Why was Leonard Bernstein accused of being a communist?
If you watched the film Maestro back in 2023 and knew little else about the prolific composer Leonard Bernstein, your perception of his character could be a little skewed.
Bradley Cooper’s performance in the biopic depicted him as having addiction issues, being unfaithful, and generally a man who was lauded by the outside world but had many flaws behind closed doors. There’s no denying that Bernstein was all these things, and it’s there in black and white for all to see, but the reality was so much more.
Between his seismic career achievements, conducting the New York Philharmonic orchestra and penning the score for West Side Story, Bernstein may have been a figure revered by classical music and theatre aficionados, but this didn’t make him popular in the eyes of society’s ruling classes. The government viewed the composer with the deepest suspicion, trepidatious that he posed some kind of threat to the population. In short, they thought he was a communist.
Bernstein, of course, vehemently denied these accusations, but it still didn’t stop the eyes of scepticism bearing down on him for the rest of his life and career. Ever since the 1940s, the US government and the FBI had been keeping tabs on his activities, the full extent of which only came to light in the 1980s when he finally accessed his file, which was over 800 pages long. But what exactly led to him being perceived as such a threat?
Honestly, it had nothing to do with communism or any kind of illicit affairs, but simply the fact that he was a man with his views and principles firmly set in order. Apparently, fighting for social justice was seen as alarming, and so the musician’s advocacy for various issues from the civil rights movement to nuclear disarmament was enough for the FBI to devote the best part of four decades tracking his every move and action. Talk about money well spent.
How did Bernstein fight for social justice?
The composer was always forthright in his proclamations of innocence. “I am not now or at any time have ever been a member of the Communist Party,” he said in evidence under oath, but despite this, the FBI continued on their vendetta against him. This went to the extremes of having him banned from the American television network CBS and even denying his request to renew his passport, simply because he was seen as holding a set of radical left-wing views.
This involved everything from fighting racism to protesting the Vietnam War, and even advocating for those suffering from prejudice at the height of the Aids crisis of the 1980s. By today’s standards, none of this seems overly groundbreaking or a cause for suspicion, but US President Herbert Hoover was so cautious—and conservative—that he felt he couldn’t take any chances.
So, as much as Bernstein may not have been perfect, wasn’t the most devoted family man, and allowed the proclivities of fame to somewhat wreck his personal life, he wasn’t a communist, and that was that. He was simply a man passionate about fighting the good fight. If people wanted to come after him for that, it was a sacrifice worth making in his eyes.
