Classical Music / Composer's Datebook: August 25
Brief biography of Leonard Bernstein, American conductor, composer, pianist, teacher and author; a consummate musician, one of 20th century's most celebrated conductors. Famous for West Side Story, Candide, and Wonderful Town.
Leonard Bernstein was a renowned conductor, composer and pianist, famous for musical West Side Story, Wonderful Town, and Candide. His most popular stage works are ballets and musicals.
Energetic and versatile, Bernstein was more influential as a conductor than as a composer, as he drew tremendous audiences around the world. He was considered an eclectic composer with his inspired influences coming from many different sources - from his fellow American composers Gershwin and Copland, from Mahler and Stravinsky, exciting idea of concert jazz, and just about anything.
Early Life: Musical Training
Leonard Bernstein was born on 25 August 1918, in Lawrence Massachusetts, USA. He studied at Harvard University with Walter Piston and at Curtis Institute.
The Conductor
In 1944, aged 26, he made his reputation as a conductor as a replacement when Bruno Walter became ill, after which he was associated with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra from 194, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra as musical director from 1958-69, soon achieving an international reputation. He conducted in Vienna and La Scala, Milan, the first American to conduct there.
The Composer
Bernstein wrote two of the greatest of all American stage and screen musicals, On the Town, Candide, and West Side Story, which is Shakespeare's classic story Romeo and Juliet transferred to the contemporary New York life.
The Author
In more personal level, Bernstein was also an author (e.g., The Joy of Music), teacher, spellbinding broadcaster on radio and television, simply, a talented communicator.
The Musical Director
From 1958 to 1970, he was musical director of the New York Philharmonic.
Maestro Leonard Bernstein was one of the most attractive, entertaining, and creative minds of the 20th century. He died in New York, 14 October 1990.
Bernstein's Works
His works established a more realistic, contemporary themes. His works, which established a more realistic, contemporary themes, include symphonies such as The Age of Anxiety, ballets such as Fancy Free, and scores for musicals, including Wonderful Town, West Side Story, and Mass in memory of President John F Kennedy. Other works are symphony Jeremiah, the ballet Facsimile, and the musicals Candide and the Chichester Psalms.
Symphonies:
Jeremiah (1944)
Symphony No.2, 'The Age of Anxiety' (1949)
Symphony No.3, 'Kaddish'
Opera:
Trouble in Tahiti (1951)
Ballets:
Fancy Free (1944)
Facsimile (1946)
Scores for Musicals:
Wonderful Town (1953)
Candide (1956)
West Side Story (1957, in which he arranged an exciting set of “symphonic dances” from the score, also includes the song 'America')
Chichester Psalms (1965)
Mass (1971) in memory of President John F Kennedy
Film Music:
On the Waterfront (1954)
Image Credit:
Leonard Bernstein. en.Wikipedia.org / By Jack Mitchell, created 1 Dec 1977.
Resources:
Leonard Bernstein. Leonard Bernstein Official Website
Leonard Bernstein The Gift of Music 1993 French subtitles. Youtube, uploaded by Hans Hesseling. Accessed January 4, 2024.
The Encyclopedia of Music by Max Wade-Matthews & Wendy Thompson, Hermes House (2002)
The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music, Edited by Stanley Sadie, Macmillan (1994)
The Oxford Companion to Music, Edited by Alison Latham, OUP (2002)
The Oxford Dictionary of Music, Edited by Michael Kennedy, OUP (1994)
(c) August 2009. Updated August 25, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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