伯恩斯坦不僅只位充滿人格魅力的指揮家、作曲家、鋼琴家，更是位用盡心力與時間投入在音樂教育與推廣的老師。他的女兒也說，比起身為紐約愛樂總監，父親畢生最驕傲的職稱大概就是「老師」。伯恩斯坦擁有希伯來語 Torah Lishmah 形容的那對知識的強大渴望，他總是熱情的談論音樂、解釋音樂、分享音樂，而這份對分享的熱愛也跨越了傳統音樂圈的框架。他直接站到了大眾面前，用創新且簡而易懂的方式介紹古典音樂。

在 1950 年，他策劃了前所未有的古典音樂電視節目 Omnibus ，隨後在 1957 年首播了他最廣為人知的古典音樂教育節目「年輕人的系列音樂會 Young People's Concerts」，這擋極受歡迎的節目在卡內基廳與林肯中心錄製，一直到 1972 年完結總共五十三集，成為了全世界史上最長壽的古典音樂教育電視節目。帶著紐約愛樂，每一集伯恩斯坦都會由簡入深的探討有關古典音樂的問題或主題，比如說印象樂派是什麼、誰是馬勒、協奏曲是什麼，以及最經典的第五集：古典音樂是什麼？

古典音樂並不是個簡單的話題，但是在那沒有網路更沒有社群媒體的時代，伯恩斯坦就已經推出當時最為創新且有效率的音樂推廣方式，讓美國家家戶戶大人孩子坐在電視機前就能看到紐約愛樂的演奏以及樂團總監幽默又簡明扼要的講解。

節目在 1972 年結束後，伯恩斯坦也回到母校哈佛大學任教，繼續分享他對音樂的理解。很多人會說他是天生的教育家，但是其實他更像是一位天生好學的學生，一輩子不斷學習且無私的與他人分享。以下便是對於教學他的五個想法。

Young People’s Concerts - What is a Melody?

說起老師們

問題就是我們都沒有意識到老師們有多重要，無論是音樂還是其他課題。教學大概是世界上最崇高，最無私，最困難和最光榮的職業，但它也是世界上最沒有得到足夠感激、最被低估、以及所得最少的職業。

“The trouble is that we don't always realize how important teachers are, in music or in anything else. Teaching is probably the noblest profession in the world — the most unselfish, difficult, and honorable profession. It is also the most unappreciated, underrated, underpaid, and underpraised profession in the world.” - A Tribute to Teachers, 1963

說起他的老師們

我一直都很幸運。我的每一位老師都熱愛教學，從而讓我們也愛上學習。我仍在學習，這是我最喜歡做的事。

"I've always been very lucky with my teachers; all (my) teachers loved to teach, thus teaching us to love to learn. I'm still learning; it's my favorite activity." - 1986

說起好的老師

教學並不是只有音階跟練習曲的枯燥之事，一個好老師能夠激發你心中的光芒，進而點燃你對音樂的熱情，或是任何你正在學習的課題。比如說你能用一年學習美國內戰的歷史，背下每一場戰爭的將軍、地點與日期，但是如果你根本不在乎美國內戰，最後你也什麼都不會記得。

“Teaching is not just a dry business of scales and exercises; a great teacher is one who can light a spark in you, the spark that sets you on fire with enthusiasm for music, or for whatever you are studying. You can study the history of the Civil War for a year, memorizing battles and generals and dates and places; but if you don't care about the Civil War you'll wind up not knowing a bloody thing about it.” - A Tribute to Teachers, 1963

Bernstein at Tanglewood, 1970. Boston Symphony Orchestra Digital Archives.

說起年輕人的耐性

在如此迅速且混亂的今日，耐著性子已是多麼難以忍耐。在這個時代，你們能夠理所當然地瞬間便獲得所有世界大事和災難的新聞，並期望同樣瞬間性的解決方法。這是個媒體在提供即刻滿足感的時代，同樣也是個人類被全面毀滅是個可能性的時代。你們在這樣的年代長大，成為了習慣瞬間滿足的一代。我們又能怎麼期望你們耐住性子？

"How much harder is it to come to terms with impatience today, in an age which is so hectically speeded up, in which you take for granted instant knowledge of all world events, problems, and catastrophes, and demand an equally instant remedy. It's an age in which instant gratification is offered by the advertising media ... It's also an age in which instant destruction of the human race is a real possibility we all live with day and night. You grew up in this age: you are the Instant Generation. How can we expect you to be patient?" - Opening Remarks at Tanglewood, 1970

說起教學

事實是，教育是場不間斷且不停前進的演化。一旦開始，它便充滿靈魂，點亮思維，將智慧與情感結合起來，讓光明投射到生活的黑暗面...

“The truth is that education is a non-stop, on-going evolution; once it gets going it fills the soul, brightens the intellect, unites intelligence with emotion, and throws light onto the dark place of life…” - 1986

說起老師的多重身份

我是位指揮家，同時是位全職音樂家，對我來說指揮、作曲、教學和演奏鋼琴都是同一件事的一部分，都是在與人們分享我對音樂的理解與感受。

“I am a sometime conductor and an all-the-time musician for whom conducting, like composing, teaching, and playing the piano, is part of the same activity: sharing with people what I feel and what I know about music." - 1979

Photo by Al Ravenna, 1955. Library of Congress

說起教育

去教育就是去相信傳承。去分享你對過去的主觀感受，去嘗試描述和評估當下，這些行為在本質上便代表著你對未來的堅定信念。

"To teach is to believe in continuing. To share with you critical feelings about the past, to try to describe and assess the present – these actions by their very nature imply a firm belief in the future." The Unanswered Question: Six Talks at Harvard, 1973

說起音樂教育普及化的重要性

教人們讀音樂其實並不難，將音樂納入教育基本教材中也是可行的。就像是學習第二語言，有何不可呢？只是要或不要去注重文化的培養... 我可以在電視節目裡講解上千次莫扎特的音樂講到沙啞，卻永遠不會比得上你獨自演奏莫扎特奏鳴曲一個小時所能獲得的理解和學問。也沒有一本貝多芬交響曲的總譜能夠比得上你和伙伴一起演奏它能得到的... 通過一遍又一遍地實際演奏，我們能吸收了那些如塵土般飛揚的抽象樂曲規則、形式、和聲結構，而其餘的幾乎就會自然的滲透。去感受和體驗音樂的美好，去準備積極的聆聽，去參與每一首曲子。

"Teach people to read music. It’s not so difficult, and it’s perfectly possible to include the reading of music in the basic materials of education, like learning to read French. Why not? Whether we’re going to be cultured or we’re not...I could talk myself hoarse on a thousand television shows about Mozart and never convey to you a fraction of the insight and knowledge you could gain from an hour of playing Mozart sonatas all by yourself. And no book on Beethoven symphonies can tell you as much as you can absorb by playing four-hand versions of them with your favorite partner...by actually playing music over and over we absorb all those dusty abstract rules of form and harmonic structure and the rest is almost by osmosis, by feeling and sensing their rightness...be equipped to listen actively, to participate in each musical work [you] are offered." - Music Should Be Listened To, Not Heard, 1959

MT's List / 關於教育這門學問，伯恩斯坦說過的八句話