Bernstein, Leonard

Bernstein, Leonard [ Louis] Bernstein (b Lawrence, Mass., 1918; d NY, 1990). Amer. composer, conductor, and pianist. Educated Boston Latin Sch. and at Harvard Univ. (with Piston) 1935–9. In 1939 entered Curtis Inst., studying cond. with Reiner. Already his outstanding talent had led a friend to say ‘Lenny is doomed to success’. In summers of 1940–3 studied at Tanglewood summer sch., Lenox, becoming ass. to Koussevitzky and was also noticed by Rodzinski, who invited him to become ass. cond. of NY Phil. Sym. Orch. 1943–4; début Nov. 1943, deputizing for Bruno Walter. Cond. NY City Center Orch., 1945–8, presenting adventurous programmes. Cond. f.p. of Messiaen's Turangalîla-symphonie, Boston, 1949. Taught at Tanglewood 1951–5 in orch. and cond. dept.; part-time prof. of mus., Brandeis Univ. 1951–5.

Career as opera cond. began at Tanglewood, 1946, in Amer. première of Peter Grimes. Cond. his own Trouble in Tahiti at Brandeis, 1952, and Cherubini's Medea (with Callas) at La Scala 1953 (the first Amer. to conduct there), returning to cond. La sonnambula for Callas. Salzburg Fest. début 1959 (NYPO). Début NY Met 1964 (Falstaff), Vienna 1966. In 1957–8 appointed joint prin. cond. (with Mitropoulos) of NYPO, becoming sole cond. 1958–69, the first Amer.-born holder of the post. Guest cond. many of world's leading orchs., notably Vienna PO, Israel PO, and LSO. In 1969 was made ‘laureate conductor for life’ of NYPO. Bernstein's outstanding quality as a musician was his catholic taste. Hence his comps. are markedly eclectic, bearing influences of Gershwin, Jewish ritual mus., Mahler, Stravinsky, Villa-Lobos, and Copland. (In 1941 he worked for a popular mus. publisher, making arrs. and jazz transcrs.) His first sym., Jeremiah (1941–4), won 1944 NY Music Critics’ Award and in that year his ballet Fancy Free, with choreog. by Jerome Robbins, was perf. in NY. Later the same year his musical On the Town began a Broadway run of 463 perfs. He made a comic operetta from Voltaire's novel Candide (1954–6) and adapted Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to a New York gang warfare setting as the highly successful West Side Story (1957). As a conductor, he was a notable interpreter of Mahler, Copland, Brahms, Shostakovich, and his own music. Brilliant pianist, often directing Mozart concertos from the keyboard. Influential as teacher and television lecturer. Books include The Joy of Music (1959), The Infinite Variety of Music (1966), The Unanswered Question (1976), and Findings (1982). Works incl.:OPERAS & MUSICALS: On the Town (1944); Trouble in Tahiti (1951); Wonderful Town (1952); Candide (1954–6, rev., not by composer, 1957, 1959, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1982; by Mauceri with composer, 1987 and 1989); West Side Story (1957); 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (1976); A Quiet Place (incorp. Trouble in Tahiti) (1983, rev. 1984).THEATRE PIECE: Mass, for singers, players, and dancers (1971, chamber version 1972).BALLETS: Fancy Free (1943–4); Facsimile (1946); Prelude, Fugue and Riffs (1949); The Age of Anxiety (1949); Serenade (after Plato's Symposium), for 7 dancers (1954); Dybbuk (1974).INCIDENTAL MUSIC: Peter Pan (Barrie), 4 songs and 2 choruses (1950); The Lark (Anouilh) (1955); The Firstborn (Fry) (1958).FILM: On the Waterfront (1954).ORCH.: syms.: No.1 (Jeremiah), mez., orch. (1942), No.2 (The Age of Anxiety) (after Auden), pf., orch. (1949), No.3 (Kaddish), orch., mixed ch., boys’ ch., spkr., sop. (1963, rev. 1977); suite, Fancy Free (1944); 3 Dance Episodes from On the Town (1945); Facsimile (1946); Prelude, Fugue and Riffs, cl., jazz ens. (1949); Serenade, vn., str., hp., perc. (1954); Symphonic Suite, On the Waterfront (1955); ov., Candide (1956); Symphonic Dances, West Side Story (1960); Fanfares (1961); 2 Meditations from Mass (1971), Meditation 3 from Mass (1972), 3 Meditations from Mass, arr. for vc., orch. (1977); Dybbuk, Suites Nos. 1 and 2 (1974); Slava! (1977); CBS Music (1977); Divertimento (1980); A Musical Toast (1980); Halil, fl., str., perc. (1981); Jubilee Games (1982); Concerto for Orchestra (incorp. Jubilee Games) (1988).CHORUS & ORCH.: Kaddish (sym. No.3), mixed ch., boys’ ch., spkr., sop., orch. (1963, rev. 1977); Chichester Psalms, mixed ch., boy soloist, orch. (1965); ‘If you can't eat you got to’, ten., male ch., ens. (1973, rev. 1977).VOICE(S) & INSTR(S).: Hashkivenu, ten., ch., org. (1945); Simchu Na, ch., pf. (1947); Suite from Candide, soloists, ch., orch. (1956); Glitter and be Gay, from Candide, v., orch. (1956); Take Care of this House, from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, v., orch. (1976); Songfest, sop., 2 mez., ten., bar., bass., orch. (1976).VOICE & PIANO: I Hate Music, sop. (1943); La bonne cuisine, sop. (1947); 2 Love Songs (on poems of Rilke), sop. (1949); Silhouette, sop. (1951); So Pretty, v. (1968); My New Friends, v. (1979); Piccola Serenata (‘for Karl Böhm on his 85th birthday’), v. (1979).CHAMBER MUSIC: pf. trio (1937); cl. sonata (1941–2), also transcr. for va. and pf. by R. Hillyer; Brass Music (1948); Shivaree, double brass ens., perc. (1969); 3 Meditations from Mass, vc., pf. (1971).PIANO: sonata (1938); 7 Anniversaries (1943); 4 Anniversaries (1948); 5 Anniversaries (1954); Moby Diptych (1981).