Carl Maria von Weber
German Romantic composer (1786-1826)
Leonard Bernstein was an incredibly talented American conductor, composer, and humanitarian. He was the first American-born conductor to gain international acclaim and made significant contributions to classical music through his compositions, conducting, and television programs that introduced a wide audience to classical music.
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About the Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernsteinwas an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first American-born conductor to receive international acclaim. Bernstein was “one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history” according to music critic Donal Henahan. Bernstein’s honors and accolades include seven Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and 16 Grammy Awardsas well as an Academy Award nomination. He received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1981.
As a composer, Bernstein wrote in many genres, including symphonic and orchestral music, ballet, film and theatre music, choral works, opera, chamber music, and pieces for the piano. Bernstein’s works include the Broadway musical West Side Story, which continues to be regularly performed worldwide, and has been adapted into twofeature films, three symphonies, Serenade after Plato’s “Symposium” (1954), and Chichester Psalms (1965), the original score for the Elia Kazan drama film On the Waterfront (1954), and theater works including On the Town (1944), Wonderful Town (1953), Candide (1956), and his Mass (1971).
Bernstein was the first American-born conductor to lead a major American symphony orchestra. He was music director of the New York Philharmonic and conducted the world’s major orchestras, generating a legacy of audio and video recordings. Bernstein was also a critical figure in the modern revival of the music of Gustav Mahler, in whose music he was most interested. A skilled pianist, Bernstein often conducted piano concertos from the keyboard. He shared and explored classical music on television with a mass audience in national and international broadcasts, including Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic.
Bernstein worked in support of civil rights, protested against the Vietnam War, advocated nuclear disarmament, raised money for HIV/AIDS research and awareness, and engaged in multiple international initiatives for human rights and world peace. He conducted Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony to mark the death of president John F. Kennedy, and in Israel at a concert, Hatikvah on Mt. Scopus, after the Six-Day War. The sequence of events was recorded for a documentary entitled Journey to Jerusalem. At the end of his life, Bernstein conducted a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in Berlin to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Frequently Asked Questions
Leonard Bernstein was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. He was considered one of the most important conductors of his time and the first American-born conductor to receive international acclaim.
Leonard Bernstein’s honors and accolades include seven Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, 16 Grammy Awards (including the Lifetime Achievement Award), and an Academy Award nomination. He also received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1981.
Bernstein composed music in many genres, including symphonic and orchestral music, ballet, film and theatre music, choral works, opera, chamber music, and piano pieces. His most famous work is the Broadway musical West Side Story.
Bernstein shared and explored classical music on television with a mass audience in national and international broadcasts, including his popular Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic, which introduced a wide audience to classical music.
Bernstein worked in support of civil rights, protested against the Vietnam War, advocated for nuclear disarmament, raised money for HIV/AIDS research and awareness, and engaged in multiple international initiatives for human rights and world peace.
At the end of his life, Bernstein conducted a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in Berlin to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall, a symbolic moment that marked the end of the Cold War.
Bernstein was a critical figure in the modern revival of the music of Gustav Mahler, in whose music he was most interested. He was also known as a skilled pianist who often conducted piano concertos from the keyboard.
8 Quotes by Leonard Bernstein
- 1.
A liberal is a man or a woman or a child who looks forward to a better day, a more tranquil night, and a bright, infinite future.
Leonard BernsteinAmerican conductor and composer (1918-1990)
- 2.
Music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable.
Leonard BernsteinAmerican conductor and composer (1918-1990)
- 3.
In the olden days, everybody sang. You were expected to sing as well as talk. It was a mark of the cultured man to sing.
Leonard BernsteinAmerican conductor and composer (1918-1990)
- 4.
The key to the mystery of a great artist is that for reasons unknown, he will give away his energies and his life just to make sure that one note follows another… and leaves us with the feeling that something is right in the world.
Leonard BernsteinAmerican conductor and composer (1918-1990)
- 5.
This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.
Leonard BernsteinAmerican conductor and composer (1918-1990)
- 6.
To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time.
Leonard BernsteinAmerican conductor and composer (1918-1990)
- 7.
Technique is communication: the two words are synonymous in conductors.
Leonard BernsteinAmerican conductor and composer (1918-1990)
- 8.
I’m not interested in having an orchestra sound like itself. I want it to sound like the composer.
Leonard BernsteinAmerican conductor and composer (1918-1990)