Dinner with Lenny: The Last Long Interview with Leonard Bernstein by Jonathan Cott (review)

Over the course of a career that spanned nearly five decades, Leonard Bernstein was the subject of hundreds, if not thousands, of interviews. Many of these interviews are readily available in (now digitized) print media such as newspapers, general interest periodicals, and music magazines. Additionally, The Leonard Bernstein Collection at the Library of Congress holds transcripts of several film and television interviews, and the collection is open to researchers and the general public (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/bernstein/, accessed 21 March 2014). If interviews of Bernstein are so voluminous and easy to obtain, readers may ask what justifies the publication of the book-length Dinner with Lenny, especially since it is based on previously-released material. The most obvious answer to this question is the fact that it was Bernstein’s last extended interview. It is appealing to contemplate the image of the venerable musician dispensing sage wisdom in the twilight of his life. That this interview was intended for a different readership than most Bernstein question-and-answer sessions also leaps immediately to mind, as does the interview’s value as a primary historical source. Finally, Bernstein’s schedule and publications’ space limitations often precluded lengthier conversations of the type included in this book.

In November 1989, Rolling Stone journalist Jonathan Cott was granted an interview with Leonard Bernstein after vetting by Bernstein’s assistants. This interview, which took place at Bernstein’s home in Fairfield, Connecticut, was originally published in Rolling Stone no. 592 (29 November 1990), with excerpts also appearing in Rolling Stone no. 641 (15 October 1992). Both are available via trial subscription from the Rolling Stone Web site and in libraries. Dinner with Lenny is basically an extended version of the published Rolling Stone interview, with the addition of a “Prelude” and a “Postlude.” The “Prelude” features a biographical synopsis of Bernstein’s life and describes how Cott was able to get the interview, while the “Postlude” recounts Cott’s post-interview contact with Bernstein and summarizes the last year of the maestro’s life. The interview itself takes up 122 of the book’s 183 pages, and includes a good deal of material left out of the 1990 piece. As Cott notes, Rolling Stone allotted 8,000 words for the original publication, but their twelve-hour conversation encompassed more than four times that (p. 152). By these numbers, the book version probably includes the majority of the recorded interview, but we can also assume that it is heavily edited. Dinner with Lenny includes 16 black-and-white photographs, dating from 1947–85, that were not published in the original Rolling Stone interview.

One of the main virtues of this book is well summarized by Paul Laird in his annotation of the original interview: “Cott gives a fine idea of what it was like to be in Bernstein’s presence” (Paul R. Laird, Leonard Bernstein: A Guide to Research [New York: Routledge, 2002], 94). Laird would know, since he interviewed Bernstein himself. Cott does a good job of staying out of the way and letting Bernstein’s voice shine through. The interviewer speaks just enough to stay engaged in the conversation and to keep Bernstein talking. A number of subjects are covered, such as conducting, composition, teaching, and philosophical issues, but this is done in a loose, conversational format that makes for quick and lively reading. Since Rolling Stone was the publication in question, Bernstein had to have known that this interview was intended for a younger readership, and his behavior was certainly influenced by this knowledge. Bernstein thus comes off as edgier here than in most interviews, with frequent sexual references and use of expletives. He also makes a point of discussing rock music several times. Bernstein’s enthusiasm for rock was entirely consistent with his lifelong advocacy of jazz, and he obviously wanted Rolling Stone’s readers to be aware of his knowledge...