''Seven Anniversaries'' is a collection of short piano pieces by American composer

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

, written between 1942 and 1943. It is the first installment in a series of ''Anniversaries'', followed by ''

Four Anniversaries ''Four Anniversaries'' is a composition for piano written in 1948 by the American composer Leonard Bernstein. Background ''Four Anniversaries'' consists of four movements, each written for a different person in Bernstein’s life. Leonard Ber ...

'' (1948), '' Five Anniversaries'' (1949–51), and ''

Thirteen Anniversaries ''Thirteen Anniversaries'' is a composition for solo piano by Leonard Bernstein, published in 1988, commemorating 13 people who played an important role in his life. Background Bernstein wrote this set after similar collections, ''Seven Annive ...

'' (1988).

Composition

The first set of ''Anniversaries'' was composed in

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and

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between 1942 and the fall of 1943, at about the time that he became famous as assistant director of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

. It was first performed by the composer at the

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in 1943. The first concert performance took place at the

Boston Opera House The Boston Opera House, also known as the Citizens Bank Opera House, is a performing arts and esports venue located at 539 Washington St. in Boston, Massachusetts. It was originally built as the B.F. Keith Memorial Theatre, a movie palace in ...

, Massachusetts, on May 14, 1944. 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 Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Compos ...

and

Serge Koussevitzky Serge Koussevitzky (born Sergey Aleksandrovich Kusevitsky;Koussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling "Serge", using it in his sig ...

were two of Bernstein's most important mentors;

Natalie Koussevitzky Natalie may refer to: Places * Natalie, Michigan, an unincorporated community People * Natalie (given name) * Natalie (singer) (born 1979), Mexican-American R&B singer/songwriter * (born 1999), better known as Natalie Zenn, Indonesian actr ...

, who was Serge's second wife, died in January 1942; composers

Paul Bowles Paul Frederic Bowles (; December 30, 1910November 18, 1999) was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator. He became associated with the Moroccan city of Tangier, where he settled in 1947 and lived for 52 years to the end of his ...

and

William Schuman William Howard Schuman (August 4, 1910February 15, 1992) was an American composer and arts administrator. Life Schuman was born into a Jewish family in Manhattan, New York City, son of Samuel and Rachel Schuman. He was named after the 27th U.S. ...

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 Shirley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë * ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film * ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American biographical film about Shirley Jackson * ''Shirley'' ( ...

was Leonard's closest confidante. ''Seven Anniversaries'' was published in 1944 by M. Witmark & Sons.

Structure

This collection of seven pieces has a total duration of around six minutes. The movement list is as follows: The fifth movement contains material that was also used in the first movement of Bernstein's first symphony, ''Jeremiah'', composed in 1942.

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anniversaries, Seven Compositions for solo piano Piano compositions by Leonard Bernstein 1943 compositions