Memories of a Maestro
STORY BY BENJAMIN LERNER
IN BRADLEY COOPER’S MAESTRO, TANGLEWOOD PLAYS AN INTEGRAL PART IN LEONARD BERNSTEIN’S CAREER AND FAMILY LIFE
Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro. COURTESY OF NETFLIX (3)
In a pivotal scene from Bradley Cooper’s new film, Maestro, a powerful symphony begins to play out as Leonard Bernstein his wife, Felicia Montealegre Bernstein, sit back-to-back in a spacious clearing on the Tanglewood grounds in Lenox. Its tones and harmonies are manifested not only through the film’s score, but through the complex romantic connection that the couple shares. Premiered at the 80th annual Venice International Film Festival to a seven-minute standing ovation in September, the film will have a limited U.S. release in November and December. In Great Barrington, Maestro will open December 15 at the Triplex Cinema. Stephen Wadsworth, music professor at Juilliard who wrote A Quiet Place with Bernstein and was Cooper's advisor on Maestro, will interview Bernstein’s daughter, Nina, in a talkback after the film on December 17. That same weekend, the Triplex will show West Side Story, On the Town, and On the Waterfront, with talkbacks. Maestro will be distributed widely through Netflix on December 20.
Leonard Bernstein working on a score at his piano in 1956.
The film paints a striking picture of the love story between Felicia and Lenny, as Bernstein was called by his friends and family. It’s a tale of romance, creative passion, and personal reflection that is every bit as intricate and profound as his music. Bernstein is best known for West Side Story and multiple symphonic masterworks, including Symphony No. 1: Jeremiah and Symphony No. 3: Kaddish. He conducted the New York Philharmonic Orchestra for several decades and expanded the reach of contemporary classical music through a series of high-profile radio broadcasts. Bernstein oversaw numerous memorable performances at Tanglewood, such as the inaugural American performance of Benjamin Britten’s opera Peter Grimes and the world premiere of Olivier Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony. While Cooper’s new film undoubtedly highlights Bernstein’s contributions, it focuses more on the legendary composer and conductor’s personal life, told through cinematic recollections of his time at Tanglewood, the Bernstein family home in Connecticut, and parts beyond.
Leonard Bernstein and Serge Koussevitzky at Tanglewood circa 1940.
Given Bernstein’s lifelong connection to Tanglewood, it makes perfect sense that a sizable portion of Maestro’s scenes were filmed there. Tanglewood was central to his musical development, and it served as the setting for many of his life’s milestones. To properly capture the essence of Bernstein’s time at Tanglewood, Maestro’s production crew took several trips to scout out locations before filming in May 2022. During a concentrated week of filming, they captured scenes at key locations, including the Koussevitzky Music Shed; the Theatre Concert Hall; the surrounding grounds; and Seranak, Founding Music Director Serge Koussevitzky’s summer home.
Working closely with Jake Moerschel, Director of Production for the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), Maestro’s production team sourced period-appropriate musical instruments, repainted exit signs and placards in the Theatre Concert Hall for historic accuracy, and recreated the look and feel of the era that Bernstein spent at Tanglewood. “Camera crews brought in all sorts of aerial lifts to hang lights for different shots,” notes Moerschel. “There was an entire army of people who came in, and they filled the Tanglewood parking lots with trucks and campers. It was very eye-opening to see a different type of production at Tanglewood, and the film beautifully showcases the campus.”
Behind the scenes and movie stills from Maestro. COURTESY OF NETFLIX (4)
Bernstein initially came to Tanglewood several years after the first BSO concert was hosted there in 1936. Under the guidance of Koussevitzky, Tanglewood began offering an intensive, six-week musical training program in 1940. At the time, the iconic Aaron Copland was serving as its Head of Faculty. This confluence of factors perfectly set the stage for Bernstein to step into a new chapter. He developed a relationship with Koussevitzky that would mark an auspicious start to his remarkable musical journey.
Aaron Copland with Leonard Bernstein, circa 1940. COURTESY OF LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Following his acceptance into Koussevitzky’s conducting class, Bernstein exhibited a musical acuity that quickly earned him recognition and confidence. This led to a lasting mentorship under Koussevitzky, which catalyzed Bernstein’s ascension to the role of Assistant Conductor two years later. His collaborative partnership with Tanglewood and the BSO deepened through the following decades, and his career took off to stratospheric new heights.
Bernstein and Felicia in evening dress at Philharmonic Pension Fund Concert. COURTESY OF LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
After substituting for German Conductor Bruno Walter in a nationally broadcast concert with the New York Philharmonic in 1943, Bernstein’s journey with the BSO continued into the winter of 1944. He led a spellbinding performance of his own Symphony No. 1, Jeremiah, and Aaron Copland’s El Salon México. Koussevitzky died in 1951, and Bernstein ascended to helm the orchestral and conducting programs at Tanglewood, steering its legacy while simultaneously enriching his own. Bernstein’s deep reverence for Koussevitzky was reflected in ways such as his wearing the late conductor’s cufflinks—which he would gently kiss before taking the stage at Tanglewood.
According to BSO archivist Bridget Carr, the time that Bernstein spent with Koussevitzky at Seranak was very impactful. Koussevitzky was more than a mentor—he was a good friend, a confidante, and a defining figure in Bernstein’s life. An early photograph from his first summer at Tanglewood in 1940 shows Bernstein conducting a small ensemble on the Seranak lawn.
“Serge looked down from the veranda and saw Lenny conducting some students in an impromptu surprise for him,” shares Carr. “He was a bit of a celebrity student in those days. He always had incredible energy, even back then.”
Leonard Bernstein conducting a Tanglewood Music Center orchestra rehearsal, circa 1955. COURTESY OF BSO
Long before his charismatic performances graced Tanglewood’s main stages, Bernstein honed his skills under Koussevitzky’s watchful eye. He was also known to spend hours chatting with fellow musicians and students on the Tanglewood grounds and at cocktail parties at Seranak. To that end, he gifted Koussevitzky’s future wife, Olga Naoumoff Koussevitzky, a cocktail jigger and cocktail recipe book in 1945. At the time, she was working as Koussevitzky’s secretary. The book was inscribed with the following message: “For Olga, my favorite bartender, Love, Leonard, 1945.” Decades after Bernstein last wandered Tanglewood’s verdant lawns and graced a social engagement at Seranak with his presence, multiple scenes from Maestro were shot at the same Tanglewood haunts that once shaped his musical development, elevating the authenticity of the film through locational accuracy.
Tanglewood and the BSO eventually became the medium through which many of Bernstein’s compositions found voice. The BSO commissioned and premiered his Divertimento and also hosted the world premiere of Symphony No. 2, Age of Anxiety, and the American premieres of works such as his Serenade (After Plato’s ‘Symposium’), Symphony No. 3, Kaddish, and Halil. To convincingly capture the larger-than-life manner in which Bernstein conducted, Cooper spent time in the orchestral world while researching the role. He observed rehearsals, sat amongst musicians, and absorbed the dynamics of live performances. From the Metropolitan Opera to the Philadelphia Orchestra, Cooper witnessed maestros like Gustavo Dudamel and Michael Tilson Thomas in action. He synthesized memories of their performances into his enthusiastic embodiment of Bernstein’s onstage presence, which is spectacularly exemplified by a scene in Maestro in which Mahler’s Second Symphony is performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.
Seiji Ozawa and Leonard Bernstein stand in the back of a student class at Seranak, circa 1981. COURTESY OF BSO
Towards the end of his career, Bernstein continued his involvement at Tanglewood, both as an esteemed conductor and passionate teacher. He held workshops and master classes with powerful authority until his final days. A photograph from the BSO archives shows Bernstein holding court over a room full of spellbound students at Seranak in 1988. That same year, Tanglewood’s stages were lit up with a gala celebration of Bernstein’s career, “Bernstein at 70.” On Bernstein’s 70th birthday on August 26, 1988, Seiji Ozawa, John Williams, John Mauceri, and Michael Tilson Thomas conducted the BSO, Boston Pops, and Tanglewood Festival Chorus, with soloists that included Lauren Bacall, Yo-Yo Ma, Midori, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Van Cliburn, among many others. Two days later, Bernstein took the stage to conduct a riveting rendition of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. Violinist and book author Gerald Elias was a member of the BSO from 1975 to 1988, taking his final bow with the BSO at that Tchaikovsky performance. He fondly remembers his time working with Bernstein. “He was not a tall man, but he was truly larger than life in every sense. Even when he was off the podium, he had a powerful presence. He had the highest standards, but he always treated musicians as human beings who deserved respect.”
Leonard Bernstein in his studio at his home in Fairfield Connecticut. August 1988. COURTESY OF LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
In addition to being a vaunted musician, composer, and conductor, Bernstein was also a family man—and he brought his three children, Jamie, Alexander, and Nina, along for the ride at Tanglewood. Jamie Bernstein’s childhood recollections of Tanglewood showcase a different aspect of their family connection to the renowned musical mecca. To Jamie, Tanglewood served as both a professional platform for her father, as well as a serene location where precious family memories were made. Jamie and her siblings not only watched their father conduct there, they also worked at Tanglewood during the summer season, which further strengthened their connection with the location. The Bernstein children’s family relationship to Tanglewood came full-circle at Bernstein’s 70th anniversary gala, where they performed a droll, original song, “The Seven-Oh Stomp,” to a lively crowd.
Tanglewood was also a place where the family came to terms with some jarring truths about Lenny, both in the film and in real life, says Jamie. “That very difficult scene in which Lenny denies the rumors that Jamie heard at Tanglewood. That came out of my book. Bradley created the dialogue in that scene, and it really rang true to me.” When asked about the cinematic interpretation of the marital complexities that arose from Lenny’s extramarital affair with Tom Cothran in 1971, Jamie says, “I thought it was handled really well. It’s complicated, but it is what happened.” Alexander adds: “We love that Bradley was curious about the relationship. He didn’t want to just show his career, or shy away from the fraught parts, or stick to West Side Story.”
In the process of unraveling the story of the Bernstein family, Cooper became closer to them than he ever imagined. “We were touched to the core to witness the depth of his commitment, his loving embrace of our father’s music, and the sheer open-hearted joy he brought to his exploration,” says Jamie. Witnessing Cooper and his co-star, Carey Mulligan, transform into their parents was a surreal experience for the Bernstein children. When speaking on Mulligan’s portrayal of Felicia, Jamie shares, “She captured some essence of our mother that made us gasp when we watched her in action.” Nina recalls a surreal moment where she received a video call from Cooper in full costume: “I got a FaceTime from a number I didn’t know, and I answered it, and it was my father.”
Cooper is equally grateful to the Bernstein family for their enthusiastic participation in the project, as he noted in an interview conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike: “The only official thing they had to do was allow us the rights to the music, but because they trusted me, they opened up their world.”
Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan as Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre in Maestro. COURTESY OF NETFLIX (4)
Although the relationship between Lenny and Felicia does take some tumultuous turns in the film, both the cast and the Bernstein family believe that the overarching message is hopeful and resilient. “Ultimately, for me, the film feels so much about the central thing that Felicia says when she’s holding Jamie at the end: ‘All you need is to be sensitive to others. Kindness. Kindness. Kindness,’” said Mulligan in an interview before the strike.
To delve deeper into Felicia’s personal history, Mulligan traveled to Chile, connecting with Felicia’s family, and explored the spaces she once inhabited. She went to great lengths to research Felicia’s life and portray her likeness with respect and honor. Mulligan walked away from her research trip with invaluable insights that greatly enriched her portrayal. As a result, Maestro doesn’t just tell the story of Felicia’s relationship with Lenny—it casts a spotlight on her life story, as well.
Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein in Maestro. COURTESY OF NETFLIX (4)
While Felicia never commanded the cultural power that Lenny did while standing in front of the orchestra at Tanglewood, she served as an equalizing force that held the family together, and she gave up her own artistic career as an actress to take care of their children. The time that Lenny and Felicia spent at Tanglewood in the earliest years of their relationship was restorative and energizing for him. She was the rock that made it possible for him to juggle his roles as the celebrated multi-hyphenate. And their love, though unconventional, was deep and lasting. When Felicia died in 1978, Lenny was never the same. The memories they shared together during the early years of their relationship—especially when they were together on the Tanglewood lawns— live on through their children, who are proud of the way that the film tells the unvarnished truth of his story.
In addition to praising Maestro’s authenticity and Cooper’s artistic brilliance, Jamie notes that the film nicely captures Tanglewood’s aesthetic and atmospheric beauty—the lush lawns, tranquil Stockbridge Bowl, and mesmerizing light that define its magical atmosphere. Through all of the ups and downs, Jamie recalls that Tanglewood was where Lenny was seen “at his best, at his happiest,” making it a delightful experience for the entire family to be around.
It was at Tanglewood on August 19, 1990, where he conducted his final concert. He died two months later in his New York apartment. Even in the tense and uncertain moments—both in Maestro and in real life— Lenny’s love and passion for his family was never extinguished.