Seven Anniversaries

Collection of piano pieces by Leonard Bernstein

Aaron Copland
Shirley Bernstein
Alfred Eisner
Paul Bowles
Natalie Koussevitzky
Serge Koussevitzky
William Schuman

Performed1943 – WNYC Radio, New York CityPublished1944 (1944)Duration6 minutesMovements7ScoringPiano

Seven Anniversaries is a collection of short piano pieces by American composer Leonard Bernstein, written between 1942 and 1943. It is the first installment in a series of Anniversaries, followed by Four Anniversaries (1948), Five Anniversaries (1949–51), and Thirteen Anniversaries (1988).

Composition

The first set of Anniversaries was composed in Boston and New York City between 1942 and the fall of 1943, at about the time that he became famous as assistant director of the New York Philharmonic.^[1] It was first performed by the composer at the WNYC Radio in 1943. The first concert performance took place at the Boston Opera House, Massachusetts, on May 14, 1944.^[2] As in the case of all the other Anniversaries, Seven Anniversaries was dedicated to many different people who played an important role in Bernstein's life, even though, in this case, most of the dedicatees were musicians. Aaron Copland and Serge Koussevitzky were two of Bernstein's most important mentors; Natalie Koussevitzky, who was Serge's second wife, died in January 1942; composers Paul Bowles and William Schuman were both good friends of his. Alfred Eisner, one of Bernstein's roommates during his senior year at Harvard, died when he was 23; finally, Shirley Bernstein was Leonard's closest confidante.^[3] Seven Anniversaries was published in 1944 by M. Witmark & Sons.^[4]

Structure

This collection of seven pieces has a total duration of around six minutes. The movement list is as follows:

For Aaron Copland (Nov. 14, 1900). Allegretto semplice
For My Sister, Shirley (Oct. 3, 1923). Con moto
In Memoriam: Alfred Eisner (Jan. 4, 1941). Andante serioso, un poco rubato — Molto più mosso — Tempo I
For Paul Bowles (Dec. 31, 1910). Moderato, senza calore
In Memoriam: Nathalie Koussevitzky (Jan. 15, 1942). Lento non troppo^[a]
For Sergei Koussevitzky (July 26, 1874). Adagio^[b]
For William Schuman (Aug. 4, 1910). Agitato, non troppo presto^[2]

The fifth movement contains material that was also used in the first movement of Bernstein's first symphony, Jeremiah,^[3] composed in 1942.

Footnotes

^ Natalie Koussevitzky's name is spelled as Nathalie in the original score
^ Serge Koussevitzky's name is spelled as Sergei in the original score

References

^ Laird, Paul R.; Lin, Hsun (2019). Historical Dictionary of Leonard Bernstein. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-5381-1345-5. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
^ ^a ^b Bernstein, Leonard (2014). Complete anniversaries: for piano. Boosey & Hawkes. ISBN 978-1-4803-9358-5. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
^ ^a ^b Laird, Paul (2013). Leonard Bernstein: A Guide to Research. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-69678-8. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
^ Bernstein, Leonard (1944). Seven anniversaries for piano. M. Witmark. Retrieved 15 April 2020.

Leonard Bernstein

Opera and operetta

Trouble in Tahiti (1951)
Candide (1956)
A Quiet Place (1983)

Musicals

On the Town (1944)
- "New York, New York"
- "Lonely Town"
Peter Pan (1950)
Wonderful Town (1953)
- "Ohio"
West Side Story (1957)
- "A Boy Like That"
- "America"
- "Cool"
- "Gee, Officer Krupke"
- "I Feel Pretty"
- "Maria"
- "One Hand, One Heart"
- "Something's Coming"
- "Somewhere"
- Tonight"
- "Tonight Quintet"
A Party with Betty Comden and Adolph Green (1958, collaboration)
The Race to Urga (1968)
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (1976)
The Madwoman of Central Park West (1979, contribution)

Ballet

Fancy Free (1944)
Dybbuk (1974)

Orchestral music

Symphony No. 1 (Jeremiah) (1942)
Symphony No. 2 (The Age of Anxiety) (1948–49, revised 1965)
Symphony No. 3 (Kaddish) (1963)
Fanfare for the Inauguration of John F. Kennedy (1961)
CBS Music (1976)
Slava! A Political Overture (1977)
Divertimento (1980)
Concerto for Orchestra (1986, 1988, 1989, originally Jubilee Games)

Concertante

Prelude, Fugue and Riffs (1948)
Serenade after Plato's "Symposium" (1954)
Ḥalil (1981)

Chamber music

Piano Trio (1937)
Clarinet Sonata (1942)
Dance Suite (1989)

Choral

Hashkiveinu (1945)
Chichester Psalms (1965)
"Olympic Hymn" (1981)
Missa Brevis (1988)

Vocal

Psalm 148 (art song, 1935)
I Hate Music (song cycle, 1943)
La Bonne Cuisine (song cycle, 1947)
"So Pretty" (1968)
Songfest: A Cycle of American Poems for Six Singers and Orchestra (1977)
"My Twelve Tone Melody" (1988)

Piano music

Non troppo presto (Music for the Dance No. 1) (1937)
Music for the Dance No. 2 (1938)
Sonata for the Piano (1938)
Anniversaries (1942—1988)
- Seven Ann. (1942–43)
- Four Ann. (1948)
- Five Ann. (1949–51)
- Thirteen Ann. (1988)
Four Sabras (ca. 1950)
Bridal Suite (1960)
Touches (1980)