The Leonard Bernstein Collection is part of the massive American Memory Collection from the Library of Congress. The physical collection contains over 400,000 items that amass the greatest variety of any collection from the Library of Congress. The online portion of this collection contains 85 photographs, 177 scripts from the Young People’s Concerts, 74 scripts from the Thursday Evening Previews, and over 1,100 pieces of correspondence.
The collection of photographs are divided into years based on periods in the composer’s life; the first photograph was taken when he was around 3 years old, and the last was taken three years before he died. Each photograph has a date and a brief description of the photograph.
From 1958-72, Bernstein gave a series of lecture-recitals with the purpose of educating children on music and how to become good listeners. These concerts were known as the Young People’s Concerts. In the collection, there are 177 scripts that include a handwritten copy and what has been determined as the final script (or close to it).
The 74 scripts from the Thursday Evening Previews, also include a handwritten copy and a typed copy. The Thursday Evening Previews was a series that Bernstein began as an informal talk before the concerts of the New York Philharmonic. These talks were used to inform the audience of the composer’s lives, the composer’s compositional style, and other aspects of the music.
The correspondence that is available online is only a small portion of the 15,500 pieces of correspondence that is available at the Library of Congress physical collection. The selection of correspondence that is available online was written between 1932-1990 and is mainly correspondence from family members; his piano teacher and assistant, Helen Coates; the composer, Aaron Copland; and conductor, Serge Koussevitzky.
This collection provides great insight into the life of Leonard Bernstein. This is an excellent resource for research papers or simply for personal enrichment. This collection is well-rounded and reminds the visitors that this is a work in progress. They plan to make everything available online, eventually. A finding aid is provided to make the user’s research easier. Also, there is a list of publications by Leonard Bernstein and publications about him.
