I Hate Music
I hate music! : a cycle of five kid songs / Leonard Bernstein (1942)
Leonard Berstein may arguably be one of the most influential and eclectic American composers of his time. On the Town (1945) and West Side Story (1957) shine as vibrant embodiments of artistic athleticism depicting modern American life. Most audiences who are aware of its composer, Leonard Bernstein (1919-1990), and choreographer, Jerome Robbins’ (1918-1998) will recall the musicals’ snappy repartee and complex jazz rhythms, but these monumental works followed the small premiere which would launch the young composer to fame. On Sunday, November 14, 1943 he was called to conduct the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall for a live CBS broadcast, where he would stay as conductor and enigmatic host for the future Young People’s Concerts (1958-72). The day before, he held the second premiere of his successful song cycle for mezzo-soprano Jennie Tourel, I Hate Music, which features five songs sung from the perspective of 10-year-old Barbara (the first premiere was in Lennox on August 24, 1943). Each song expresses the wry emotions of a child, as short, simple, but bursting with beautiful chaotic energy, mirrored in the through-composed atonal melodies and the frequent rhythmic changes. In the liner notes, Bernstein writes "...coyness is to be assiduously avoided. The natural, unforced sweetness of child expressions can never be successfully gilded; rather will it come through the music in proportion to the dignity and sophisticated understanding of the singer."
“My name is Barbara”
“I Hate Music”
“A Big Indian and a Little Indian”
Works: Vocal: I Hate Music! A Cycle of Five Songs (1943)." LeonardBernstein.com.