Copland House Looks at the Life of Leonard Bernstein, 9/17 & 18

A glittering and intimate journey into the life of charismatic Leonard Bernstein kicks off the 2011 season at Copland House at Merestead on Saturday evening, September 17, 8pm with Late Night with Leonard Bernstein, a sold-out smash at Lincoln Center last year. Now there's another opportunity to experience the evening under the stars in the formal gardens of Copland House at Merestead. The legendary Maestro, a well-known insomniac, loved to work at all hours and often entertained friends and guests late into the night, dazzling them with captivating performances of a wide range of musical styles. This affectionate portrait, hosted by his daughter Jamie Bernstein and New York City Opera General Director and Bernstein protégé George Steel, and featuring acclaimed soprano Amy Burton and pianists John Musto, Michael Barrett and Michael Boriskin, presents a recital of Bernstein's most intimate (and favorite) music, including works by Copland, Confrey, Coward, Schubert, and Chopin, along with personal stories, and even audio and film clips of the Maestro himself. Sponsored by Teri and James Babcock

Think Small on Sunday afternoon, September 18 at 3pm ventures into the world of the microscopic, the minuscule, and the ethereal, with an intriguing program of tiny works pioneered by German masters Alban Berg and Anton Webern, carried forth by Aaron Copland, Sebastian Currier, and Haskel Small (how could he be omitted from such a concert?), and further refined by rising stars Carl Schimmel and Stacy Garrop. Despite their extreme brevity-some works last as little as 15 or 20 seconds, while others are as "long" as 4 whole minutes!-there is surprising variety in these petite, exquisite, and sometimes astonishingly intense compositions. Sponsored, in part, by the Westchester Community Foundation (Rudyard and Emanuella Remiss Fund).

Copland House, an award-winning creative center for American music based at Aaron Copland's National Historic Landmark home in New York's lower Hudson River Valley, is the only composer's home in the U.S. devoted to nurturing and renewing America's rich musical heritage, and fostering greater public awareness and appreciation of our nation's composers and their work. Building upon Aaron Copland's seminal artistic and personal legacies, it furthers this mission through composer residencies; live, broadcast, and recorded performances; and educational and community outreach programs. In 2009, it began expanding its activities to the vast Merestead estate in Mount Kisco through a public-private partnership with the Westchester County government. Support for Copland House's 2011-12 Merestead concerts comes from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, ArtsWestchester, the Westchester Community Foundation, and the Friends of Copland House.

Tickets to most Copland House at Merestead performances are popularly-priced at $25 and $20 (for Friends of Copland House), and less in various subscription packages; student tickets are $10. Tickets for Late Night with Leonard Bernstein (September 17) are $100 (VIP seating and parking) and $50. For ticket and subscription information, contact Copland House at (914) 788-4659 or office@coplandhouse.org.

Photo Credit:  Leonard Bernstein Office

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