Bradley Cooper reveals Maestro was six years in the making: “I have never made art as fearlessly”

Netflix film Maestro, Bradley Cooper’s second directorial is a moving tribute to the life and legacy of the legendary artist Leonard Bernstein.

By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

January 4, 2024 - 4:33 PM IST

Netflix released the much-awaited film Maestro to global audiences on 20th December 2023. Directed by Bradley Cooper in his second venture, the film is a towering and fearless love story chronicling the lifelong relationship between Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein. A love letter to life and art, Maestro at its core is an emotionally epic portrayal of family and love. The director himself stepped into the shoes of the legendary conductor while the wonderfully talented Carey Mulligan breathed life into the portrayal of Felicia.

Bradley Cooper reveals Maestro was six years in the making: “I have never made art as fearlessly”

Maestro has already mastered the audiences, and won acclaim on many stages like the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the American Film Institute, even scooping nominations in the Critics’ Choice Awards and Golden Globe Awards. Talking about the film, Cooper revealed that it was six years in the making, “The pilot light I needed to make Maestro turned on many years ago, when I was in grad school - before I actually came across the project… I’ve listened to this music (Leonard Bernstein’s) for so long, going back to when I was a child. This journey has taken six years and I will be forever grateful to Jamie, Nina and Alex (Bernstein’s children) for letting me into their family and their hearts and who continue to walk alongside me throughout all of this. It has been one of the greatest joys of my career to bring this story to life.” To prepare for his role, Cooper also immersed himself into the world of orchestra, attending sessions by renowned conductors like Gustavo Dudame, Michael Tilson Thomas and Nézet-Séguin

The film and Bradley’s performance have been much appreciated for his performance as Bernstein. Cooper rehearsed not only with the LA Philharmoniker but also with the Berlin Philharmoniker under the tutelage of Gustavo Dudame to present Mahler's Resurrection Symphony, the same work that Bradley is seen performing towards the finale of the film. This soul-stirring scene has been appreciated by audiences the world over.

Recently, even Deepika Padukone, took to her Instagram stories to post a short video of this very scene, praising Cooper and the film as she said, “Aah this scene! And probably one of the greatest performances I’ve experienced in recent years”.

The film, which has already amassed rave reviews for Bradley Cooper’s vision, presenting a life lived in musical madness took six years to come to fruition. At the end of the long journey, the director-actor only had to say this, “One thing is for sure, I have never made art as fearlessly. His story forced me to be fearless, because he was. That was the biggest gift that Lenny gave me.”