The Real Maestro: Leonard Bernstein Interview (1988)

On 29 April 1986, Leonard Bernstein spoke to ITN about his influence on the creative arts. Speaking at the Barbican Concert Hall in London, the humble Bernstein was reluctant to accept the phrasing of Channel 4’s Stephen Phillips when he referred to Bernstein’s “great influence“. But the words were well chosen. After all, the composer and conductor was in London to attend a music festival celebrating his life’s work. Bernstein dropped in to the Barbican to see how the acclaimed conductor Bramwell Tovey and the London Symphony Orchestra were getting on with preparations for the show. Maestro, a biopic of Leonard Bernstein directed by and starring American actor Bradley Cooper, will be released on 2 September 2023. Cooper has received criticism for the decision to wear a prosthetic nose while playing Bernstein, with some accusing Cooper of furthering anti-semitic stereotypes and others questioning whether a non-Jewish actor should be allowed to play a Jewish historical figure – a qu