Bradley Cooper and Met Opera Conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin Will Give Maestro Q&A at Lincoln Center

The New York Philharmonic is teaming up with Bradley Cooper for a special performance and Q&A event inspired by Cooper's Oscar-nominated Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro. Titled Orchestrating Maestro: Music and Conversation, the event will be held February 14 at the Wu Tsai Theater in David Geffen Hall.

The evening will feature a live performance of selections from the film's soundtrack played by the New York Philharmonic and conducted by Met Opera music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The film itself features the London Symphony Orchestra, despite the West Side Story and On the Town composer's real-world connection to the New York Philharmonic (Bernstein was the ensemble's music director from 1958 to 1969). Nézet-Séguin was at the podium for the soundtrack recordings, and served as Cooper's conducting coach.

The performance will be followed by a conversation about Bernstein's life and legacy with both Cooper and Nézet-Séguin.

READ: Fact-Checks and Footnotes For the Leonard Bernstein Biopic, Maestro

Maestro, which released for streaming on Netflix December 20, 2023, tracks the legendary conductor-composer's life from 1943 through to the '80s, focusing mostly on his unique relationship with and marriage to Felicia Montealegre Bernstein. Cooper, who directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay with Josh Singer, stars as Bernstein opposite Carey Mulligan as Montealegre. Both are up for Oscars at the upcoming Academy Awards (set for March 10), and the film is up for Best Picture.

The film also features a number of theatre notables in supporting roles, including Matt Bomer as clarinetist David Oppenhiem, a close friend of Bernstein's; Michael Urie as choreographer Jerome Robbins; Gideon Glick as musician Tommy Cothran, a rumored lover of Bernstein's; Maya Hawke as Jamie Bernstein, daughter of Leonard and Felicia; Sarah Silverman as Shirley Bernstein, Leonard's sister; and Miriam Shor as actress and model Cynthia O'Neal.

Tickets for the February 14 performance and conversation are available at NYPhil.org.