Lydia Tár was a student of Leonard Bernstein, Estate Confirms

No mentor/mentee relationship is more iconic than the fictional relationship between famed conductors Leonard Bernstein and Lydia Tár. But in recent months, the relationship between the 20th century musical legend and the (also fictional) EGOT-winning conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic has been called into question – none other than Lydia Tár creator director Todd Field.

In interviews for publications such as Species and The New Yorkerthe Best Picture-nominated “TÁR” director revealed that the various references made by lead character Lydia Tár (played by Cate Blanchett) to studying under Bernstein are, at least in her opinion, lies that she tells in sequence. to promote his own public image.

“It would be nice if the Bernstein estate would let her lie about her relationship with Leonard Bernstein, even though she may never have studied with him, because the optics of that association would be very, very good, given that she is a woman. how Lenny’s life ended, Field told The New Yorker. “But I don’t think he ever studied with Leonard Bernstein.” If you look at the math: What does Lenny die of, 1990? When are you studying with Lenny Bernstein? I don’t think it happened.”

Now, however, Bernstein’s Estate is disputing Field’s biographical account of his own work. In response to his comments to The New Yorker, the estate submitted a letter The magazine was told that “in the spirit of the buzz surrounding the film” they can confirm that Tár received tutelage from Bernstein. The letter, signed by all three of Bernstein’s children, states that Field’s character “was a teenage prodigy whose talent was so formidable that in the summer of 1990, during the conductor’s era, he received special permission to be one of Bernstein’s student conductors at Tanglewood. The last year of Bernstein’s life.”

Since its release in October, “TÁR” has started several memes about the character that some viewers see he was wrong a real figure in the island’s classical music world. The memes have expanded into a character fan series Twitter accountitems from stores like Vulture He wrote about Tár in-universe and debates about how the composer managed his EGOT wins.

Read the full letter from the Bernstein estate to The New Yorker below.

In Michael Schulman’s interview with director Todd Field, Field thought that the fictional protagonist of his new film, conductor Lydia Tár, might have lied about studying with our father, Leonard Bernstein. As a representative of Bernstein’s legacy and in the spirit of the hype surrounding the film, we can assure Field that his heroine was a teenage prodigy whose talent was so formidable that she received special permission to be one of Bernstein’s conducting students. Tanglewood in the summer of 1990, the last year of Bernstein’s life. Its influence on his artistry is indelible, right down to the swirling “washing machine” movements, an exciting adaptation of Bernstein’s legendary podium style.

Field added: “It would be nice if the Bernstein estate would let (Tár) lie about his relationship with Leonard Bernstein. . . because the optics of that association would be very, very good, given that it is a woman.” If Field wanted to suggest that Bernstein’s reputation could benefit from being associated with female conductors, Tár himself, as Bernstein’s most famous protégé, pointed out that he taught both women and men. He introduced millions of girls and boys to the joy of music through the Youth Concerts broadcast on television, which Tár watched obsessively on videotape. Bernstein inspired thousands of viewers to devote themselves to music – exactly what happened with Tár.

Jamie, Alexander and Nina Bernstein
New York City

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