Avshalomov/Bernstein 1: Introduction

Posted on January 28, 2019

Bernstein: 1918-1990

Avshalomov: 1919-2013

Leonard Bernstein and Jacob Avshalomov: one shot like a rocket into the international classical music stratosphere; the other wound his way through the world and built his reputation year by year.  A year apart in age, both were part of the legendary post-WWII mid-twentieth-century American composers’ “circuit,” as Avshalomov put it.  Both their similarities and their differences informed their different... Read More ›

Avshalomov/Bernstein 2: Bernstein’s early years

Posted on January 28, 2019

As a young man, Leonard Bernstein’s Orthodox Jewish father emigrated from a shtetl in the Ukrainian area of the “Pale of Settlement”, where the Imperial Russian government allowed Jews to live, to New York and eventually to Lawrence, Massachusetts.  Leonard grew up in a tightly disciplined, observant Jewish family with two siblings, was drawn to piano before he could walk, and... Read More ›

Avshalomov/Bernstein 3: Avshalomov’s early years

Posted on January 28, 2019

Avshalomov’s path, in contrast, was much more circuitous, as illustrated by the title and preface of his perfectly-named intergenerational autobiography, Avshalomovs’ Winding Way:

“This is a tale essentially about my Father, Aaron, and myself—in and out of China, in and out of music.  It shows what we had to do to survive while pursuing creative aims and clinging to our ideals.  Although we were... Read More ›

Avshalomov/Bernstein 4: Avshalomov’s early years part 2

Posted on January 28, 2019

original oil portrait of Jacob Avshalomov at Reed, artist unknown; courtesy Doris Avshalomov

With the Japanese invasion of China in 1937, however, Jacob and his mother decided to return to the US for good.  Jacob’s father would have decades of trouble getting a visa because he was a native Russian, not an American citizen, as Jacob’s mother was, and she lodged testimony against him... Read More ›

Avshalomov/Bernstein 5: Crossings

Posted on January 28, 2019

The paths of these two sons of Russian Jewish emigres born a year apart, who came to the US from opposite sides of the earth, crossed at three significant points. 

The first, of which most outside PYP are unaware: the celebrated score-copying marathon of the Jeremiah Symphony in late December 1942. No other source besides Winding Way mentions that Jacob participated in... Read More ›

Avshalomov/Bernstein 6: The Jeremiah Symphony

Posted on January 28, 2019

Since so much has been written and documented about Bernstein’s work, this blog will focus more on Avshalomov; the discussion of the piece at leonardbernstein.com is the best single source on the Jeremiah and its context.

I’ll add only that although the third movement, “Lamentation”, which was originally written as a standalone piece, receives most of the attention, the second movement “Profanation”, also stands out.... Read More ›