90th Anniversary of Leonard Bernstein

August 25, 1918 - October 14, 1990

This month marks 90 years since the birth of one of Boosey and Hawkes’ major composers, Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He took piano lessons as a boy and attended the Garrison and Boston Latin Schools, then went on to study at Harvard University. Then at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, he studied piano, conducting, and orchestration.

Bernstein was appointed to his first permanent conducting post in 1943, as Assistant Conductor of the New York Philharmonic. In 1945 he was appointed Music Director of the New York City Symphony Orchestra, a post he held until 1947. After Serge Koussevitzky died in 1951, Bernstein headed the orchestral and conducting departments at Tanglewood, teaching there for many years. In 1951 he married the Chilean actress and pianist, Felicia Montealegre. They had three children - Jamie, Alexander, and Nina; and he is the grandfather of four: Francisca, Evan, Anya and Anna.

Bernstein became Music Director of the New York Philharmonic in 1958. He traveled the world as a conductor, and immediately after World War II, in 1946, he conducted in London and at the International Music Festival in Prague. In 1947 he conducted in Tel Aviv, beginning a relationship with Israel that lasted until his death. World peace was a particular concern of Bernstein. Speaking at Johns Hopkins University in 1980 and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York in 1983, he described his vision of global harmony.

Bernstein was a leading advocate of American composers, particularly Aaron Copland. The two remained close friends for life. As a young pianist, Bernstein performed Copland's "Piano Variations" so often he considered the composition his trademark.

While Bernstein's conducting repertoire encompassed the standard literature, he may be best remembered for his performances and recordings of Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Sibelius and Mahler, and his compositions including West Side Story, Candide and On the Town.

Leonard Bernstein died of pneumonia just five days after retiring, on October 14^th 1990.

Works by and about Leonard Bernstein