “Pretty” as one of its weekly best bets (Best Bets, that is). Another one that week was a song by Mary (Rodgers) and Sammy Cahn called “I Love You Whoever You Are”.

As for the cast recording, I was amazed at Goddard [Lieberson]'s efficiency and dispatch, as well as his efforts at maintaining quality. You will probably be displeased with the record for reasons stated below as well as dozens of others, but on the whole I think it's pretty good – at least, by show album standards. It was recorded simultaneously for stereophonic tape (to be released in November as the first show so recorded) and sounds much better than the record. Some of the balancing isn't all it could be, but most of the trouble we had was due to lack of time – time on the record and time in the recording studio. As we had suspected, the amount of music was way overlong. Someone had goofed on the pre-recording timing, claiming that the Balcony Scene (starting with the singing) was 2:40, whereas it turned out to be 5:10. I don't have time to go into all the suggestions for remedying this, but the only one that worked was to cut out the best part – namely, the dialogue. Consequently, to our ears, the scene has been emasculated, going straight from the second chorus to the sung “Goodnight”s, with four hurried lines spoken over the bridge between. Thus the first “goodnight” has to start on the fifth instead of the second, which ruins it, because the second doesn't fit in with the harmony. It's too bad, but I assure you there was no other way out – at least, none that occurred to us. You are also likely to be disturbed by the following (I tell you these not to ruin your final three weeks before you hear them, but to soften whatever shocks you may get when you're finally back at the Osborne).

FLASH! Hal just called to say that Carol's singing voice gave out at the top of her range, though her low notes and speaking voice remained. She's at the doctor's right now, will probably not go on tonight, but will tomorrow, if all is well. He saw Stephanie from “I Have A Love” on, says that she's okay […] Jerry wanted to fire her immediately (without giving her a chance to do a whole performance, in effect), but he's in a bad mood anyway – he started his new ballet for the City Center on Monday, and it's apparently not going well.

Drawbacks in the recording, cont'd: A very fast tempo for the prologue, not so much to save time as to make it more interesting. Without the accompanying action, it tended toward monotony. Incidentally, we included street noises and shouts throughout the album, which works very well for the most part, though they tend to drown out the music in The Rumble. 2) Larry [Kert]'s voice on “Something's Coming” gets a little froggy in a few places and he sang the wrong rhythm for “come on, deliver”, but it was by far the best of the takes, because the feeling was right. Unfortunately, it was the next to last song recorded and he was very tired, having been at the session for nine hours. His best is “Maria”, which was the first number he recorded. 3) Frank Green took Larry's part in The Rumble (shouting “Riff, don't!”) and came in about ten bars too late – just before the stabbing – but the orchestra played it so well, that we didn't try another take (it was already the third). Also, they forgot to blow the police
whistle at the climax. (By the way, the orchestra was increased to 37 men for the recording.) 4) “America” and “I Feel Pretty” don't sound any better on the record than they do on the stage. 5) A trumpet player goofed badly on the change of key in the final procession. Oddly enough, nobody heard it until it was too late. I was out getting five minutes' sleep during it (I also slept during “America”, since the session lasted from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.). There will be a hundred other subtle and unsubtle goofs that will probably anger you, but the general reaction to the record so far (it came out last Friday – first order being 46,000 copies – is that good?) has been wonderful.
Variety
raved, and Douglas Watt in the
News
gave it a good notice (where he objected to anything, it was to the material, not the recording). The singers were not at their best, Lenny, but they were tired. One thing you ought to like: Goddard insisted that the final chorus of “Krupke” be played very slow with a heavy vaudeville beat. Jerry must have had conniptions. Another sidelight: Irv and Sid
⁷¹
put a major cadence at the end of “I Have A Love”. I had conniptions, so it was changed back to the relative minor. I presume you didn't want it changed. I certainly didn't.

So all is very cheery at the Winter Garden, although benefit audiences have dampened the general atmosphere. They seem to like the show, though, and word-of-mouth is good. Only in the applause for individual numbers and scenes can that intramural too-many-martinis feeling be noticed. Sometimes the hand for “America” hardly covers the scene change, and sometimes Lee [Becker] has no trouble getting the audience to stop at the end of “Krupke”. “Something's Coming” and “The Jet Song” still get weak hands, but the applause at the end of the ballet is constant – or almost so. Benefit audiences don't really get with it till the rumble, and sometimes not until “Krupke”. But, as I say, they end up liking the show, so don't worry. I haven't seen a complete performance in two weeks, so I don't know how sloppy they're getting, but Jerry's going to do some rehearsing tomorrow.

I have much more to tell you, but I wanted to send this letter off this afternoon so that it would have a chance to slip in to you between Jewish holidays. I'll write you again, but if I don't stop now – I have to go out – I won't finish it for another four days. Love to Felicia […]

Miss you. Come back on the seventh and no excuses. The groaning board
⁷²
is set up and I've peeked at all the letters.

Love,

Steve

My dear Leonard,

I regret not to have been able to see you after our last performance of the
Schelomo
[by Bloch]; I wanted so much to thank you again and to tell you “au revoir”!

How is it going now in the formidable Frederick Mann Hall? I often think of you and Isaac [Stern] after the dreamlike days in Israel that we love.

With my son Pascal (10 years old) we are going to hear [Arthur] Rubinstein tomorrow night in his Paris recital; that will be a great joy to hear him again and – perhaps – to talk few minutes with him after the concert.

Well, I must take the coach to the airport now and consequently must leave you quicker than I would like.

My love to Isaac.

Mes hommages à votre charmante femme avec la reconnaissance et amitié de votre

Paul Tortelier

P.S. Also my best remembrance to the orchestra if it is not asking too much.

Dear A,

I tried valiantly to call on your birthday, but no soap. Also yesterday, idem. So,
per forza
, a letter – Happy birthday. Just got back from Izzyland and London, and first thought was – 14 November: there's something terribly familiar about that. Then I realized it was my debut date in 1943, and your birthday (in 1938). (Do you realize that next year on your birthday it will be 20 – twenty – XX –
Twenty
– vingt years we know each other?!!)

And then I realized that I've missed you very much –

As I say, happy birthday

& love

Lenny

Dear Lenny,

Now that it is official let me again congratulate you and New York and music in America. All I can say is I shall be much more homesick than ever for New York.

My own life almost took a turn which would have made it look a little more like yours (or, let us say, like a provincial version of yours). Thor Johnson is leaving Cincinnati and I was offered his job. Cincinnati is not like New York, but it compares to my present UCLA orchestra much like NY compares to Cincinnati. In fact it would feel heavenly to have a
real
orchestra for a change. Having had considerable repertoire experience over the last 5 years, I was tempted, but finally decided against it. They demanded that I conduct 80 concerts in 28 weeks including pops, junior high, neighborhood concerts, tours etc. Aaron thought I should do it for 2 years – almost changed my mind. I wonder what you would have advised. Felt like giving you a ring, then felt silly. Now the dice have fallen. I am staying here.

I've got a new piece to play for you when I come in January. All my love to Felicia and you, from both of us –

And again: Congrats

Lukas

Dear Goddard,

My thanks to you are so overdue by now that your beautiful gift-plant makes it imperative that I rise from my bed of pain to thank you. You did a wonderful job on the
W
[
est
]
S
[
ide
]
S
[
tory
] album. It must have been a hectic session, from all I hear, with split-second decisions to be made all the time – and you did a heroic job.

As to the plant – it is lovely, & we thank you & Brigitte with great warmth.

As to the bed of pain, I'm going to the hospital tomorrow for some check-ups on this ridiculous back of mine, as well as some enforced sleep. S-L-E-E-P, glorious word.

Love, Lenny

Dear Leonard,

West Side Story
is one of the most moving events of my theatergoing experience. Your music is such a part of the whole I can't find out where it began or ended. I was just involved & became the slave of all of you from the moment the curtain went up. Thanks for giving us all such a beautiful experience.

Also congratulations on your new job with the Philharmonic.

Best always,

Josh