Leonard Bernstein

Transcript

Commentary by Robin Rausch
Music Specialist at The Library of Congress

Leonard Bernstein first came to the MacDowell Colony in 1962, so he was already quite well known, because that was post "West Side Story." He was working on his "Kaddish Symphony" at that time, which would become a memorial to John F. Kennedy. And he returned to the MacDowell Colony in 1970 and was working on his "Mass."

And one of the items on display at the exhibit are his working notes for his "Mass." They're on a series of index cards, and you can see his thought process as he's planning the piece out. And there's also a music manuscript from the "Mass" on display.

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