Bernstein, Martin
Bernstein, Martin
Bernstein, Martin, American musicologist; b. N.Y., Dec. 14, 1904; d. there, Dec. 19, 1999. He was educated at N.Y. Univ. (B.S., 1925; B.Mus., 1927), and played the double bass in the N.Y. Sym. Orch. (1925–26), the N.Y. Phil. (1926–28), and the Chautauqua Sym. Orch. (1929–36). He was a member of the faculty of N.Y. Univ. (1926–72); then a prof. of music at Lehman Coll., City Univ. of N.Y. (1972–73). He publ. Score Reading (1932; 2nd ed., rev, 1947) and the successful textbook An Introduction to Music (N.Y., 1937; 3rd ed., rev, 1966, and 4th ed., rev., 1972 with M. Picker). A brother, Artie (actually, Arthur) Bernstein (b. N.Y., Feb. 3, 1909; d. Los Angeles, Jan. 4, 1964), a classically trained cellist, became a leading jazz bassist in the 1930s and ’40s, playing with many big bands, including Jimmy Dorsey’s; from 1939 to 1941 he was part of the Benny Goodman Sextet; after World War II, he became a studio musician.
Bibliography
E. Clinkscale and C. Brook, eds., A Musical Offering: Essays in Honor of M. B. (N.Y., 1977).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire