Norman Schwartz wrote:

>The fact that he was gifted and talented did indeed go to his head and he
>therefore felt compelled to leave his "mark" in both Classical and Broadway
>Show music.  It did nag at him that he became more successful in the latter
>than in the former.  Most would have been happy with the success in one
>arena.  His conceit and arrogance led him to believe he was both entitled
>to, and should have had it all.

Now this is EXACTLY the psychic stuff I'm talking about.  I mean, Michael
Jordan is a near immortal athlete and I don't think of him as being
arrogant or conceited for venturing past the sport he perfected.  He was
just enjoying different areas in the overall field (sports) from which he
is a professional.  I don't see how this can't be applied to the Bernstein
situation.  After all, I think he wrote excellent "classical" stuff and it
is entirely likely that he was into the Broadway scene or its music and
wanted to try his hand at creating in that genre.  I just don't understand
why people automatically say, "Ohh yeah, Bernstein was just a damn arrogant
fool which is why he had to conquer the world." Isn't it acceptable or
possible that he was just actively participating in music which really was
his calling? I think it is quite possible.  Since I never lived inside
Bernstein's brain I won't presume to think anything to the contrary.

Wes Crone