Leonard Bernstein

Who is Leonard Bernstein?

 Who is Leonard Bernstein?

Leonard Bernstein was an American

conductor, composer, pianist, music
educator, author, and humanitarian.
Considered to be one of the most
important conductors of his time, he
was the first American conductor to
receive international acclaim.
Bernstein was born in Lawrence,
Massachusetts on August 25, 1918,
to Ukrainian Jewish émigré parents
Samuel Bernstein and Jennie
Resnick.
 Most famous works:
West Side Story (1956)

Chichester Psalms (1965)

On The Waterfront – Symphonic Suite (1955)

On The Town (1944)

Candide (1956)

Symphony No. 1 “Jeremiah” (1942)

Symphony No. 2 “The Age Of Anxiety” (1949)

 The life of
Leonard Bernstein
His father, Sam Bernstein, was a Russian immigrant who in his
native Ukraine was destined to become a rabbi. Once he arrived
and settled on New York City’s Lower East Side, the elder
Bernstein took up working as a fish cleaner. He eventually got a
job sweeping floors in his uncle Henry’s barbershop and then
landed a position stocking wigs for a dealer. Sam eventually
built a rather profitable business distributing beauty products.
Leonard grew up understanding that business and success were
paramount, and “occupations” in the field of music and art
were simply off-limits.
 The life of
Leonard Bernstein
Bernstein first played piano, one belonging to his aunt
Clara, when he was 10. Clara was going through a divorce
and needed a place to store her massive upright piano.
Lenny loved everything about the instrument, but his
father refused to pay for lessons. Determined, the boy
raised his own small pot of money to pay for a few
sessions. He was a natural from the start, and by the time
his bar mitzvah rolled around, his father was impressed
enough to buy him a baby grand piano. The young
Bernstein found inspiration everywhere and played with a
voracity and spontaneity that impressed anyone who
listened.
 The life of
Leonard Bernstein
Bernstein attended Boston Latin School, where he met his first
real teacher and his lifelong mentor, Helen Coates. After
graduating, he entered Harvard University, where he studied
music theory with Arthur Tillman Merritt and counterpoint
with Walter Piston. In 1937, Bernstein attended a Boston
Symphony concert conducted by Dmitri Mitropoulos.
Bernstein’s heart sang when he saw the bald Greek man gesture
with his bare hands, exuding a rare kind of enthusiasm for every
score. At a reception the next day, Mitropoulos heard Bernstein
play a sonata, and he was so moved by the young man’s abilities
that he invited him to attend his rehearsals. Bernstein spent a
week with him. After the experience, he was determined to
make music the center of his life.
 The life of
Leonard Bernstein
To strengthen his technical skills, Bernstein spent a year of intensive
training at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He studied
conducting with Fritz Reiner, a man who believed in mastering every
detail of every piece. Bernstein benefited from the discipline, but he
believed in more than the mechanics. In 1940, when he was 22, the
Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood invited Bernstein to join some
300 other talented students and professional musicians for a summer
of musical exploration and performance. He was one of only five
students accepted in the master class in conducting that was taught by
the famed Serge Koussevitzky. The man became a father figure to
Bernstein, encouraging his belief in the power and importance of
music.
 Leonard Bernstein died
on October 14, 1990, at
the age of 72.

Cause of death:
heart attack caused by lung
failure
Thank
you
QUESTIONS:
1. When was Leonard Bernstein born?

2. What is the name of Bernstein's father?

3. Name Four of Bernstein's famous works?
4. When did Bernstein died?
5. What is the cause of Bernstein's death?
6. How old was Bernstein when he first played the piano?