Leonard Bernstein's Piano Ensemble

American Composer Leonard Bernstein In this paper we will compare two compositions by composer, conductor, pianist, Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990). Bernstein was born in Massachusetts to a Russian Jewish family and began playing and taking music lessons at a young age. He went on to study music at Harvard and Curtis Institute of Music (Seldes Web).
In his early years Bernstein wrote several compositions. At the age of 19 he wrote a “Piano Trio” (1937) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFQtbPqwNWo ). This composition was written for the piano, cello and violin. The music begins with the cello playing slow and softly in a somber tune setting the melody and theme for the piece. Next the violin repeats the same and just as the dynamics of the
The full orchestra plays in the form of scherzo, to reflect the emotions of the people and how the mocked Jeremiah. The timbre is lighter than the somber tone reflected in the first movement.
In the final movement of the piece is when the soloist in mezzo-soprano sings her part in the Hebrew language (Chilsom, Kate Web). The tone of her voice at times intensifies as to show her sorrow and shame. The instrumental music becomes somber again, and the texture of the music seems to be in anguish, as the orchestra comes together in between the solo parts to emphasize the emotion.
In comparison of the two compositions both used the cello in their introduction and both had very somber tones in the beginning. However, the “Piano Trio” was a very lively and energetic piece, in which one might say reflected the young composer’s first love of music. “Jeremiah” on the other hand, may have reflected the young composer’s religious part of his life and his innocence. Over the course of his life, Leonard Bernstein became very involved in political and social issues which were very much reflected in his music (Seldes