My Friend Lenny

Book excerpt: Ouida Blatt Mintz tells of her life in music as it paralleled that of her teenaged friend, Leonard Bernstein. She studied with the same piano teacher & played with orchestra before he did. She made choices which sent her in a different direction from Bernstein but kept her friendship with him through the years, meeting him for the final time at his last concert just two months before he died ten years ago. She also tells stories about her remarkable family & other friends, such as Mike Wallace of CBS, with whom she played violin duets. Later, she wrote pop music in the 50s & hired a short Queens College student to sing over 15 of her demos, sometimes singing duets with him. It was Paul Simon. She talks about the highs & the tragedies of her life, losing her sister & her youngest son, both of whom were artists. But she found ways to turn tragedies into something positive. For example, she introduced the younger sister of the girl who died in the drowning accident with her son to one of her former piano students. They are now married with three children. After her husband died she found a friend through the personals, Ray Sandeford. Ray, a former TV editor, has typeset the entire book including the scanning of over 150 photographs. Both Ouida & Ray are octogenarians & have now been together for 10 years. About the book, Mike Wallace says, "I really enjoyed the nostalgia!" Alexander Bernstein, Lenny's son, says, "I was touched & amused by your memories of my father. Much of what you describe was news to me! I was delighted by the way you capture the energy not only of the man, but of the times as well." Morton Estrin, a contemporary & esteemed pianist said, "It is destined to become one of the most important contributions to future historians in their searches for detailed information about our musical life."