Pulling the heart strings

Jamie Bernstein will host the concert Bernstein on Broadway in Beijing tomorrow in commemoration of her father. Jiang Dong

It's a ridiculously busy year for Leonard Bernstein's (1918-1990) daughter Jamie Bernstein.

The world is seeking to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the birth of one of the 20th century's greatest international musicians, and so his daughter has become very much in demand.

In late September, she hosted a concert at Carnegie Hall that was part of the citywide Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds festival. The gala was organized by Carnegie Hall and the New York Philharmonic to celebrate the quintessential New Yorker, honoring the 90th anniversary of his birth and the 50th anniversary of his appointment as music director of the New York Philharmonic.

Now, she's bound for the Chinese capital, revving up for the commemoration of her father that will mark the Beijing Music Festival (BMF). After Beijing, she will tour New Jersey, Philadelphia and other cities.

In a lecture at Peking University yesterday afternoon, she shared with students her father's music and told of his devotion to spreading music around the world.

Tomorrow she will host the concert Bernstein on Broadway, featuring her father's music performed by China Philharmonic Orchestra and Chinese violinist Vera Xu Weiling under the baton of Yang Yang, the orchestra's assistant artistic director.

Xu will play Serenade, and the orchestra will play Candide Overture and songs from the musicals On the Town and West Side Story. Jamie will narrate the story behind the music between programs.