Near the end of his life, he conducted a historic performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. Through his educational efforts, including several books and the creation of two major international music festivals, he influenced several generations of young musicians.Ī lifelong humanitarian, 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. Through dozens of national and international broadcasts, including the Emmy 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. He was the first conductor to share and explore music on television with a mass audience. A skilled pianist, he often conducted piano concertos from the keyboard.
He was also a critical figure in the modern revival of the music of Gustav Mahler, in whose music he was most passionately interested. He was music director of the New York Philharmonic and conducted the world's major orchestras, generating a significant legacy of audio and video recordings. His works include three symphonies, Chichester Psalms, Serenade after Plato's "Symposium", the original score for the film On the Waterfront, and theater works including On the Town, Wonderful Town, Candide, and his MASS.īernstein was the first American-born conductor to lead a major American symphony orchestra. His best-known work is the Broadway musical West Side Story, which continues to be regularly performed worldwide, and has been adapted into two ( 19) feature films. Īs a composer he wrote in many genres, including symphonic and orchestral music, ballet, film and theatre music, choral works, opera, chamber music and works for the piano. Bernstein was the recipient of many honors, including seven Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, sixteen Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement, and the Kennedy Center Honor. According to music critic Donal Henahan, he was "one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history". Among the most important conductors of his time, he was also the first American conductor to receive international acclaim.
But they certainly felt different, at least live and when I was in the audience… I didn’t get quite as much difference from the recordings.Leonard Bernstein ( / ˈ b ɜːr n s t aɪ n/ BURN-styne August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Mind you, I’m not judging which approach is better. With Karajan conducting I always felt a cool intellect dissecting the piece, with Bernstein it was raw exploding energy. And yet… Bernstein managed to make you believe that you were actually present at the creation. Kurt Moll (who was singing next to Judith Blegen and Wieslaw Ochman) was wiping off the sweat from his forehead every minute or so. The musicians had taken off their jackets and their ties and played with open shirts and rolled up sleeves. About 5.000 people in the audience, and it was in absolutely sveltering heat. Right in the middle of summer, at the Ostseehalle (Baltic Sea Hall) in Kiel – usually the arena for handball matches. That’s another Bernstein memory I hold dear: the Haydn Schöpfung / Creation, also at the Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival.
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