“We are almost telepathically close. Sometimes we compose startlingly similar music on the same day, without seeing each other.” – Marc Blitzstein on Leonard Bernstein

2018 marks the centennial of the birth of Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein and Blitzstein shared an especially close friendship, and Bernstein served as one of Blitzstein’s most vocal proponents and champions.

Blitzstein and Bernstein met in 1939 when Bernstein led a production of The Cradle Will Rock at Harvard. Their meeting led to an “instant and lifelong” friendship, a relationship which Howard Pollack describes as “so symbiotic as to make it difficult to pinpoint influence.” The nature of their friendship is documented in the many letters and telegrams they exchanged, and by Bernstein in his own writings and interviews.

Bernstein premiered three of Blitzstein’s most important works, giving the premiere of the orchestral version of Cradle (New York City Center, 1947), as well as the Boston-area premiere of the piano-only version while a senior at Harvard in 1939; Airborne Symphony (New York City Symphony, 1946), which he also recorded twice; and the Boston try-out of Blitzstein’s adaptation of The Threepenny Opera (Brandeis University, 1952). Furthermore, Bernstein dedicated his 1952 opera Trouble in Tahiti to Blitzstein, and Blitzstein in turn dedicated his Six Elizabethan Songs (1958) to Bernstein.

Their relationship extended well beyond the professional realm. The Bernsteins named Blitzstein godfather to their firstborn daughter, Jamie, for whom Blitzstein composed a short work for solo piano, Innocent Psalm. Bernstein’s two younger children were also named for characters in Blitzstein’s works – Alexander, named for Alexandra (Regina), and Nina (Reuben, Reuben).

“I was tremendously influenced by Marc in everything I wrote for the theater and even some things that weren’t.” – Bernstein on Blitzstein

Learn More

Eric Gordon’s Mark the Music: The Life and Work of Marc Blitzstein (St. Martin’s Press, 1989) and Howard Pollack’s Marc Blitzstein, His Life, His Work, His World (Oxford University Press, 2012) each offer rich detail of their friendship and collaborations.

The Leonard Bernstein Letters, ed. Nigel Simeone (Yale University Press, 2013), includes select correspondence between Bernstein and Blitzstein.

“Love and Betrayal”, episode 2 of Guy Livingston’s 4-part radio documentary, The Cradle That Rocked.

Bernstein Centennial Exhibit at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts & the Skirball Center

Pianist Lara Downes releases world premiere recording of “Innocent Psalm”

Bernstein on Regina

Bernstein performs Blitzstein’s “Zipperfly”

https://youtu.be/VixrUZOppdI

“I was tremendously influenced by Marc in everything I wrote for the theater and even some things that weren’t.” – Bernstein on Blitzstein

2018 marks the centennial of the birth of Leonard Bernstein, close friend and collaborator of Blitzstein. A new exhibit sponsored by the Grammy Foundation shines a spotlight on the influence of Blitzstein on Bernstein’s work, and includes recordings of Blitzstein’s music and biographical information. The exhibit is currently on display at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (through 24 March), and moves to Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles in April.

A ceremony on June 12 commemorated the unveiling of the new historical marker installed at the site of Marc Blitzstein’s birthplace, 419 Pine Street, Philadelphia. A small crowd of thirty or so Blitzstein devotees gathered on the tree-lined street in the historic Society Hill neighborhood to witness the unveiling. Local historians and Blitzstein experts shared remarks about Blitzstein’s connection to Philadelphia, his musical influence, and social and political legacy.

Further resources

Recap of the unveiling from the Philadelphia Inquirer and Jewish Exponent

Video highlights of the ceremony from ABC News 6

Remarks from Elizabeth Blaufox, Associate Director of Programs and Promotion for the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music

16 June will mark the 80^th anniversary of the infamous premiere of The Cradle Will Rock—the night the Federal Theatre Project locked the cast and crew out of the Maxine Elliot’s Theater, forcing them to scramble to find a new venue for the opening night of Blitzstein’s highly anticipated agitprop musical. Undeterred, the cast marched up Broadway to the Venice Theater, where Blitzstein performed the score from the piano onstage and the actors sang and spoke their parts from the audience.

While it has become nearly impossible in the intervening years to separate the spectacle of that first performance from the notoriety of the show itself, Cradle has remained a repertoire staple, though almost exclusively performed in a pared-down, piano-only version. However, that is about to change:  This summer, Opera Saratoga in upstate New York offers theater-goers a rare opportunity to hear The Cradle Will Rock as Blitzstein intended, in a fully staged production with his original orchestration. Lawrence Edelson directs this new production, which takes the stage for four performances 9–16 July, conducted by noted Blitzstein expert John Mauceri. The cast features three past prizewinners of the Lotte Lenya Competition (a program of the Kurt Weill Foundation): Ginger Costa-Jackson (2013 Lys Symonette Award) as Moll, Justin Hopkins (2012 2nd Prize) as Reverend Salvation, and Lisa Marie Rogali (2017 Special Award) in the ensemble.  This will be the first time the original orchestration has been heard since the New York City Opera production in 1960.

Other Events

Additionally, Opera Saratoga offers several ancillary events to enhance audience members’ knowledge of Blitzstein’s music. On 16 June, the evening of the 80th anniversary of the world premiere, OS presents Marc Blitzstein – A Life in Song, curated and hosted by Hopkins. The program will include excerpts from Blitzstein’s theatrical and operatic works as well as lesser-known songs. Another song evening, Broadway in the 1930s on 14 July, will feature songs by Blitzstein and Weill, along with the usual suspects, Gershwin, Porter, and Rodgers and Hart.

Further Resources

Find more information and tickets on the Opera Saratoga website.

Listen to an interview with director Lawrence Edelson and conductor John Mauceri on WMHT radio.

Thanks to the efforts of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, in partnership with the National Museum of American Jewish History, Curtis Institute of Music (Blitzstein’s alma mater), and a couple of dedicated Blitzstein fans, a new historical marker is to be installed at the site of Blitzstein’s birthplace, 419 Pine Street, Philadelphia. The marker will be installed on 12 June, four days ahead of the 80^th anniversary of the premiere of The Cradle Will Rock. The installation ceremony, which begins at 11:00 am at the site, will feature Blitzstein experts and scholars speaking on various topics including his musical legacy, work as an activist, and his connection to Philadelphia. The ceremony is free and open to the public.

That evening, a reading of the play “It’s All True” which recounts the creation of Cradle, by Jason Sherman, will take place at 7:00 pm at the National Museum of American Jewish History. Additional information and tickets available here.

Guy Livingston‘s 4-part radio documentary series on the life and work of Marc Blitzstein is now airing on radio stations around the United States, via the WFMT Radio Network. The series had its American broadcast premiere on Illinois’ WILL radio on March 5. Episodes three and four can be heard Sunday March 19 and 26, respectively, at 8:00 pm (CST). The program will air on other stations around the country through out the year, so be sure to your check your local public radio station’s listings for air dates. Additionally, all four episodes are available to download as podcasts via iTunes, or listen online anytime.

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