New York Philharmonic set to play excerpts from 'Maestro' with Bradley Cooper appearance

NEW YORK — The New York Philharmonic will play excerpts of music from the Academy Award-nominated "Maestro," on the life of former music director Leonard Bernstein, on Feb. 14. Bradley Cooper, the movie's star and director, will participate in a post-performance conversation at Lincoln Center's David Geffen Hall.

Metropolitan Opera music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who coached Cooper for the movie and led music for the soundtrack, will conduct the performance in his New York Philharmonic debut and join the conversation, the orchestra said Wednesday.

The program will include excerpts from "West Side Story," "Candide," "On the Town," "Trouble in Tahiti," "A Quiet Place," "Chichester Psalms" and Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Anxiety" and Symphony No. 3 "Kaddish."

"Maestro" was nominated for seven Oscars, including for best picture and best actor, for Cooper.

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Although Cooper was nominated Tuesday, the movie star-turned-filmmaker has been gunning hard for his first best director nomination, after being passed over in the category for 2018's "A Star Is Born." Cooper's awards campaign has focused almost squarely on his work behind the camera.

His work on "Maestro" also hasn't come without criticism. Cooper sparked controversy for his portrayal of Bernstein when a teaser trailer for "Maestro" dropped in August.

Social media users dashed to point out Cooper's prosthetic nose worn for the film and the fact he is not Jewish like Bernstein was.

Cooper addressed the backlash in a November interview with "CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King, saying he wasn’t fazed by people's criticism, adding that prosthetics were necessary to accurately portray Bernstein in the film.

"The truth is I’d done this whole project out of love, and it’s so clear to me where (my intentions) come from," Cooper said. "My nose is very similar to Lenny’s actually, and so the prosthetic is actually like a silk sheet. And I thought, ‘Maybe we don’t need to do it.’… But it’s all about balance, and my lips are nothing like Lenny’s, and my chin. And it just didn’t look right."

Here's a look at who made the list:The 2024 Oscar nominations were announced

Contributing: Patrick Ryan, Edward Segarra