Conductor Marin Alsop talks to Henrietta Bredin about sharing a concert platform with Bernstein
Last September there was a Mass Rally at the Southbank Centre in London. For an entire day the concert halls and foyers overflowed with shoals of people — children lugging instruments, parents rushing after them, singers clutching scores — all gathered to help launch the Bernstein Project, a year-long celebration of the extraordinary genius of Leonard Bernstein. Beginning with fanfares from Bernstein’s Mass, it will culminate in July with a complete performance of that work, involving community choirs, a marching band and a rock group, alongside dancers and professional soloists.
This joyful eruption of an event is the brainchild of the conductor Marin Alsop, who studied with Bernstein and who has found his music and his essential spirit a continuing source of inspiration. The child of New York musicians — mother a cellist, father a violinist — Alsop recalls with great clarity her first experience of Bernstein’s communicative flair.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in