The Bernstein Experience

Moderator: Brian McCreath, Producer of WCRB’s BSO broadcasts; Jonathan Sarna, Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Brandeis University; Joshua Jacobson, Founder & Director of Zamir Chorale, Professor of Music, Northeastern University

Bernstein’s identity as both a composer and conductor was deeply influenced by a combination of his own Jewish heritage and the place of religion in 20th Century society and culture. The panel will explore, with specific musical examples (particularly the Kaddish Symphony), the impact of those formative religious experiences and the wider existentialist doubt of life in the nuclear age on the man and his music.