Did legendary composer Leonard Bernstein secretly hook up with his mentor? Newly discovered letters raise more questions
Their relationship appears to have been more intimate that initially believed.
Mark
You may remember that, a few years back, Bradley Cooper was getting clowned on for donning prosthetics to play legendary Jewish-American composer Leonard Bernstein in the biopic Maestro, which he also wrote & directed.
Though if you actually gave it a chance, Maestro was a remarkably beautiful, sensitive portrait of a troubled yet generational talent, who found true companionship with his actress wife Felicia Montealegre (Carrie Mulligan)—despite the fact that he was not-so-secretly queer.
How about we take this to the next level?
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That is to say, it might not have been public knowledge, but many people in Bernstein’s life—including Montealegre—were well aware that he had a number of male lovers over the years, from clarinetist David Oppenheim to his former assistant Tommy Cothran (played in the film by out hunks Matt Bomer & Gideon Glick, respectively).
Now, a documentary has uncovered the fact that there may have been yet another man in Berstein’s life, their relationship much more intimate than previously thought: his lifelong mentor Aaron Copland (who appears briefly in Maestro played by Brian Klugman).
From director Douglas Tirola, Bernstein’s Wall unpacks the complex legacy of the groundbreaking composer and recounts the trials & tribulations of his life in the public eye, largely told in Bernstein’s own words using archival interviews, performance footage, home movies, and even his private letters.
Among his personal correspondence highlighted in the doc are exchanges with Montealegre where she made clear, in no uncertain terms, that she was aware of his homosexuality:
“I am willing to accept you as you are, without sacrificing myself on the L.B. Altar,” she wrote in one letter. “You are a homosexual and may never change… You are not yourself, and this produces painful barriers and tensions for both of us. Let’s see what happens if you are free to do as you like without guilt or confession.”
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Leonard Bernstein’s Thirsty Secret Letters To His Mentor
Just as revealing is his back-and-forth with Copland, an acclaimed composer & conductor 18 years his senior. He never formally trained Bernstein, but is the closest thing he ever had to a mentor, and is whom Bernstein would often turn to for career advice and guidance.
Yet if the letters uncovered in Bernstein’s Wall are any indication, their connection wasn’t strictly professional….
“Dear Aaron Copland, Earth-Scorcher, I can’t kid myself anymore,” Bernstein wrote, according to a report in People. “I still hate to be alone, and that’s where you come in; you’re the only one who persists and persists and then this wish for closeness manifests itself in a sexual desire, the more promiscuous the better.”
The note makes Bernstein’s intentions plain, even if it doesn’t really clarify whether or not the two men had actually ever slept together. Either way, it clearly struck a nerve with Copland, who wrote back to his protégeé and asked him to cool it:
“Dear Pupil: What terrifying letters you write,” he penned in response. “Fit for the flames is what they are. Just imagine how much you would have to pay to retrieve such a letter forty years from now when you are conductor of the Philharmonic. I don’t mean that you mustn’t write such letters (to me that is), but I mustn’t forget to burn them.”
Notably, Copland’s fear isn’t so much the confession of Bernstein’s carnal desires—it’s more about leaving a paper trail. This was the mid-20th Century, after all, so being exposed as queer could very much damage their careers, especially during the time of the Senator Joseph McCarthy-fueled Red Scare, which threatened to blacklist communists or suspected sympathizers including gays & lesbians.
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Copland had previously been called to a private hearing in D.C. where he was questioned by McCarthy and Roy Cohn about his teachings & lecturing overseas at events with ties to progressive agendas, so he was already wary of his words & actions being scrutinized.
Perhaps that’s why he never spoke openly about his sexuality in his lifetime, though his biographer Howard Pollack noted the composer understood & accepted he was gay from a young age. However, like others of his era, he was known to frequently travel with male companions, most notably younger photographer Victor Kraft who was said to be a constant in Copland’s life.
So, did Copland ever have feelings for Bernstein? Their correspondence uncovered in Bernstein’s Wall suggests that of an ardent pupil whose total reverence for his mentor could sometimes get confused with feelings of lust, while the elder statesman perhaps appreciated the affection but out of better judgment would playfully bat it away.
Still, it’s clear that they had a deep connection and trusted one another implicitly (in another letter, Bernstein expressed concern over how to no betray his then-girlfriend Montealegre’s trust, despite his homosexual tendencies). And in that sense, it’s heartwarming that these two queer men were able to find and confide in one another, especially at a time when they couldn’t do so out in the open.
And, hey, if Leonard Bernstein hooked up with someone who’d go on to become a lifelong friend, he wouldn’t be the first—or the last!—gay to do so.
After first premiering way back in 2021 at the Tribeca Film Festival, Bernstein’s Wall is finally receiving a limited theatrical run at Film Forum in NYC. Check out the trailer below:
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