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A conversational, intimate memoir of a friendship between the great maestro and a noted music scholar. This is not a dry and academic biography, but an informal portrait of a musical genius--with warm, personal glimpses of the human side of Bernstein, what he was like to work with and live with. ... Read more

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Short, but great page turner
A delightful book for Bernstein fans.As the author says in his preface, it's not a biography.It consists of episode after episodes of Bernstein's genius work life.We, the general public, take his work for granted and be amazed by his genius, but we have no idea how much commitment and dedication were given to each work he has delivered.NOt just his dedication but everybody else who had collaborated with him.After reading this book, I can appreciate his work even more.
The author never loses good humor and he writes about the most difficult situations he and the maestro had faced with good spirits and wit.Bernstein was a great man, but so was Schuyler Chapin, I should say.
Humphrey Burton's Bernstein's biography is a good book to go with this one (it's a great book also, by the way).Just as some episodes made me laugh in Burton's bio, this one made me laugh and smile many times.The dinner party episode, visit with Japanese writer Mishima, the helicopter episode, and many more will tell you warmly and humrously about the man.The great maestro was not only a genius but quite a character.
It also tells what and how much effort it takes to put a great performace up on stage for us to enjoy.I shall not complain about concert tickets being expensive any more!
Easy read, relaxed and reader-friendly, great page-turner.
I didn't want to finish reading it. ... Read more

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This is a guide to research on the popular American composer and conducter, Leonard Bernstein. In addition to an annotated bibliography, this book includes a biographical sketch, an extensive chapter on his musical style, a list of compilations and arrangements, lists of Bernstein's own writings, and a selective list of recordings and videos. ... Read more

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SPECIAL hand numbered & signed limited edition. 1/250 numbered copies ... Read more

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A Wonderful Portrait
Having admired Bernstein for many years, I have always felt that there wasa lack of photos from his final years. Here, Seiler has provided awonderful portrait of the master in his many moods. The close-ups revealBernstein in intense thought while his candid photos (eg playing ping-pong)allow us to see his more playful side. Rarely are there photos without thecigarette in hand but this surely is his trademark. The comments by thosewho knew him add to the mystique and wonder of a man who embraced life sointensely. ... Read more

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Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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Hailed as the most entertaining reference to wine culture, The Official Guide to Wine Snobbery arms readers with valuable knowledge of wine etiquette, while identifying those senseless acts of snobbery that often lead to embarrassing situations. Included in this book are tips for discreet palate cleansing, a list of "In" and "Out" wines, and the very surprising outcome of a blind tasting in which California vintages proved superior to some highly regarded French labels.

Wine books are generally interested in the soil content of the Napa Valley, endless vintage charts, and everything else that is boring about the making and drinking of wine. This book satirizes the pomposity of wine drinking. Leonard Bernstein separates the enthusiast from the snob in this humorous guide to high-brow wine etiquette. From the ritual of cork sniffing, to the act of sending back a bottle, the wine snob is exposed and explained with sharp wit and insight.

With 150,000 copies of its original printing sold internationally, this classic book is once again available to wine lovers around the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Learn about wine (or just how to pretend to know about wine)
Hilarious. This book will teach you all the rules you'll have to follow, and all the affectations you'll have to take on, to pass as a wine snob. At the same time, though, you'll really learn about wine. This book was first published in 1981 and it also offers a glimpse into gourmet snobbery before good food was democratized and celebrity chefs took over. The illustrations are just as funny as the prose and they will both remind you of real wine snobs you know. Every aspiring wine connoisseur should read this book.

An amiably and expertly written guide
The Official Guide To Wine Snobbery by Leonard S. Bernstein is an amiably and expertly written guide to everything from how to properly hold a wine glass, to matching foods and wines, to popular controversies surrounding wines and their tasting, and a great deal more. Informed and informative, The Official Guide To Wine Snobbery is an enjoyable, accessible, 160-page instructional guide which is especially recommended for non-specialist general readers with an interest in the pastime and culture of wine tasting.

great reading
This book is out of print and I managed to get a used copy as a gift to a friend. I first read it a few months ago, also a few months after I first got interested in wine. This is great reading for anyone into wine tasting, even only remotely. It not only gives you quite some information about French wines (occasionally American ones), but also teaches you how to be snobbishly cool with the whole thing with scathing humor. You'll laugh as you read through and recognize as well as make fun of your own snobbery in the future.

From a naif.
I neither know nor care about wine, but I found this book enormously entertaining.

Funniest Wine book ever
The book is written as an autobiographical story about Bernstein's quest to reach the upper ranks of wine snobbery.He covers what to order and when (and how to go from impressive to daringly impressive w/out spending too much) paring wine with food, what to do with the cork, how to taste wine without looking dumb, best names for wine ever, etc.

This book is great for beginners because it's a great way to learn, or for someone who already "knows it all" when it comes to wine because it's so funny.I've bought this book as a gift for several people and they always comment on it months later.While I suppose you could learn to become quite a wine snob, it's easier to laugh at them.I also noticed that my confidence around wine improved when I realized that the main thing a "real wine snob" did was ignore all "rules" about wine with confidence. ... Read more

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Traces the life and career of the famous composer, conductor, pianist, and teacher. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Inspirational!
This is a biography of Lenny Bernstein, in the genre of non-fiction.From when he was a little child, he loved music.The book tells you about him growing up as a music teacher, a piano player, a composer and a conductor of symphony orchestras.

I enjoyed reading about Lenny because there werea lot of things that were hard for him in his life and that he overcame. For example, school - he never had time to do his homework because he tookmusic classes after school.His father hated music because the only musicplayers he knew played at bar mitzvahs and birthday parties, and they onlygot paid with their meal.They were very, very poor, and he wanted betterfor his son.But Lenny played music and took classes against his father'swishes.He got through all the problems and grew up to be what he wantedto be.

Yes, I would recommend this book to a friend if you like music. Even if you don't like music, but you are really passionate about somethingand want to do it all the time, I recommend you read this because it showsthat if you love something and you don't stop trying to get it right, youcan do the thing that you love all your life.

I learned that a conductorleads an orchestra and a composer writes the music.I'd like to read thebooks that Leonard wrote and listen to some of his music. Reviewed byStuart ... Read more

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For those who can read Music
Bernstein was a great teacher, and along with his tremendous knowledge of Music he conveys a great enthusiasm for it. He says early on that reading music is a vital skill, and should be a part of the education of everyone. He says that the ability to play a piece oneself is to understand the music in a way one cannot simply by hearing it.
A number of these chapters are transcripts of five television talks he did.
Bernstein shows the way Music's complexity is built up from simple elements. He takes a subject like 'rhythm' and gives a whole host of musical illustrations. These will be very helpful to those who can read the music as at least half the text of the book is the notes of the music.
Speaking more generally Bernstein advocates a new development in American music. He wonders why the music written over the past half- century has not entered the concert hall in a true way. He notes that Classical music was primarily contemporary music, and educated audiences had enthusiasm for the latest things. He wishes to get to something like that in American music.
There are many insights given along the way about music by Bernstein. And these make the book a valuable one. ... Read more

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Examines the life and career of the famous composer, conductor, pianist, and teacher. ... Read more

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John Hunt was born in Windsor and Graduated from University College London, in German language and literature.He has worked in personnel administration, record retailing and bibliographic research for a government agency and is on the lecture panel of the National Federation of Music Societies.In his capacity as Chairman of the Furtwängler Society UK, John Hunt has attended conventions in Rome, Paris and Zürich and has contributed to important reference works about Furtwängler by John Ardoin and Joachim Matzner.He has also translated from the German Jürgen Kesting's important monograph on Maria Callas.John Hunt has published discographies of over 80 performing artists, several of which have run into two or more editions. ... Read more

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Der Erwerb des Buches enthält gleichzeitig die kostenlose Mitgliedschaft im Buchklub des Verlags zum Ausprobieren - dort können Sie von über einer Million Bücher ohne weitere Kosten auswählen. Das Buch besteht aus Wikipedia-Artikeln: Karl Popper, Leonard Bernstein, Václav Havel, Konrad Lorenz, Erwin Schrödinger, Lise Meitner, Heinrich Harrer, Manfred Eigen, Carl Zuckmayer, Walter Jens, Werner Berg, Peter Sloterdijk, Adolf Butenandt, Ernst Gombrich, Christian Ludwig Attersee, Karl Böhm, Victor Franz Hess, Richard Kuhn, Friedrich August von Hayek, Herbert von Karajan, Elias Canetti, Theodor Litt, Erika Mitterer, Andreas Alföldi, Hans Kelsen, Friedrich Torberg, Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, György Ligeti, Hans Hollein, Krzysztof Penderecki, Henry Moore, Viktor Frankl, Karl von Frisch, Gertrud Fussenegger, Bruno Ganz, Lorenz Böhler, Friederike Mayröcker, Eric Kandel, Joseph Marx, Ernst Jandl, Ludwig von Mises, Hans Hass, Otto Loewi, Horst Stein, Wilma Lipp, Erich Feigl, Max Kaser, Robert Stolz, H. C. Artmann, Ernst Lothar, Pierre Boulez, Carlos Kleiber, Fritz Schachermeyr, Clemens Holzmeister, Egon Wellesz, Ernst Krenek, Maria Lassnig, Christa Ludwig, Eugen Biser, Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Karl Heinrich Waggerl, Alfred Kubin, Horst Dreier, Fritz Feigl, Anton Zeilinger, Christine Busta, Karl Acham, Wolfgang Schadewaldt, Otto Neugebauer, Kurt Mothes, Klaus Wolff, Albert Paris Gütersloh, Richard Kriesche, Johannes Messner, Felix Braun, Emil Staiger, Gottfried von Einem, Gottfried Schatz, Theo Mayer-Maly, György Kurtág, Heinz Maier-Leibnitz, Hermann F. Mark, Roland Rainer, Friedrich Cerha, Jacqueline de Romilly, Marcel Rubin, Walter Thirring, Kurt Schwertsik, Franz Karl Ginzkey, Leopold Vietoris, Harry Seidler, Victor Weisskopf, Christian Meier, Walter Pichler, Leo Santifaller, Ernst Schönwiese, Max Mell, Emil Stojanow, Heinrich Appelt, Johannes Fehring, Hans Tuppy, Elliott Lieb, Feodor Lynen, Peter Schuster, Heinrich Fichtenau, Kurt...http://booksllc.net/?l=de&id=2696 ... Read more

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Revised 1967 edition of the life of composer/director Leonard Bernstein, geared for young people. ... Read more