The intimate memoir of Leonard Bernstein and his family, that helped inspire the new movie Maestro
“Unique among classical-music memoirs for its physical intimacy, its humor and tenderness, its ambivalence toward an irrepressible family genius. . . . The existence of this well-written book, with its poignancy and its shuddery detail. . . is a mark of [Jamie Bernstein’s] sanity and survival. In telling [her father’s] story, she got to write her own.” —New Yorker
The oldest daughter of revered composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein offers a rare look at her father on the centennial of his birth in a deeply intimate and broadly evocative memoir
The composer of On the Town and West Side Story, chief conductor of the New York Philharmonic, television star, humanitarian, friend of the powerful and influential, and the life of every party, Leonard Bernstein was an enormous celebrity during one of the headiest periods of American cultural life, as well as the most protean musician in twentieth century America.
But to his eldest daughter, Jamie, he was above all the man in the scratchy brown bathrobe who smelled of cigarettes; the jokester and compulsive teacher who enthused about Beethoven and the Beatles; the insomniac whose 4 a.m. composing breaks involved spooning baby food out of the jar. He taught his daughter to love the world in all its beauty and complexity. In public and private, Lenny was larger than life.
In Famous Father Girl, Bernstein mines the emotional depths of her childhood and invites us into her family’s private world. A fantastic set of characters populates the Bernsteins’ lives, including: the Kennedys, Mike Nichols, John Lennon, Richard Avedon, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Robbins, and Betty (Lauren) Bacall.
An intoxicating tale, Famous Father Girl is an intimate meditation on a complex and sometimes troubled man, the family he raised, and the music he composed that became the soundtrack to their entwined lives. Deeply moving and often hilarious, Bernstein’s beautifully written memoir is a great American story about one of the greatest Americans of the modern age.
This unforgettable book is a dual portrait: of a cultural icon who belonged to the world, and a father who belonged to his family.
- An Intimate Portrait: Go behind the celebrity curtain to meet the man in the scratchy brown bathrobe who enthused about Beethoven and the Beatles in equal measure.
- A-List Cast of Characters: Pull up a chair for private family moments with the Kennedys, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Robbins, John Lennon, Mike Nichols, and Lauren Bacall.
- The Man Behind the Music: Discover the private world of the composer of West Side Story and chief conductor of the New York Philharmonic, from his 4 a.m. composing breaks to his creative struggles.
- The Story Behind Maestro: Read the deeply personal family story that helped inspire and inform the acclaimed film, written by the person who knew him best.
Jamie Bernstein is a writer, broadcaster, and filmmaker. She travels the world as a concert narrator. Her documentary, Crescendo: The Power of Music, is available on Netflix. She lives in New York City.
