This 60-minute program honors the great American conductor, pianist and
composer Leonard Bernstein as a teacher. It assesses his importance, his
credo and his sense of obligation to pass on to following generations what
he himself learned and experienced. Leonard Bernstein saw himself as a link
in a long chain of musical tradition leading from Koussevitzky,
Mitropoulos, Reiner and Copland to himself and on to a younger generation
represented by Seiji Ozawa and Michael Tilson Thomas, and to the youngest
musicians he particularly enjoyed teaching, those who were still dreaming
of a career. The film shows Leonard Bernstein as the great "roaming rabbi"
of music and love, two concepts which were synonyms for him, just like
learning and teaching. We see the great musician who offered his knowledge
without reservation and was still developing himself in his last years,
eager to learn from other artists. The film also shows Bernstein during
rehearsals with orchestras, with famous soloists (e.g. Krystian Zimerman),
in conversation with friends and pupils and at work in Vienna, New York,
Tanglewood and Salzau.
