Bonita Boyd, Leonard Bernstein and an Israeli Flutist
July 14, 2020
In his program notes for Ḥalil (the Hebrew word for flute), Leonard Bernstein wrote:
“This work is dedicated ‘To the Spirit of Yadin and to His Fallen Brothers.’ The reference is to Yadin Tannenbaum, a nineteen-year-old Israeli flutist who, in 1973, at the height of his musical powers, was killed in his tank in the Sinai.”
In 1993, 20 years after Tannenbaum's death, Samuel Adler brought in the highly acclaimed flutist Bonita Boyd to record, among other works, a chamber music arrangement of Ḥalil for the Milken Archive.
Boyd has been honored with many more accolades in the nearly 30 years since that recording. Yet, she still looks back on her work with the Archive with great affection, and continues to bring works by Jewish composers to life.
Enjoy Boyd's reflections on working with Samuel Adler and the Archive, her continued success and Ḥalil (and other works), in our new interview.
