THE LEONARD BERNSTEIN LETTERS

A volume of letters might seem a risky choice for an audiobook—will it hold your attention over time without a narrative through-line? The answer is a resounding yes, followed by many bravos. Narrator George Guidall has to catch the personality behind each letter (these are both from and to Bernstein) and understand if the writer is serious or being ironic, an acquaintance or an intimate. He has to know when Bernstein writes “I love you” to Aaron Copland, how differently he means it than when writing to, say, Judy Holliday. Bernstein was a true genius of American music and was loved by luminaries from the musical duo Comden and Green to Bette Davis and Jackie Kennedy. Guidall makes this treasure trove intimate, lively, funny, moving, and utterly fascinating. B.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2014]