“The work I have been writing all my life is about the struggle that is born of the crisis of our century, a crisis of faith.” Throughout his life and his compositions, Leonard Bernstein explored his observation of a lack of faith within humanity in the 20th century and ways it could be renewed. He explored and expressed this interest throughout many works beginning with his Symphony No. 1: Jeremiah. In the book of Lamentations, Jeremiah the prophet mourns the fall of Jerusalem by Babylon. Jeremiah laments over a city filled with sin and the destruction that came upon the city, but also hints at a hopeful future of the people of God.
Fritz Reiner, Bernstein’s conducting teacher at Curtis, praised the symphony and invited him to conduct it with
Fritz Reiner, Bernstein’s conducting teacher at Curtis, praised the symphony and invited him to conduct it with