Leonard Bernstein American Composer 1918-1990

This is Bernstein's copy of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, with his annotation "An out and out plea for racial tolerance" at the top of the first page Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts August 25, 1918 and died October 14, 1990. He was born Louis Bernstein into a family of Russian Jewish immigrants; he would later change his name to Leonard to avoid confusion with a relative named Louis. He began to study piano as a child and later entered Harvard University. During the summers of 1940 and 1941, he went to the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood and studied with conductor/bassist Serge Koussevitzky. By 1943, Bernstein had become an assistant conductor for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. He quickly became famous as a conductor and pianist and In 1958 he was appointed Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. In the same year, he began his series of televised concerts for children. During his long reign at the podium he conducted a wide range of music and won particular notice for his interpretations of Beethoven and Mahler. Bernstein was also a composer of great skill and ability. He wrote three symphonies for orchestra. He also wrote several musicals, West Side Story, Candide, and Wonderful Town. West Side Story achieved popular appeal that few musicals do, songs like "Somewhere", and "Maria" have become standards. In addition to all of this he also composed many other chamber pieces, and other works. He also wrote many books on music making and music education. Leonard Bernstein did more for the position of American classical music than any other composer. He kept on conducting and making music until his death in 1990.   http://www.temple.edu/music/composers/bernstein.html Back to Massachusetts Webquest