Bernstein at 100: daughter Nina joins Hong Kong celebrations of music legend’s legacy
He headed the New York Philharmonic and wrote the hit musical West Side Story, but Nina Bernstein and HKPhil music director Jaap van Zweden say the conductor and composer should be remembered for much more
Leonard Bernstein, one of the most important musical figures of the 20th century, was a “tremendous conductor” and his recordings with many international orchestras are still regarded as the gold standard of the classical repertoire, according to daughter Nina Bernstein. He was also a man who wanted to make music for the masses by broadcasting concerts on television.
“Because my father was so telegenic and irresistible to watch, he became sort of this honorary dad for a whole generation of people,” she says of his influence on young Americans who grew up watching his music programmes.
Bernstein is in Hong Kong and Macau as part of the celebrations of her father’s centennial, and will appear in public talks and forums organised by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Asia Society and the Academia de Musica S. Pio X in Macau.
Though today the enduring association of Bernstein as a composer for musicals is hard to shake, thanks to his highly popular West Side Story, the centennial celebrations offer the public a chance to remember his many other contributions to music.
Offstage, Bernstein says, her father played a leading role in motivating many to become singers, players and conductors.