Bernstein, Leonard (bûrn`stīn, –stēn), 1918–90, American composer, conductor, and pianist, b. Lawrence, Mass., grad. Harvard, 1939, and Curtis Institute of Music, 1941. A highly versatile musician, he was the composer of symphonic works (the Jeremiah Symphony, 1944; Age of Anxiety, 1949; Kaddish Symphony, 1963), song cycles, chamber music, ballets (Fancy Free, 1944), musicals (On the Town, 1944; Wonderful Town, 1953; Candide, 1956; West Side Story, 1957), opera (Trouble in Tahiti, 1952), and choral music (Chichester Psalms, 1965). His Mass (1971), a "theater piece for dancers, singers, and players," was performed at the opening of the John F. Kennedy Cultural Center in Washington, D.C. From 1951 to 1956 he taught at Brandeis Univ. He was a soloist and conductor with many orchestras in the United States and abroad. He first conducted the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra in 1943, and from 1958 to 1970 was its musical director. Upon his retirement he was named laureate conductor and frequently appeared with the Vienna Philharmonic and the Israel Philharmonic.
(born Aug. 25, 1918, Lawrence, Mass., U.S.—died Oct. 14, 1990, New York, N.Y.) U.S. conductor, composer, and writer. He resolved on a music career only after graduating from Harvard University. He studied conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music with Fritz Reiner and then at Tanglewood (in Lenox, Mass.), where he met Aaron Copland and became Serge Koussevitzky's assistant. Fame came abruptly in 1943 when he substituted on short notice for the conductor of the New York Philharmonic orchestra and was praised for his technical self-assurance and interpretive excellence. In 1944 he triumphed with his music for Jerome Robbins's ballet Fancy Free and the Broadway show On the Town. As a composer he made use of diverse elements ranging from biblical themes to jazz rhythms. His best-known composition was the score for the hit musical West Side Story (1957); other works include the musicals Wonderful Town (1952) and Candide (1956), three symphonies, the Chichester Psalms (1965), and the theatrical Mass (1971). Well known as a television lecturer, he was also a prominent political activist.
Bernstein, Leonard (1918–90) conductor, composer; born in Lawrence, Mass. He played piano from childhood and studied at Harvard and the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia. After becoming a protégé of Koussevitsky as a Tanglewood conducting student in 1940–41, he was named assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic and in 1943 made a sensation stepping in at the last minute for the indisposed Bruno Walter. There followed an active career as a guest conductor—and occasional pianist—during the 1940s. In that decade he also composed works including the Jeremiah and Age of Anxiety symphonies and the Broadway musical Fancy Free. In 1952 he premiered his one-act opera Trouble in Tahiti and 1957 saw the debut of his classical musical West Side Story. The next year he began an 11-year tenure as conductor of the New York Philharmonic and a series of televised Young Peoples' Concerts which, combined with his engaging personality and extravagant conducting style, made him the most popular conductor in the country. In later years he guest-conducted worldwide; having spent his early career championing conservative American composers such as Copland, in the 1970s he became the spearhead of the Mahler revival.
Bibliography
See his The Joy of Music (1959) and The Infinite Variety of Music (1966); biographies by J. Briggs (1961), J. Gruen (1968), H. Burton (1994), and M. Secrest (1994).
Bernstein, Leonard
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Leonard Bernstein.
(credit: Lauterwasser, courtesy Deutsche Grammophon)
Bernstein, Leonard (1918–90) conductor, composer; born in Lawrence, Mass. He played piano from childhood and studied at Harvard and the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia. After becoming a protégé of Koussevitsky as a Tanglewood conducting student in 1940–41, he was named assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic and in 1943 made a sensation stepping in at the last minute for the indisposed Bruno Walter. There followed an active career as a guest conductor—and occasional pianist—during the 1940s. In that decade he also composed works including the Jeremiah and Age of Anxiety symphonies and the Broadway musical Fancy Free. In 1952 he premiered his one-act opera Trouble in Tahiti and 1957 saw the debut of his classical musical West Side Story. The next year he began an 11-year tenure as conductor of the New York Philharmonic and a series of televised Young Peoples' Concerts which, combined with his engaging personality and extravagant conducting style, made him the most popular conductor in the country. In later years he guest-conducted worldwide; having spent his early career championing conservative American composers such as Copland, in the 1970s he became the spearhead of the Mahler revival.
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