One thing that should be demonstrated aptly in the Minnesota Orchestra’s Bernstein Festival starting Thursday is how much Lenny Bernstein’s outsized personality overshadowed and powered his musical output.

Consider the lineup: Of the 14 concerts in the festival, nine are narrated performances hosted by Jamie Bernstein, the composer’s daughter. Of those, six are morning concerts for young audiences, mostly school groups, which are inspired by Leonard Bernstein’s famous televised programs that entranced so many kids, including this now-wrinkled, nearly bald writer.

The other three concerts narrated by Jamie Bernstein are weekend afternoon programs aimed at families. Granted, all these programs are exclusively devoted to Bernstein’s music, but they are enlivened by anecdotes about his vibrant, exuberant spirit.

That leaves five concerts for "serious" concert-goers. Of those, the two being performed Thursday and Saturday are devoted to Bernstein’s work for Broadway, including music from "On the Town," "Candide," and, of course, "West Side Story." The comparison to the orchestra’s pops programs is obvious.

That leaves three concerts of the heavy stuff. One is this Friday, an all concert-hall program that includes Bernstein’s first symphony, composed in his early 20s and considered the work that put him on the map as an American composer of great promise. Almost simultaneously, however, Bernstein hit Broadway and the conductor’s podium.

Even so, Friday’s concert should provide interesting glimpses of Bernstein’s concert-hall ambitions. There’s a clarinet sonata that reportedly reveals the influence of Hindemith; an elegiac work for flute and orchestra, and an eight-movement orchestra suite that revels in jazz-inspired dance passages.

That leaves the big event: Two performances next week of "Mass," the gargantuan work that Bernstein created back in 1971 for orchestra, massed choirs, musical-theater singers and a company of dancers. At its heart, it’s a work about searching for values amid the distractions of the contemporary world and the supplicant is — without doubt — the embodiment of Leonard Bernstein.

There you have it: A festival about Bernstein’s music — but also a festival about Bernstein.

Editor’s note: The Minnesota Orchestra also has a collection of video and audio on its website about the Bernstein Festival and ... Lenny Bernstein.

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