A Third Visit With Seymour Bernstein
I got to know and admire Seymour Bernstein some years ago when my piano teacher recommended his book, "With Your Own Two Hands". Then, just weeks ago, I learned from Bernstein still further when a different piano teacher recommended the documentary, "Seymour: An Introduction". I loved the film and was led to this follow-up book, "Play Life More Beautifully: Conversations with Seymour" which I was fortunate to find through Amazon's Vine program.
The book consists of transcripts of conversations between Bernstein and Andrew Harvey during a summer week at Bernstein's home in Maine. Harvey became friends with Bernstein during the filming of the documentary, and he appears in it. He is a spiritual teacher with substantial influences from mysticism in the Buddhist, Islamic, and Christian traditions. Although Bernstein is not a spiritual teacher, his book, "With Your Own Two Hands" draws something from Eastern teachings well before they received more emphasis in the film and in this book.
The conversations develop in a question and answer format in which Harvey poses a question for discussion which gets developed and elaborated as the conversation proceeds. As with any conversation, there are asides and meanderings. The book begins with a discussion of "Seymour -- An Introduction" and of its unanticipated popular success. Much of the heart of Bernstein's appeal is in this discussion. The reader visits with an artistic pianist in his late 80's, who received broad fame through the film. The film and the conversation convey the value of following one's dream and passion late in life. They exemplify the ideal of integrating one's passion and talent with one's outlook on life -- as Bernstein has done with the piano. At the age of 50, Bernstein gave up his public career as a solo concert pianist to concentrate on teaching, composition, and writing. He pursued his course with little fanfare from the general public until the release of the film.
The book is at its best when the subject is closest to Bernstein's heart -- music and the piano. For example, Bernstein says, among many other insightful comments: "The miracle of music is that even though Bach and Rachmaninoff were born in different centuries, and lived in different parts of the world,, nevertheless, their music communicates the deepest feelings. That's the miracle of music. It's ageless. It doesn't matter that it's from a different century. The message comes out clearly." Bernstein's discussions about the love of music and its role in practicing at the piano helped spur me in my amateur efforts with the instrument which have been a part of most of my life. I learned and could understand Bernstein's relationship with his teachers, some good and some bad, particularly with his gifted mentor, Sir Clifford Curzon, whose influence on Bernstein also is featured in the book and the film. So too, I learned from Bernstein's insights into his role as a teacher. Bernstein emphasizes both the love and the discipline required to achieve artistry at the piano -- and in life. They are gifts given in full only to a few.
Much is of interest in the rest of the book as Bernstein and Harvey discuss their respective upbringings and their responses to unhappy familial situations. Harvey frequently tries to direct the discussion to broad spiritual teachings, including what he has learned and adopted from, for example, the Dalai Lama and from Rumi. Bernstein contributes to the discussion although he sometimes appears a little uncomfortable. I have some experience with Buddhism but am unfamiliar with Harvey's other writings. He appears too New Age for me and also in this book tends to push his own work. In other words, some of the non-musical portions of these conversations were overdone and not fully successful for readers.
I read this book over a long day, but more can be gained by returning to portions of it. There was a degree of self-consciousness about the book and the project of the conversations that I didn't find in the book or movie. Both participants, Harvey and Bernstein, appear stilted and forced on occasion with the knowledge that they are making a book for a large audience. I was still grateful for the opportunity to visit with Seymour Bernstein for the third time and to share his love for life, music, and the piano.
Robin Friedman
