Leonard Bernstein’s Son Remembers

Today is the 20th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s death.  He would be 92 if he were still alive.  His son, Alexander, has written a nice tribute published at dot429 this morning:

It seems impossible that twenty years have passed since my father (Leonard Bernstein) died.  Or perhaps, I should write, I haven’t seen my father for twenty years!  Sometimes I feel as though he is on tour again and will be back at any time now…

My father traveled a great deal. When he was home, though, he was really home.   As a composer, he didn’t have an office to go to like the other dads. He would stay up very late working and then wake up very late. He would always be there when we came home from school, ready to play (or at least not minding if we played quietly in his studio while he worked). In the summertime we had him all day long for swimming, tennis, sailing, or just eating six ears of corn apiece. Sometimes he would play something for us as soon as he finished writing it and would ask our opinions. Undoubtedly, it was always “terrific” because he had such faith in his work and played with such joy and energy.  You can read the rest here.