Music was it : young Leonard Bernstein / Susan Goldman Rubin 178 p

California author Susan Goldman Rubin relates the early years of Leonard Bernstein.  Lenny, as a baby, would tap in time.  Soon he knew music was it and would be his life's career.  His father, a successful businessman, wanted him to take over the family business.  Music was no career, he said--  Music was for klezmers. Lenny worked constantly to convince his father to at least partially pay for piano lessons and his musical education.  He played piano to pay his way through school. In the 1930s and 40s, classical music was dominated by Europeans.  An American Jew would find it difficult to be a success in the classical world.  Rubin presents his relationship with his family, his lifelong friends and fellow musicians, adventures and accomplishments, teachers, in a warm, vibrant way.  Biography concludes with his triumphant conducting debut at Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic.  And it is there that Lenny's father realizes that his son is a great success.  Delightfully illustrated with photos, concert programs, early doodles and letters, excerpts from musical scores and other primary documentation.

2012 Notable Children's Book