American Leonard Bernstein [1918–1990] could just as easily fall into the category “Composer’s Corner,” as he was as much a giant with the pen as he was with the baton. Known primarily as the face of the New York Philharmonic—he was the ensemble’s principal conductor from 1958 through 1969, while actually working with them from 1943 until the late 1980s—Bernstein participated in the American premiere of many important musical works throughout his career, including Benjamin Britten’s opera Peter Grimes, plus the world premiere of Symphony No. 2 by Charles Ives.
Bernstein’s fame grew exponentially thanks to commercial television broadcasts of the series Young People’s Concerts on the CBS network. American viewers were treated to entertaining discussions of classical music, with Bernstein either at the piano or leading his New York Philharmonic through such masterpieces as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Gustav Holst’s The Planets. In all, Bernstein recorded 53 such programs that were aired from 1962 to 1972 and enjoyed syndication in no fewer than 40 foreign countries. This series not only proved to be the most popular music appreciation program ever, but it gave rise to the modern-day equivalent where conductors routinely offer pre- or post-concert lectures for audience members. Bernstein was also known for making some of the first stereo records of important classical music. He led the Philharmonic in recording all nine complete Mahler symphonies, and later conducted the Vienna Philharmonic in complete sets of symphonies by Beethoven, Brahms, and Schumann.
No article on Bernstein would be complete without mentioning his compositions, which remain extremely popular and an important part of late 20th century American music. While his best-known work is the Broadway musical West Side Story, he wrote lots of other material for the stage that includes musicals On the Town and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the ballet Dybbuk, the one-act opera Trouble in Tahiti, and the operetta Candide. He composed numerous orchestral works, including three symphonies, several orchestral suites, and a Concerto for Orchestra. His most popular choral work is Chichester Psalms, a Hebrew text set to music for boy soprano, chorus and orchestra. He also composed several chamber pieces, including a piano trio and a sonata for clarinet and piano.
Bernstein conducts the overture to his opera Candide: