Bernstein on Having Tough Teachers

[@spoudaois]

"He married a wealthy woman"- "Thats a good solution". So funny and quick witted!

[@saulgoodman7858]

Real talk

[@LawrenceBottorff]

A woman marrying a wealthy man is pedestrian. A man marrying a wealthy woman is fraught.

[@96CAMJ]

“Will you marry me? Do you have any money? Answer the second question first.” Groucho Marx

[@ChocloManx]

interviewer had the tea on Ezra Rachlin...

[@phillipecook3227]

Never worked for me. Yet 😊 ...

[@clankb2o5]

In my personal life as a student and teacher, I have never experienced anything that led me to believe that being verbally aggressive is a good quality for teachers to have. I do believe, however, that people who have become used to being insulted and belittled can convince themselves that they deserve that behaviour and that it makes them learn more. A teacher can be strict without being verbally aggressive though. It is actually perfectly possible to have very high standards but to be gentle at the same time.

[@JackieLanceTenor]

I think you're absolutely right about people equating this to something that they not only deserve, but require in order to improve. I think many people in the arts just expect that they will be treated poorly by teachers, conductors, etc. I don't understand why more people don't question this type of behavior when it is something that we generally deem as unacceptable in other areas of culture. The world continues to change all the time and classical music is not immune to that, despite what many people think. We are not obligated to uphold the status quo if it is not wholly beneficial.

[@StatischBenutzer]

my piano teacher was strict but wasn't mean at all. She was a very sweet Russian lady who taught me a lot. I actually looked forward to all our lessons and advanced really quickly because I was motivated to not let her down. Then once she moved I came in contact with another teacher. She was not so nice and actually yelled at me the very first lesson. I didn't return to her.

[@florincoter1988]

You are right fro the average pupil. The high end (I am not one) needs something else to be polished. Sometimes great artist can be deaf. Even musicians. My best math teacher was tough and rough and I adored him because his commitment to to the job and the excellence of his pupils. Of course he knew to congratulate too, after the pupil understood why the compliment was given. See @lupash comment.

[@2_Normal_Ted_Junior]

Dark calls to dark, perhaps.

[@bilbobaggins5704]

Not in favor of the concept but people often teach as they've been taught. So, verbally aggressive is often passed down...until just recently. Once could assert that it worked with Szell in Cle. in respect to a high standard but it didn't work for many fine players in quality of life.

[@sandraelder1101]

Students can tell the difference between a teacher who is strict and one who is mean. They may complain about both types at the time, but they will respect the one and try to rise to meet his/her high standards and dislike the other and become frustrated or complacent. A common mistake some young teachers make is trying to make all the students like them. It’s like parenting. You have to care more about the students’ growth and success than about how much they like you. They don’t want or need you to be their friend. Be genuine, whether you’re the jokey type, the motherly type, or the stoic type. But don’t be afraid to insist on something you feel is important. They may complain. They may even think they dislike you, but it’s temporary. (35 year Music teacher, and still going)

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

The difference is having a teacher who sets a high standard and leaves it up to you to get there, or one who just approves anything you do, or having a teacher who not only sets the highest standards, but makes sure you have all the tools you need to get there, so you can do the work properly. I had that. And she produced the best musicians. Tyranny must be involved. It's the only way to prepare you for professional life and the expectations of auditions, of conductors.

[@florincoter1988]

@@nonenoneonenonenone Not everyone, even with all the tools in the world can get high achievements.

[@Skipbo000]

Teachers must earn the right to be tough. Good teachers also know when to use it. It's never about intimidation, abuse or discipline for the sake of being tough. It's about trying to achieve the achievable with talented people who have yet to learn how to do that on their own.

look at jurgen klopp at liverpool never shouts at any one none of the young players just nurtures them

[@lupash]

"She loved me enough to be tyrannical", that's wonderful right there. It reminds me of my first year of composition at the conservatory. I had one tyrannical, brutal teacher. I was frightened every lesson to get in there and she would really make them cruel. She used to take my hands and smash them on the piano when I got something wrong, then one day she like raged out, punching the piano herself and shouting. That day I got it personal and I was close to tell her to go fuck herself. Instead, I just told her to calm down and then I was simply battered and annihilated. I got home and wanted to leave. My dad convinced me otherwise but then I started dumping lessons. A school mate who was attending the lessons with me, who was also acting a bit viscidly, once convinced me to go with him to the president and report her behavior. He told us he would speak to her about these issues, and there I was sure that would've badly backfired against my already compromised and miserable existence within that classroom. Anyway long story short, we had exams every year to get to the next one and in front of the commission she started praising about me to her colleagues. She admitted me to the next year, and made my viscid school mate repeat the year. I would never expect that, nor to pass the exam. This is no romantic story, for as soon as I got out of that exam I sent a request to change professor for the next year, even though my dad adviced me against it.

[@matthewbertram3304]

I'm sorry you were abused, that's a horrific scene to go through. Music is supposed to come from open love, not blinding fear.

[@fortissimoX]

Unfortunately it seems that all professional musicians have either suffered similar stories or know someone who had. Sorry for your experience, and thanks for sharing the story! And btw, I believe that things are changing for the better.

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

That is utterly ridiculous. You can't learn that way at that age.@@matthewbertram3304

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

Do you have any notion at all how badly you were playing for her to react like that?

[@lupash]

@@nonenoneonenonenoneI was rather bad. I had great potential but I just wouldn’t study, nor do homework, never cared much nor put the necessary effort. I was young and clueless about my own intentions. Well, I still am.

[@maestroclassico5801]

I was always intrigued with how Bernstein turned out as a Conductor having studied with Reiner and Koussevitzky. He conducted very differently than both.

[@Twentythousandlps]

Reiner was LB's actual conducting teacher, in two intense years at the Curtis Institute. Koussevitzky was a coach and mentor, but the nuts and bolts of conducting were all imparted by Reiner.

[@nb2816]

Don't forget about another huge influence on Bernstein, namely Mitropoulos. There is much more of a connection there.

[@maestroclassico5801]

@@nb2816 Absolutely. DM influenced LB in many ways.

[@dorbbb]

Bernstein had the best of both worlds. He could know the ins and outs of a score as Reiner demanded and had the attitude towards the music others gave him that came almost naturally to him.

[@Will_Moffett]

In fields where it is possible to have masters, no two masters are alike.

[@sprezzatura8755]

My toughest teachers got me to do things I never thought I could. It's like working out. It is agony when you're doing it. You get the muscles and endurance later. Then you make the connection.

[@ButeSound]

Precisely. The gains are where you least want to go to

[@eileenhwalsh]

That line between high standards and tyranny, ever changing and so important to get right in teaching.

[@alvodin6197]

@eileenhwalsh and if you are an adult, you can criticize without being tyrannical and abusive. Unless you are a complete imbecile.

[@stevenj9970]

Reiner was a very difficult man, but when spoken of (by his now long gone players in the Chicago Symphony) they didn't care about that, they forgave his behavior just as Toscanini's musicians did. The TWINKLE in their eyes whenEVER they spoke of both men.....That was the GOLDEN age of symphonic music, never to be replicated...

[@longlifetometal1995]

Golden age my ass, they were all afraid that a 75-year-old Furtwängler (that had to deal with the 3rd Reich a few years prior btw) would come to the US because he would steal their jobs. Real great artists aren't afraid to face confrontation and rivalry.

[@jefolson6989]

A long time musician with the CSO who worked under both Reiner and Toscanini said the difference was Toscanini blew up and it was over . " But the Hungarian could hold a grudge."

[@allstarmark12345]

Yeah now we have woke

[@J1283-s1k]

@@allstarmark12345 You know it, sir. But times are changing and people are exhausted by the agenda.

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

I can't stand Simon Rattle, because he's too busy being a nice guy to take the care to get great results. No conductors today seem to have a well-trained ear, the ability to balance and control the orchestra. The women only use expectation and mental control, their conducting is inherently physically weak.

[@chasebairdmusic]

Definitely moments to be brutally honest and moments to be more soft. Sadly, some of the most aggressive teachers, in my college experience, used their aggression to actually cover up their sheer mediocrity as teachers. Realized this years later as a teacher myself when I didn’t need to use any of that BS and got way better results.

[@Irrazzo]

"She loved me enough to be tyrannical" I remember crying in my trombone teacher's lesson when I was ten or 12. Just once, and I think he realized and regretted that he had pushed too far. But it left an impression. Of course we would make constant fun of him behind his back. Only later did I understand how far what he taught would bring us and be able to appreciate it. Great guy.

[@mikeinkc]

I had the most wonderful piano teacher for my Master's program. He was so encouraging, engaging, with the driest sense of humor (dry as desert sand). I learned to lead by example, to my students and my colleagues. I also learned to be honest about my abilities, and above all when to say yes and when to say no.

[@JackieLanceTenor]

It actually makes me really sad that people used to think you HAVE to be treated like garbage and abused to learn and achieve greatness. I am so glad that we are (beginning) to move away from that line of thought. There is so much toxicity in the classical arts and we can do better as people.

[@theraccoons9617]

So where are the great artists now?

[@JackieLanceTenor]

​@@theraccoons9617 I'm not going to justify this senseless negative comment with a thoughtful response.

[@theraccoons9617]

That set the cat amongst the pigeons

[@EmilyGloeggler7984]

Amen.

[@theraccoons9617]

You completely missed the point of what he was saying his teachers were driving him to realise his full potential not like all the pampered non entities we have now,he had passion and ability

[@StatischBenutzer]

I think people confuse being mean with being strict. I had a strict teacher who was the sweetest person alive, and never got mad at me in my lessons. She wouldn't let a single mistake slide, but when you made a mistake she would help you correct it and advise you on how to avoid it in the future. Once she moved away, I got in contact with another teacher and was yelled at in my first lesson. I left that lesson seriously contemplating giving up music all together because I felt worthless, like all the hours I spent practicing and studying were for nothing. I will never understand people who think that you need to suffer to be great. There are plenty of great musicians who didn't suffer under tyrannical teachers. Passion should be what you look for in a teacher, not an abuser. If you truly feel that being abused is what you need to become a great musician, maybe look for another career. if a teacher sees your potential and thinks insulting you and being an asshole is the way to get you to where they think you should be they just give off the vibes of parents who force their dreams onto their kids. The biggest factor in a students development is their motivation to continue. If the teacher makes them feel worthless every lesson, why would that student continue? Whereas, the teacher that encourages their student, but still keeps them in line will be a great asset to the student.

[@JasonFerguson1283]

University was the first time I had to figure out how to complete an assignment by jumping in and dealing with it. No help from professors, no help from parents or peers. Relying on your own wits, intuition and tenacity.

[@jonny5779]

I think its very easy for people to say "tough teachers are abusive blah blah blah", when in fact Lenny made it very clear that his piano teacher wasn't brutal for the sake of being brutal, she was brutal because she loved him and saw potential in him, she tought him to listen which ultimately made him a better musician and a better conductor too.

[@ruancarlosch]

I think it's a fine line between the two things, the tyrannical frustrated teacher thajust wants to bash out his problems on you and the teacher that really sees something on you but is harsh as all harsh on purpose, because he cares about your development and wants to carve the best musician out of you as well as prepare you for whats coming in the real world after your studies, since there's no instruction manual for life. I've had both, and for me, you just got to go with your guts and your feel to know which type of both is your teacher. You just know that. And by the way Mr. B is talking, his teacher was definitely of the second type.

[@fortissimoX]

Yep, it's really fine line, and I believe that good teacher should be aware of that fine line and adjust it to each student and never cross it!

[@rrickarr]

And there are a lot of teachers who are just abusive because they have been allowed to get away with it!!!! For some reason artistic people seem to believe that this destructive behaviour is acceptable when it is only showing the cracked characters of many artistic people great or not. Perhaps a lot of it is a symptom of severe bipolar character-which a lot of artists are. And then we wonder why there is so much abuse (mental and sexual criminality) within these circles - James Levine come to mind.

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

It's appalling how little understanding students have of teachers nowadays. They want everything handed to them on lace doilies on silver platters. You're there to learn and improve. If you don't have all your faults and laziness exposed to you, you won't progress. It's the lousy students who complain the most, the ones who learned nothing. You have to learn to be a good or great student in order to become any kind of artist. You don't get to be great just playing however you want.

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

That's just stupidly ignorant. @@rrickarr

[@capnschiz9971]

Who shows up to Reiner’s class without knowing the bassoon obbligato?

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

Exactly! If you're told to study a score, you study the whole thing. Hendl was intellectually lazy then. I saw him conduct. He was a minor master with a major minor career.

[@vittoriostoraro]

The kind of people who post here about how "sad" they are about "toxicity" in classical music education.

[@willmosher1373]

I could put up with some of it but once they made me feel like I was wasting my time and their time, I chose to go elsewhere. I knew I was not good enough for them and there was nothing that I could have done immediately that would change that.

[@jefolson6989]

That approach weeds out sensitive geniuses in favor of technicians. I wonder what the word missed because of talented people who were discouraged and gave it all up.

[@ampa4989]

@@jefolson6989 geniuses can also be technicians.

[@andralfoo]

@@jefolson6989 whiplash vibes

[@erika6651]

That was it for me. I was scouted out by a piano professor for my talent and she eventually turned on me because I wasn't superficially attractive ("too skinny" she screamed in one of my lessons), didn't show enough leadership qualities and didn't fit in with my peers at school. I was injured - forearm tendonosis and the beginnings of carpal tunnel syndrome - living in Maine with little resources and no options. I couldn't put up with 5 years of walking through a minefield with her constant displeasure.

[@davidcottrell1308]

many people today just don't have grit. period.

[@schroederscurrentevents3844]

those teachers are too harsh, sure, but so is life. and there will be harsh people. the complainers in the comments are ignoring that if you learn to deal with hardship young, in a safe environment, it is easier to deal with later, as an adult, when it could really matter.

[@sazu9953]

I completely agree with you, but the line between harshness and abuse can be quite blurred nowadays. I had to leave my piano studies because my professor was mentally unstable and would force me to complete impossible tasks from one lesson to another just to torture me. I learned NOTHING from him and after two years I had to leave because he was quite vindictive with his former students (it happened with a couple of fellow students who went to another professor). I'm all for discipline and thorough preparation, and I know from experience that music is a very difficult and competitive field, but some teachers belong to a psychiatric facility because their only goal is to mentally destroy their pupils.

[@williamgregory1848]

I hate this illogical notion that in order to be a good musician, you have to study with a teacher that is basically a demon (further perpetuating the tortured artist stereotype.) I don’t mind a strict teacher, as long as they mean well. If a teacher sees promise in their student, it makes sense for them to push that student so that they can reach their full potential as an artist. What I have a problem with is a teacher that demeans you and makes you feel stupid and worthless. Imagine being an aspiring musician and your teacher acts like Terence Fletcher from Whiplash, where they abuse you and drives you insane. That horrible experience will make you hate music, hate your instrument, and hate yourself.

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

Name even one teacher who is actually like that. Chances are they are given terrible students.

[@chambermuses7802]

The Vengerova anecdotes 3:29ff are wonderful: a true teacher both encourages and instills an interior exigence and integrity that will not settle for complacency.

[@Xemptuous]

You need to be very harsh and strict in your own head if you want to achieve greatness. It doesn't mean abusive, but definitely taskmaster-y, else you fall prey to the normal human laziness. If not for my own strictness and high standards, I would have given up far before where I am currently at. Combine that strict discipline with love and passion and you get a powerful drive.

[@onceamusician5408]

an overly tough teacher CAN destroy interest in the subject. i had a tyrannical mathematics teacher in high school. and i was GOOD at maths. i got 97% in the standard exam we took as 16 year olds. but my interest in mathematics was killed STONE DEAD by this man . ask me to integrate now ( part of calculus) and i will run a mile and the fact is that as my first employer i had as a musician - a conductor - was a sadistic brute, I learned that I DID NOT HAVE TO ENDURE THIS nor learn the trade more fully than i had when i quit his ensemble after a year and two months. I was 18 oh, and i was very good as a double bass player as well. but i had not the confidence to give it up for good then. my local symphony orchestra snapped me up when i told my teacher as a courtesy that i was back and oi felt i had no choice but to accept so i was trapped in a job i grew to utterly loathe. yes. it was professional music in a symphony orchestra!!. but no longer. after 30 years i finally found the confidence to throw it all away as a colossal waste of effort. it i was a pity that i was musician so long - and good enough to hold a position in a symphony orchestra for so long. I did not quit the trade till I was 47 only after my shattered morale was recovered enough to do the honest thing AND QUIT FOR GOOD

[@anomalousblackmesa]

There is a very big difference between having a tough teacher and having an abusive teacher, unfortunately with the latter being more common in the classical music scene today. I have witnessed some horrifically narcissistic & abusive teachers from conservatories in the USA, teachers with with the most conniving attitudes, and not a care of how many damage they cause to their vulnerable students behind closed doors - yet in public they were always extremely good at hiding it, like a wolf in sheep's clothing, and most people assumed they were just so wonderful because of their job title. There is unfortunately a long pattern of abuse specifically from conservatory professors. I can think of a certain unnamed trombone instructor from a famous school in New York City who's sent a good chunk of his students away on emotional leave. I can also recall an extremely emotionally abusive horn instructor from that same school who is now on the West Coast preying on her next victims in a cult-like manner. The amount of damage, lies, and slander these teachers (bullies) have inflicted on their students is pathetic, but at the end of the day they have to live with who they are, with all of the ugliness inside. It's a cycle of abuse that continues on and on, it's just harder to tackle this kind of abuse without "physical evidence"..but at this point these "teachers" have enough a reputation where the student, in all likelihood, can't say they weren't warned...

[@maestroclassico5801]

It just hit me that Lenny is implying that the "ladies on the committee" at Curtis wouldnt let him study Piano with Serkin because they were antisemitic.

[@sarahjones-jf4pr]

Or gay.

[@maestroclassico5801]

@@sarahjones-jf4pr Do you mean Serkin and the Curtis Board were gay? If anything I would say they were homophobic but I don't think young Lenny came off as "obvious"

[@maestroclassico5801]

​@@sarahjones-jf4pryou mean homophobic?

[@Twentythousandlps]

But Serkin was Jewish.

[@maestroclassico5801]

@@Twentythousandlps Right....I'm only going by where the context leads me. Serkin wasn't the one being judged in that scenario.

[@ragingbull888]

Tyranny can also be stifling for a student who may not have the resolve to handle that emotion. It could cause them to go down rather then up resulting in potential lost.

[@vamseemk]

looks like an older bradley cooper.

[@roninsrealm8150]

funny enough bradley cooper is playing bernstein in an upcoming film

[@kaladze93]

The différence is that the real one doesn't speak as if he was constantly cold.

[@nekocafe8420]

After I quit to my orchestra work for a very tyranic, tough conductor, I Lost 10 kg only for ansiety and depresión, I had to quit forever to music.

[@garyfoster3854]

❄️

[@tree_0550]

​@@garyfoster3854 toxic?

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

You didn't practice enough or well enough, or it would have rolled off your back, or your teacher didn't prepare you for it.

[@nekocafe8420]

@@nonenoneonenonenone please show me you are better please!! And show me how to "practice correct" please, im waiting.

[@Ellie49]

So very sorry that happened to you I hope you're okay now.

[@jefolson6989]

If you happened to be one of Lenny's " people, he was wonderful. If you werent,( he could immediately dislike people and there was no charging his opinion) watch out. His inner Reiner came out!

[@drgaryb13]

"Lenny." Like you're close, personal pals 😂

[@jefolson6989]

@gary5080 No. I'm one of the one's he didnt like.

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

No wonder. @@jefolson6989

[@karenkranz2682]

God, how I admire this man. I feel so fortunate to have lived at a time when he conducted and performed.

[@genfre]

Setting high standards, and demanding that your students meet those standards, is one of the keys to good teaching. There is no need to be tyrannical, condescending, or abusive.

[@josuerestrepo1476]

Es muy triste ser director de música, es como andar siempre a la sombra de los compositores legendarios. Todos los días diciendo: Hoy tocamos una obra de Bach, una obra de Mozart,etc... hay un momento en la vida en que toca decir Basta!! formaré mi propio camino aunque sea difícil, no viviré como un simple director interpretando la música de otros. Hay que ser ambiciosos, disciplinados, nada de conformismos, y pensar siempre que las mejores obras aún no se han escrito.

[@terryhammond1253]

Sound???

[@natebookout811]

I find this tragic, because you don't actually need abuse to teach music. All you need is a love for music.

[@MrNelsonsirvideo]

Not once is abuse mentioned here. And no, you need much more than a love for music in order to teach music.

[@natebookout811]

​@@MrNelsonsirvideo yelling and screaming at a child for playing incorrectly is abuse. You could argue college students can handle it. I'd argue you're just defending abusive practices out of a sense of elitism. And yeah, I learned music perfectly fine without that shit

[@allanfifield8256]

Although 23 years of age in 1941, Bernstein never served in the armed forces in WW II. I have been unable to locate information on his draft status.

[@sophier5322]

He was diagnosed with severe asthma at an early age which meant he wasn’t eligible to join.

[@AnSe902]

​​@@sophier5322yeah, he was already smoking 3 packs as a toddler. 😄

[@allanfifield8256]

@@sophier5322 He doesn't strike me as eager to fight The Dreaded Evil or to make an alternative contribution. Rolled on with his career.

[@longlifetometal1995]

Yeah, but he wasn't as much of a stupid Cheeto-colored mockery of a human being (and he died 20 years ago), so no one cares about his drafting status

[@sarahjones-jf4pr]

@@HIJK_LMNOP A genuine interest to educate oneself on all things Bernstein, I did this for a thesis I was writing and lord knows there were many books and facts to take in.

[@MotherEarth573]

If you go to Army, what do you expect? It toughens you up! If you go to school, what do you expect? 🇺🇸 students cheer for NO homework and boos the hard work, mock and shame on good students who’s good at school, ridiculous

[@hughmanatee7657]

He holds his cigarette like a baton.

[@henryzhao4622]

All I know is that the best songwriters in rock and roll and non-classical in general did NOT have tough teachers to help them. In fact, their music was often a protest against the “be tough” mentality

[@justintime42000]

Most had to play in front of live audiences for little money for a good while and they emulated their heroes who came before them. The Beatles had Buddy Holly, Everly Brothers as well as the more rudimentary rock and roll of people like Chuck Berry and Little Richard. Simon and Garfunkel were inspired by the Everly Brothers as well as The Beatles. They had tough managers and they learned from people with high standards in their field. So even though they didn’t have abusive teachers, they worked hard to create music that was extraordinary, over time. One doesn’t need a degree or to even read music to create great music, but it takes discipline, whether it comes from oneself or others. It certainly helped them to have great producers/arrangers like George Martin or Phil Ramone (he worked with Billy Joel as well). I don’t believe abuse helps most musicians become better. It probably causes a lot to quit early and never realize their full potential.

[@henryzhao4622]

@@justintime42000 absolutely it takes discipline. But external discipline from a cruel teacher is not a necessity. Discipline can come in many forms we agree

[@MrRufusRToyota]

A rock ‘n’ roll musician who becomes a master of his instrument and of musical theory ceases to be a rock ‘n’ roll musician.

[@jenniferhiemstra5228]

@@MrRufusRToyota Billy Joel would like a word with you...

[@willrich3908]

...and they wouldn't last a single minute with an orchestra.

[@Allen_Brass_Banding-mp8jx]

Most people don’t recognize the underlying mercilessness of Classicism itself. It is Pagan and, fundamentally at its root, unforgiving and graceless (not that its fruits cannot effectively mimic grace, of course). It’s demand are verifiable human perfection - the performance of perfection as an absolute thing derived from measurement against impeccable asymptotic criteria. (That, for example, is what the appalling movie Whiplash exemplifies and whiplash is what Classicism can - note: ‘can’ - inflict upon those submitting to its merciless decrees.) Some teachers are better at repressing their rage at this tyranny having been unleashed on them than others.

[@hipidipi20157max]

Fritz Reiner the best Beethoven conductor, above Karajan or Bernetein o Szell, Bohm, Klemperer. Maybe with exception of Pierre Monteux or Bruno Walter sometimes.

[@charlesming7875]

Sometimes the teacher can be downright cutting. It never works, only alienates.

[@SirStevanco]

The comments here are mind-blowing and come to show why there are people who can deal with more shit than others. Suffer leads to growth in any aspect of your life. This creates leaders, champions, strong characters and thick skin. In suffer one grows as a person, in calmness and not being challenged - one melts into an existence of always being comfortable - something that life is not. When you have been exposed to some rocks and bumpy roads along the way - you learn. When you were not - the first reality hit might destroy your mind just because you have never needed to deal with that. Modern society turned basic human empathy into clueless and false perception of comfort and entitlement without having to do anything to actually earn it. That is not only wrong, it’s harmful and devastating for our kids. Life is though, life is an exam, a challenge and a constant test. It’s not pink, joyful and pretty - it’s hard. And when happy and beautiful things happen - you learn to cherish them because when bad things happen - as they do - they won’t ruin you.

[@peterkerj7357]

What suffering is needed to learn that 'suffer' is a verb?

[@SirStevanco]

@@peterkerj7357 Well, I am not a native speaker and English is among the two foreign languages I speak, so there’s that. Feeling better that justice was served? :)

[@hildegerdhaugen7864]

Agreed.

[@peterkerj7357]

@@SirStevanco I'm not sure what the hardly controversial stance that lofty moral grandstanding should be expressed without failures in basic grammar lest the writer should appear ridiculous has to do with justice.

[@SirStevanco]

@@peterkerj7357 It’s not that hard of a statement really - the core of my statement is not compromised by my “basic grammar” since what I essentially state is basically the same regardless of the mistake I’ve made. Unless what I meant is totally wrong due to the fact that I’ve made a mistake. Is it? I don’t believe it is. Don’t be a jerk, mate, not sure if this is articulate enough. Come on, it’s ridiculous.

[@ahmadtookhi4677]

hats off to Bradley Cooper for his performance in Maestro. What a great movie.

[@charlesming7875]

Whiplash, movie about abuse by teacher. Student and teacher lost everything in the end.

[@herrlogan17]

It would be a blessing to hear these honest words of good and bad in todays hypercorrect interviews.

[@samanthab1923]

I can definitely see Bradley Cooper doing him. ⭐️

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

I'd rather see Jake Gyllenhall, though either would be good in the love scenes with men. But who could play Michael Tilson-Thomas; talk about a nose prosthetic...

[@samuelhajduk5746]

His style of speach and all around demeanor oddly remind me older Kieth Richards. The cigarete helps too of course.

[@TheJamnesia]

That's exactly what I thought.....wonder what Richards thinks?

[@NFTCARDS]

Lenny’s cigarette is bigger than my future !!

[@mikemerrillcomposer]

Indiana getting rough?

[@MrNelsonsirvideo]

Nowhere is rough nowadays. ;)

[@mjm5081]

🙏❤🌹 Leonard 🌹❤🙏

[@IsraelLight-777]

👑 👑 👑 👑

[@gwynnielsen5081]

Tough teachers are the only ones who teach you anything. The problem today is that teachers can't be tough because society won't let them be. Therefore, not much is being learned.

[@donoacts93]

It is passed down but it takes people to step up. I can vow to be not be nasty. The truth is ugly enough already

[@Berus7777]

He just can't NOT be pompous.

[@garyspence2128]

I always thought that he was so grand, and was able to explain music and art to anyone, and make it connect. If you felt like he was talking down to you, I think that was with everyone, from the richest to the average person. Just a great musician and brilliant teacher. His TV shows and appearances in the 60's and 70's inspired me to check out classical music, even as I was listening to rock, Motown, and the Blues. A lot of us Boomers were taught by the Maestro through those Symphony broadcasts!!

[@davidcottrell1308]

He wasn't pompous...he was Lenny. Just brilliant!

[@elisaastorino2881]

My college piano teacher had performed with him at some famous festival that I can't remember... she said he was egotistical and terribly affected. He came to rehearsal in breeches and riding boots, and once he rested his heels on the keyboard while she was sitting there. She was quite young at the time but she had no problem telling him off.

[@morganwhite2176]

People back then were tougher, but they definitely created more success in those around them. Now, we have Kim K 😂

[@avecus]

Luis Barrón fue mi maestro de solfeo.

[@avecus]

I cracked

[@avecus]

Yet I also cried with Manuel Delaflor (piano) and Fabiola Matamoros (piano complemento)

[@klarakrok]

RECITATTIVI, POLYGLOTH, CHARMING, RELAX, HUMANISTIC ,HARD PLAYER

i nearley pissed myself when he said marry a wealthy woman

[@AFilmFromCalebK]

What cigarettes is smoking

[@yourtransformationgenie]

Yeah, it turned him into a tyrant.

[@Johnconno]

I had very Toff teachers, England eh?

[@mga2899]

Brilliant men will give up ten years of life for a pack of cigarettes. Astounding.

[@trenttrip6205]

More like 5 a day

[@spoudaois]

The health effects of smoking were not clearly recognized at the time. Kind of like today in that the detrimental effects on health of consuming animal products are being hidden and diluted for profit by the animal agriculture .

[@sanfordpress8943]

The WORLD is a dirty place

[@mga2899]

@@spoudaois Mid 1960's even the dunces realized cigarettes were poisin. All were hooked, some were able to quit. Your points about commercially produced foods are correct.

[@philmitchell91]

Looks like Ric Flair

[@JodediahHolems]

i want to marry a wealthy woman. i don't want to have to work. i want that for me

[@eddieharcourt6049]

Clearly a drinker.

[@Ellie49]

How so?

[@anngrogan6343]

No you don’t have to suffer. This is pure BS and a reason I don’t resonate with Bernstein.

[@doug989]

That's why he is Leonard Bernstein and you are Ann Grogan.

[@rrickarr]

@@doug989 Ouch!

[@DavidSkis]

@@doug989 Or there are other factors at play. I can tell you as someone with a master of education degree that there's no principle of adult learning that states that you need to suffer at the hands of your teacher to be great.

[@MaryjebarajJebaraj]

@@doug989 but she may be right because every human is different even u

[@metalgun1018]

​@@MaryjebarajJebarajevery human isn't willing to do what it takes to succeed

[@phillipecook3227]

Every time I hear of Reiner I can't avoid thinking about the timpanist sacked for pointedly using a pair of opera glasses to see his beat at rehearsal.

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

It wasn't necessary. They used to follow his elbow. It doesn't matter, because he had the command. All these whining comments are missing the point that these tough teachers made him a pretty great musician. If he had studied longer, he'd have been the best.

[@lorrainelager852]

Today's snowflakes wouldn't survive. On the other hand, such teaching is far from ideal. Such experiences stay with you forever whether you like it or not. Even the very few who succeed and become famous develop permanent psychological scars from such methods.

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

Not true at all. The scars I have are from lost opportunities, but I wasn't ready for them. A lesser teacher would have let me build a mediocre career.

[@bloodyhell8201]

​@@nonenoneonenonenonenot everything's about you, samantha.

[@djgualtiermaldeCO]

How xool was people smoking everywhere anywhere. Everybody exposed to smoke and no one complainig...an all dying very old....

[@JM-lw3nx]

what have you been smoking?

[@djgualtiermaldeCO]

@@JM-lw3nx idiotic comment. I pass

[@andrearodigari4840]

Whiskey and cigarettes. You cannot not love this monster of music.

[@sanfordpress8943]

Get over it. A great musician

[@juiceboxhero3952]

Bernstein. Definitely straight.

[@stevenwilliambaylessparks3730]

Free Palestine!

[@notnek202]

Antisemite

[@stevenwilliambaylessparks3730]

@@notnek202 you support genocide

[@charlessomerset9754]

This is neither the time or the place. There are other more appropriate forums to Express your opinions.

[@stevenwilliambaylessparks3730]

@@charlessomerset9754 Wrong!

[@notnek202]

@@stevenwilliambaylessparks3730 stop the antisemitism.

[@KarlKarsnark]

Why is it that folks named "Reiner" and "Bernstein" and now "Wang" are so obsessed with European Culture, Art and Music, none of which are not their own? It's just beyond sad and pathetic.

[@retrogamerdave362]

because it's really good stuff, IDK, why not? In their line of work it's important if not essential to be well-grounded in all that. If you look at the top classical artists today like Seong-Jin Cho, Lang Lang, Daniil Trifonov, etc. they all have this education and awareness. They would be remiss not to.

[@KarlKarsnark]

@@retrogamerdave362 ....it's because their own People and Culture have not and do not produce anything of equal, or better quality. Name your favorite piece of Chinese music, literature or art....See, there isn't any despite having billions of people and thousands of years to do so. It's just beyond sad and pathetic. Stop. Stealing. My. Culture.

[@lfugh1]

why must they be limited to their culture?

[@KarlKarsnark]

​@@lfugh1 what culture? name your favorite "Chinese Song", or novel, or play, or poem.....see what I mean? ;) They only take, and have nothing to give in return.

[@davidmccourt6139]

Reiner and Bernstein are both German names... are you saying that Germans aren't European?