Friday night in Slosberg Music Center's Recital Hall, about 200 students, faculty and friends of the Brandeis community celebrated Leonard Bernstein's life and musical career at "Late Night with Leonard Bernstein." The event was part of the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts, a festival founded especially for Brandeis by the acclaimed 20th-century composer himself in 1952.

The concert was hosted by Bernstein's daughter, Jamie Bernstein, and featured music played and sung by two professional pianists, Michael Boriskin and John Musto, and a professional soprano, Amy Burton. The program also included stories of Leonard Bernstein's life, told by his daughter, and video and tape recordings of Bernstein playing piano and commentating on the pieces.

There was a great turnout; it was the biggest crowd I have ever seen in Slosberg. Every seat was filled, and there was a waiting list to get in. The crowd was packed with both music aficionados and lay guests alike. I overheard one man talking about how acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell "just doesn't do it" for him, but I also overheard a student asking another student if she was a Music major, to which the student replied that she was not but just loved music.

Leonard Bernstein has a special place in Brandeis' heart, which is, perhaps, the reason behind the large turnout. Bernstein founded this festival for Brandeis as part of the University's first commencement, but he was also a visiting Music professor at Brandeis from 1951 to 1956, served as a trustee and was a trustee emeritus until his death in 1990.

All the pieces played in the concert had some significance in Leonard Bernstein's life. He wrote some of them, but others were pieces of music that particularly influenced him or ones he simply enjoyed. The pieces were interspersed with Jamie Bernstein's heartfelt discussion of her father's accomplishments, quirks and passions.

The first four tunes, played by Boriskin, were short pieces written by Bernstein as gifts for his friends. The pieces were simple riffs on a theme, but each note stood out sharply and clearly. It is clear Bernstein had a deep appreciation for the purity of the solitary note. The fourth riff, called "Ilana, the Dreamer," juxtaposed very high notes with very low notes to create tension while at the same time exerting a peaceful beauty.

After the first piece, Ms. Bernstein took a moment to explain why the event was called "Late Night with Leonard Bernstein" and why it was held so late on a Friday evening. Apparently Bernstein had insomnia and did much of his composing at night. However, Leonard Bernstein was also very extraverted, and his daughter remembers that her father's "late nights often involved playing the piano at parties with everybody singing around him." He was always the last to leave the parties, Ms. Bernstein told the audience.

One of the more fun pieces to listen to was "Dizzy Fingers" by Zez Confrey, played on piano by John Musto. The piece was playful, and the audience sat there smiling and laughing as Musto's hands flew across the keyboard, playing wildly and stopping and starting up again at the most unexpected times.
"Conchtown" by Leonard Bernstein was another piece that included recognizable tunes. Ms. Bernstein told the audience that, although her father never finished this Cuban-inspired piece, many segments influenced Bernstein's later works, such as his music from Ballet, Fancy Free; his Symphony No. 1: Jeremiah; and melodies from West Side Story. When the pianists started to play the theme from "America," the crowd started laughing and clapping.

One of the highlights of the entire show was a video of Leonard Bernstein sitting at the piano, playing and singing a comedic piece called "Zipperfly" written by Mark Blitstein, one of Bernstein's close friends. Ms. Bernstein, in her introduction of the video, noted that her father would readily admit that he did not have a good voice but that he would trade in all his talents for one. She also said that, even though her father's voice was not great, a listener could still hear the musicality in it and could hear how beautiful it would have been if only his vocal chords had permitted it.

Before Bernstein started singing in the video, he said to the camera that he hoped that he remembered the words, since there were a lot of them-a comment that greatly humanized this genius for the audience. The piece was comedic, with lyrics echoing the words of a poor "shoe-shining boy" saying his prayers before bed. The boy prayed for a new suit and was obsessed with the idea that the suit would have a zipper fly, as reflected in the title of the song. The comedic element of this piece was reflected in Bernstein's changing inflection and affectations as he sang.

We at Brandeis are truly blessed to have had this great musician work so closely with the University during his life, and it is important to celebrate his legacy. "Late Night with Leonard Bernstein" celebrated Bernstein's life and paid homage to his extraordinary and prolific career.