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Biography: Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 - October 14, 1990 ÂA TOTAL EMBRACE"
West Side Story)
From his earliest days, Bernstein was a true believer in the music of his time. The lasting popularity of the music of Mahler, Shostakovich and many other 20 th Leonard Bernstein came of age artistically as television became a part of everyday life, and he immediately saw its potential as a means to share and explore music with the mass audience. Through his imaginative programming ideas and his own engaging presence (most memorably, in the award-winning Young People s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic) he made even the most rigorous elements of classical music an adventure in which everyone could join. A generation of Americans appreciates music because of Bernstein. That he achieved this without ever seeming to patronize or lecture his audience only reaffirmed how personal and how deeply felt his convictions were. In 1967, Bernstein wrote, ÂLife without music is unthinkable, music without life is academic. That is why my contact with music is a total embrace. The Birds The Cradle Will Rock When Bernstein was only 25, he held his first conducting post as Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic. It was in this capacity that, on November 14, 1943, he made his historic conducting debut. With only a few hours notice, he substituted for the ailing Bruno Walter at a Carnegie Hall concert. Overnight he became famous. The performance was broadcast nationwide on CBS radio and the next day made the front-page of the New York Times. This acclaim quickly led to invitations to conduct orchestras all over the world. | |
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