Bernstein, Leonard

Bernstein, Leonard
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.

Leonard Bernstein.

Lauterwasser, courtesy Deutsche Grammophon

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▪ American composer and conductor
born Aug. 25, 1918, Lawrence, Mass., U.S.
died Oct. 14, 1990, New York, N.Y.
 American conductor, composer, and pianist noted for his accomplishments in both classical and popular music, for his flamboyant conducting style, and for his pedagogic flair, especially in concerts for young people.

 Bernstein played piano from age 10. He attended Boston Latin School; Harvard University (A.B., 1939), where he took courses in music theory with Arthur Tillman Merritt and counterpoint with Walter Piston (Piston, Walter); the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia (1939–41), where he studied conducting with Fritz Reiner (Reiner, Fritz) and orchestration with Randall Thompson (Thompson, Randall); and the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood, Mass., where he studied conducting with Serge Koussevitzky (Koussevitzky, Serge). In 1943 Bernstein was appointed assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic; the first signal of his forthcoming success came on Nov. 14, 1943, when he was summoned unexpectedly to substitute for the conductor Bruno Walter (Walter, Bruno). His technical self-assurance under difficult circumstances and his interpretive excellence made an immediate impression and marked the beginning of a brilliant career. He subsequently conducted the New York City Center orchestra (1945–47) and appeared as guest conductor in the United States, Europe, and Israel. In 1953 he became the first American to conduct at La Scala in Milan. From 1958 to 1969 Bernstein was conductor and musical director of the New York Philharmonic, becoming the first American-born holder of those posts. With this orchestra he made several international tours in Latin America, Europe, the Soviet Union, and Japan. His popularity increased through his appearances not only as conductor and pianist but also as a commentator and entertainer. Bernstein explained classical music to young listeners on such television shows as “Omnibus” and “Young People's Concerts.” After 1969 he continued to write music and to perform as a guest conductor with several symphonies throughout the world.

      As a composer Bernstein made skillful use of diverse elements ranging from biblical themes, as in the Symphony No. 1 (1942; also called Jeremiah) and the Chichester Psalms (1965); to jazz rhythms, as in the Symphony No. 2 (1949; The Age of Anxiety), after a poem by W.H. Auden (Auden, W H); to Jewish liturgical themes, as in the Symphony No. 3 (1963; Kaddish). His best-known works are the musicals On the Town (1944; filmed 1949), Wonderful Town (1953; filmed 1958), Candide (1956), and the very popular West Side Story (1957; filmed 1961), written in collaboration with Stephen Sondheim (Sondheim, Stephen) and Jerome Robbins (Robbins, Jerome). He also wrote the scores for the ballets Fancy Free (1944), Facsimile (1946), and Dybbuk (1974), and he composed the music for the film On the Waterfront (1954), for which he received an Academy Award nomination. His Mass, written especially for the occasion, was performed at the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., in September 1971. In 1989 he conducted two historic performances of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D Minor (1824; Choral), which were held in East and West Berlin to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall.

      Bernstein published a collection of lectures, The Joy of Music (1959); Young People's Concerts, for Reading and Listening (1962, rev. ed. 1970); The Infinite Variety of Music (1966); and The Unanswered Question (1976), taken from his Charles Eliot Norton lectures at Harvard University (1973).

Additional Reading
Biographies include Joan Peyser, Bernstein: A Biography (1987, rev. 1998), admittedly a controversial portrayal of the composer; Schuyler Chapin, Leonard Bernstein: Notes from a Friend (1992), an anecdotal account; Humphrey Burton, Leonard Bernstein (1994); Meryle Secrest, Leonard Bernstein (1994); Paul Myers, Leonard Bernstein (1998). Jane Fluegel (ed.), Bernstein Remembered (1991), is a pictorial work. Bernstein's multifaceted career is discussed in Peter Gradenwitz, Leonard Bernstein: The Infinite Variety of a Musician (1987; originally published in German, 1984); Steven Ledbetter (ed.), Sennets & Tuckets (1988); and William Westbook Burton (ed.), Conversations About Bernstein (1995).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • BERNSTEIN, LEONARD — (1918–1990), U.S. composer and conductor. Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Mass., and studied at Harvard (1935–39), the Curtis Institute (1939–41), and the Berkshire Music Center (summers of 1940 and 1941), where he took composition with Walter… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Bernstein, Leonard — (1918–90)    US conductor and composer. Leonard Bernstein as a conductor earned a special place in the annals of the Israel Symphony Orchestra. In 1949, he persuaded them to ride in trucks and follow the Israel army south to Beersheba, which had… …   Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament

  • Bernstein, Leonard — ► (1918 90) Compositor, director y pianista estadounidense. Su obra evidencia la influencia del jazz y de la música popular. Entre sus obras destaca el musical West Side Story (1957). * * * (25 ago. 1918, Lawrence, Mass., EE.UU.–14 oct. 1990,… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Bernstein,Leonard — Bern·stein (bûrnʹstīn , stēn ), Leonard. 1918 1990. American conductor and composer who wrote numerous choral and symphonic works, including Kaddish (1963), and musicals, notably On the Town (1944) and West Side Story (1957). * * * …   Universalium

  • Bernstein, Leonard — (1918 90)    American composer and conductor. He was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He became director and conductor of the New York Philharmonic. His many works on Jewish subjects include the symphonies Jeremiah and Kaddish …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • Bernstein, Leonard (Louis) — (25 August 1918, Lawrence, Mass. – 14 October 1990, New York)    Conductor and composer of concert music and Broadway shows, he composed two symphonies employing Jewish chants sung by choruses, the Jeremiah Symphony (1943) and the Kaddish… …   Historical dictionary of sacred music

  • Leonard Bernstein — ( * [http://www.sonybmgmasterworks.com/artists/leonardbernstein/ Discography at SonyBMG Masterworks] * [http://fas www.harvard.edu/ musicdpt/bernsteinindex.htm Bernstein s Boston] , a Harvard University research project *… …   Wikipedia

  • Léonard Bernstein — Leonard Bernstein  Ne doit pas être confondu avec le compositeur américain de musique de film Elmer Bernstein Pour les articles homonymes, voir Bernstein. Leonard Bernstein …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Léonard — Leonard oder Léonard ist eine Form des Namens Leonhard. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Bekannte Namensträger 1.1 Vorname 1.2 Familienname 1.3 Künstlername // …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Bernstein — Bernstein, Eduard Bernstein, Leonard * * * (as used in expressions) Bernstein, Eduard Bernstein, Leonard Morris Louis Bernstein …   Enciclopedia Universal

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