Leonard Bernstein's biography began in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He was the son of Ukrainian Jews Jenny (née Reznik) and Samuel Joseph Bernstein, a cosmetics wholesaler. Both parents were from Rovno (now Ukraine).
early years
His family often lived at their summer home in Sharon, Massachusetts. His grandmother insisted that the boy be named Louis, but his parents always called him Leonard. He legally changed his name to Leonard when he was fifteen, shortly after his grandmother's death. To his friends and many others, he introduced himself as simply "Lenny."
At a very early age, Leonard Bernstein heard the pianist's performance and was immediately captivated by this enchanting music. Subsequently, he began to seriously study the piano, after his family acquired the piano of his cousin Lillian Goldman. Bernstein attended Harrison Grammar School and Boston Latin School. As a child, he was very close to his younger sister Shirley and often played whole Beethoven operas and symphonies with her on the piano. During his youth, he had many piano tutors, including Helen Coates, who later became his secretary.
The university
After graduating from the Boston Latin School in 1935, the future conductor Leonard Bernstein attended Harvard University, where he studied music under the tutelage of Edward Burlingham-Hill and Walter Piston. Bernstein's greatest intellectual influence at Harvard was probably the professor of aesthetics David Prall, whose multidisciplinary view of art the great composer shared for the rest of his life.
At that time, Bernstein also met with the conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos. Although he never taught Bernstein, Mitropoulos' charisma and strength as a musician greatly influenced his decision to conduct. Mitropoulos was not stylistically close to Leonard Bernstein, but he probably influenced some of his later habits and also instilled in him an interest in Mahler.
Adulthood
After his studies, the future conductor lived in New York. He shared an apartment with his friend Adolph Green and often performed with him, Betty Comden and Judy Holliday in a comedy troupe called The Revolutionaries, which performed in Greenwich Village. He rented premises from a music publisher, transcribed music and created arrangements under the pseudonym Lenny Amber. ("bernstein" is German for "amber", as is "amber" in English) In 1940 he began his studies at the Summer Institute of the Boston Tanglewood Symphony Orchestra in the class of the orchestral conductor Serge Koussevitzky.
Bernstein's friendship with Copland (who was very close to Koussevitzky) and Mitropoulos was beneficial as it helped him get a place in the class. It may be that Koussevitzky did not teach Bernstein the basic style of conducting (which he had already developed under Reiner), but instead became a kind of father figure for him and may have instilled in him an emotional way of interpreting music. Bernstein then became the assistant conductor of Koussevitzky and later dedicated his Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Trouble" to him.
Carier start
On November 14, 1943, newly appointed assistant conductor to Arthur Rodzinsky of the New York Philharmonic, he made his major debut in no time - and without any rehearsal - after a guest conductor was unable to perform due to the flu. The program included works by Schumann, Miklos Roj, Wagner and Don Quixote by Richard Strauss with soloist Joseph Schuster, the orchestra's solo cellist. Before the concert, Leonard Bernstein spoke with Bruno Walter, briefly discussing the upcoming difficulties in the work. The next day, The New York Times published the story on its front page and remarked in an editorial: “This is a good American success story. A warm, friendly triumph filled Carnegie Hall and spread through the air. " He immediately became famous because the concert was broadcast nationwide via CBS Radio, and then Bernstein began performing as a guest conductor with many American orchestras.
At the head of the orchestra
From 1945 to 1947, Bernstein was Music Director of the Symphony Orchestra in New York, which was founded by conductor Leopold Stokowski. The orchestra (supported by the mayor) targeted a different audience than the New York Philharmonic, with more modern programs and cheaper tickets.
Further career
Bernstein was a professor of music theory from 1951 to 1956 at Brandeis University, and in 1952 he organized the Creative Arts Festival. He directed various productions at the first festival, including the premiere of his opera "Trouble in Tahiti" and the English version of Kurt Weill's "Three-penny Opera". The festival was renamed in his honor in 2005, becoming the Leonard Bernstein Art Festival. In 1953 he was the first American conductor to appear at La Scala in Milan, conducting the orchestra during a performance by Maria Callas at Cherubini's Medea. Callas and Bernstein have worked together many times since then. Remembering that period, biographers call the most famous work of Leonard Bernstein "West Side Story".
In 1960, Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic held the Mahler Festival to commemorate the composer's 100th birthday. Bernstein, Walter and Mitropoulos organized and hosted all the performances of the festival. The composer's widow, Alma, attended some of Leonard's rehearsals. In 1960, he made his first commercial recording of Mahler's symphony (fourth), and over the next seven years he worked on the first full cycle of recordings of all nine completed Mahler symphonies. All were represented by the New York Philharmonic, except for Symphony 8, which was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra for a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 1966. The success of these recordings, along with Bernstein's concerts and television broadcasts, determined a resurgence of interest in Maler in the 1960s, especially in the United States.
Bernstein also liked the Danish composer Karl Nielsen (whom few people knew in the United States at that time) and Jean Sibelius, whose popularity had begun to fade by that time. As a result, he nevertheless recorded a complete cycle of Sibelius symphonies and three Nielsen symphonies (nos. 2, 4 and 5), and also made recordings of his violin, clarinet and flute concertos. He also recorded Nielsen's 3rd Symphony with the Royal Danish Orchestra following his acclaimed public performance in Denmark. Bernstein has also performed with a repertoire of American composers, especially those with whom he was close, such as Aaron Copeland, William Schumann and David Diamond. He also began recording more of his own compositions for Columbia Records. This included his three symphonies, his ballets and symphonic dances from West Side Story with the New York Philharmonic. He also released his own 1944 music album On The Town, the first nearly complete recording of the original featuring several members of their old Broadway troupe, including Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Leonard Bernstein has also collaborated with experimental jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck.
Leaving the Philharmonic
After leaving the New York Philharmonic, Bernstein continued to appear with her for many years until his death, touring together in Europe in 1976 and Asia in 1979. He also strengthened his relationship with the Vienna Philharmonic, recording with them all nine completed Mahler symphonies (plus the adagio from Symphony No.10) between 1967 and 1976. They were all recorded for Unitel Studios, with the exception of a 1967 recording that Bernstein recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra at Eli Cathedral in 1973. In the late 1970s, the composer and conductor played and recorded a complete Beethoven symphony cycle with the Vienna Philharmonic, followed by the Brahms and Schumann cycles in the 1980s.
Work in Europe
In 1970, Bernstein decided to star in a ninety-minute program, filmed in and around Vienna right during the celebration of Beethoven's 200th anniversary. It contains excerpts from Bernstein's rehearsals and performances for concerts by Otto Schenk Fidelio. In addition to Bernstein, who conducted the 1st Piano Concerto during the 9th Symphony performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, the young Placido Domingo also performed as a soloist at the concert. The show, originally titled Beethoven's Birthday: A Celebration in Vienna, won an Emmy and was released on DVD in 2005. In the summer of 1970, during the London Festival, he played Verdi's Requiem at St Paul's Cathedral with the London Symphony Orchestra.
Last years
In 1990, Leonard Bernstein received the Premium Imperial International Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts. The composer used the $ 100,000 prize to create the Bernstein Education Foundation (BETA), Inc. He provided this grant for the development of an educational program specialized in arts. The Leonard Bernstein Center was established in April 1992 and initiated extensive research into musical theory, resulting in the so-called Bernstein Model, as well as a special art education program named after the great composer and director.
On 19 August 1990, Bernstein performed as conductor in Tanglewood, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra under his direction played "Four Marine Interludes" by Benjamin Britten and Peter Grimes, as well as Beethoven's Symphony No. 7. He was seized by a violent coughing fit during the third movement of Beethoven's symphony, but Bernstein nevertheless continued to conduct the concert until its conclusion, leaving the stage during a standing ovation. Less than two months later, Leonard Bernstein's musical works were "orphaned" - their creator, according to the official version, died of lung cancer.
Personal life
The intimate life of the great conductor and composer causes a lot of controversy in terms of its moral assessment. All official biographies of Leonard Bernstein agree that he was 100% homosexual and married only to advance his career. All colleagues and even his wife knew about his sexual orientation. Towards the end of his life, he decided that he could no longer lie to himself and everyone else, and moved in with his then partner - musical director Tom Contran. Quotes by Leonard Bernstein, by which one could more clearly judge his personal life, have not survived.
Isn't there a secret in him? He burns so much on the stage, he gives himself so much to the music! The orchestras love him.
R. Celetti
The activities of L. Bernstein are striking, first of all, for their diversity: a talented composer, known throughout the world as the author of the musical "West Side Story", the greatest conductor of the 20th century. (he is called one of the most worthy successors of G. Karayan), a brilliant music writer and lecturer, who knows how to find a common language with the widest circle of listeners, a pianist and teacher.
Bernstein was destined to become a musician, and he stubbornly followed the chosen path, despite the obstacles, sometimes very significant. When the boy was 11 years old, he began to take music lessons and after a month he decided that he would be a musician. But his father, who considered music to be empty fun, did not pay for the lessons, and the boy himself began to earn money for teaching.
At the age of 17, Bernstein entered Harvard University, where he studied the art of composing music, playing the piano, and attended lectures on the history of music, philology and philosophy. After graduating from university in 1939, he continued his studies - now at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia (1939-41). An event in the life of Bernstein was a meeting with the largest conductor, a native of Russia, S. Koussevitsky. An internship under his supervision at the Berkshire Music Center (Tanglewood) marked the beginning of a warm friendship between the two. Bernstein became Koussevitzky's assistant, and soon became assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (1943-44). Prior to that, not having a permanent income, he lived on the funds from occasional lessons, concert performances, and pianoforte work.
A fortunate fortune hastened the start of Bernstein's illustrious career as a conductor. The world famous B. Walter, who was supposed to perform with the New York Orchestra, suddenly fell ill. The permanent conductor of the orchestra A. Rodzinsky was resting outside the city (it was Sunday), and there was nothing to do but entrust the concert to a novice assistant. After spending the whole night studying the most complicated scores, Bernstein appeared in front of the audience the next day, without a single rehearsal. It was a triumph for the young conductor and a sensation in the music world.
From now on, the largest concert halls in America and Europe have opened in front of Bernstein. In 1945 he replaced L. Stokowski as chief conductor of the New York City Symphony Orchestra, conducted orchestras in London, Vienna and Milan. Bernstein conquered the audience with his spontaneous temperament, romantic inspiration, and the depth of penetration into music. The musician's artistry truly knows no bounds: he conducted one of his comic pieces ... "without hands", controlling the orchestra only with facial expressions and glances. For over 10 years (1958-69) Bernstein served as Principal Conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra until he decided to devote more time and energy to composing music.
Bernstein's works began to be performed almost simultaneously with his debut as a conductor (vocal cycle “I Hate Music”, symphony “Jeremiah” to a text from the Bible for voice and orchestra, ballet “Not in Love”). In his younger years, Bernstein prefers theatrical music. He is the author of the opera Troubles in Tahiti (1952), two ballets; but the greatest success has been with his four musicals written for Broadway theaters. The premiere of the first of them ("In the City") took place in 1944, and many of its numbers immediately gained popularity of "militants". Bernstein's musical genre goes back to the very roots of American musical culture: cowboy and black songs, Mexican dances, sharp jazz rhythms. In The Wonderful City (1952), which has withstood more than half a thousand performances in one season, one can feel the reliance on swing, the jazz style of the 1930s. But the musical is not a purely entertainment show. In Candida (1956), the composer turned to Voltaire's plot, and West Side Story (1957) is nothing more than the tragic story of Romeo and Juliet, transferred to America with its racial clashes. With its drama, this musical approaches the opera.
Bernstein writes sacred music for chorus and orchestra (Kaddish oratorio, Chichester Psalms), symphonies (Second, Age of Troubles - 1949; Third, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Boston Orchestra - 1957), Serenade for string orchestra and percussion based on Plato's dialogue “Symposium” ( 1954, a series of table toasts praising love), soundtracks.
Since 1951, when Koussevitzky died, Bernstein took his class at Tanglewood and began teaching at the University of Weltem (Massachusetts), lecturing at Harvard. With the help of television, Bernstein's audience - educator and educator - has surpassed the confines of any university. Both in his lectures and in his books The Joy of Music (1959) and The Endless Variety of Music (1966), Bernstein seeks to infect people with his love for music, an inquisitive interest in it.
In 1971, for the grand opening of the Art Center. J. Kennedy in Washington, Bernstein creates Mass, which has caused very contradictory responses from critics. Many were embarrassed by the combination of traditional religious chants with elements of spectacular Broadway shows (with dancers participating in the Mass), jazz and rock songs. One way or another, the breadth of Bernstein's musical interests, his omnivorousness and complete absence of dogmatism, was manifested here. Bernstein visited the USSR more than once. During the 1988 tour (on the eve of his 70th birthday) he conducted the International Orchestra of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival (FRG), consisting of young musicians. “For me, in general, it is important to address the topic of young people and communicate with them,” said the composer. “This is one of the most important things in our life, because young people are our future. I like to pass on my knowledge and feelings to them, to teach them. "
K. Zenkin
Without in any way challenging the talents of Bernstein - a composer, pianist, lecturer - we can nevertheless say with confidence that he owes his fame primarily to the art of conducting. Both Americans and music lovers in Europe have called on Bernstein as conductor before. It happened in the mid-forties, when Bernstein was not yet thirty years old, and his artistic experience was negligible. Leonard Bernstein has received extensive and comprehensive professional training. At Harvard University, he studied composition and piano playing.
At the famous Curtis Institute, his teachers were R. Thompson in orchestration and F. Reiner but in conducting. In addition to this, he improved under the guidance of S. Koussevitzky - at the Berkshire Summer School in Tanglewood. At the same time, in order to earn a living, Lenny, as his friends and admirers still call him, hired a pianist in a choreographic troupe. But he was soon fired, because instead of the traditional ballet accompaniment, he forced dancers to practice to the music of Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Copland and his own improvisations.
In 1943, Bernstein became B. Walter's assistant in the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Soon he happened to replace his ailing leader, and since then he began performing with increasing success. At the end of 1E45, Bernstein was already in charge of the City Symphony Orchestra of New York.
Bernstein made his European debut after the end of the war, at the Prague Spring of 1946, where his concerts also attracted widespread attention. In those same years, the audience got acquainted with the first works of Bernstain. His symphony "Jeremiah" was recognized by critics as the best work of 1945 in the United States. The following years were marked for Bernstein with hundreds of concerts, tours on different continents, premieres of his new compositions and continuous growth in popularity. He was the first among American conductors to stand in 1953 at the La Scala console, then he performs with the best orchestras in Europe, and in 1958 he leads the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and soon makes a triumphant tour of Europe with him, during which he performs in THE USSR; finally, a little later, he also became the lead conductor of the Metropolitan Opera. The tour at the Vienna State Opera, where Bernstein made a real sensation in 1966 with his interpretation of Verdi's Falstaff, finally consolidated the artist's worldwide recognition.
What are the reasons for its success? Anyone who has heard Bernstain at least once will easily answer this question. Bernstein is an artist of a spontaneous, volcanic temperament who captivates listeners, makes them listen to music with bated breath, even when his interpretation may seem unusual or controversial to you. The orchestra under his direction plays music freely, naturally and at the same time not-usual intensively - everything that happens seems to be improvisation. The conductor's movements are extremely expressive, temperamental, but at the same time completely accurate - it seems that his figure, his hands and facial expressions seem to radiate music that is being born before your eyes. One of the musicians who attended the performance of "Falstaff" under the direction of Bernstein admitted that ten minutes after the start he stopped looking at the stage and did not take his eyes off the conductor - so fully and accurately reflected the entire content of the opera. Of course, this unrestrained expression, this passionate impulse is not uncontrollable - it only achieves its goal because it embodies the depth of the intellect that allows the conductor to penetrate into the composer's plan, to convey it with utmost integrity and authenticity, with a high force of experience.
Bernstein retains these qualities also in those cases when he acts simultaneously as a conductor and pianist, performing concertos by Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Gershwin's Blue Rhapsody. Bernstein's repertoire is huge. Only as head of the New York Philharmonic, he performed almost all classical and modern music - from Bach to Mahler and R. Strauss, Stravinsky and Schoenberg.
Among his recordings are almost all the symphonies of Beethoven, Schumann, Mahler, Brahms, and dozens of other major works. It is difficult to name a piece of American music that Bernstein would not have performed with his orchestra: over the course of several years, he usually included one American piece in each of his programs. Bernstein is an excellent interpreter of Soviet music, especially Shostakovich's symphonies, whom the conductor considers "the last great symphonist."
Peru Bernstein-composer owns works of different genres. Among them are three symphonies, operas, musical comedies, the musical "West Side Story", which has gone around the world. Bernstein has been trying to devote more time to composition lately. To this end, in 1969, he leaves his post as head of the New York Philharmonic. But he intends to continue to periodically perform with the orchestra, which, noting its remarkable achievements, awarded Bernstein the title of “Lifetime Conductor-Laureate of the New York Philharmonic”.
L. Grigoriev, J. Platek, 1969
I don't want to spend my life like Toscanini learning the same
50 pieces. I would die of boredom. I want to conduct, I want to play the fort piano. I want to write for Hollywood. I want to compose symphonic my music. I want to try to be a musician in the full sense of the word. I also want to teach. I want to write books and poetry. And I believe thatI can do it all in the best possible way.
Leonard Bernstein
American conductor, composerandeducator Leonard Bernstein was born on August 25, 1918 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, into a family of Jewish immigrants from UkraineSamuel Bernstein and Jenny Reznik Bernstein. Bernstein's maternal grandmother insisted that her grandson be named Louis (Louis), but the family preferred to call the boy Leonard or Lenny, and at the age of 16, receiving a driver's license, Leonard officially took that name for himself.
Compared to other renowned musicians, Bernstein started his music studies rather late. It was only at the age of ten that he saw the piano for the first time: the composer's aunt divorced her husband and, moving from Massachusetts to New York, gave the Berstein some of her things, including an old piano. Leonard Bernstein recalled: "I remember how I touched him the day he was brought ... I had no doubts that my whole life would be connected with music ..."
From 1945 to 1947, Bernstein was Music Director of the New York Symphony Orchestra. After the death of Sergei Koussevitsky in 1951, he headed the Orchestral and Conducting Department at Tanglewood, where he taught for many years. At the beginning 50's Leonard Bernstein has collaborated with the Brandeis University Art Festival. In 1951 he married the Chilean actress and pianist Felicia Montealegre, who bore him three children.
Bernstein traveled extensively around the world. In 1946 he conducted in London and at the Prague International Music Festival. In 1947 he performed in Tel Aviv - this marked the beginning of Leonard's connection with Israel, prodlasted until the end of his life. V 70th the composer has recorded most of his symphonic music with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1953 Leonard Bernstein became the first American conductor to be invited to the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. His debut at the orchestra of the renowned opera venue was Cherubini's Medea with Maria Callas in the title role.
Bernstein was the leading promoter of contemporary composers - Samuel Barbert, Francis Poulenc, avant-garde composers 60s - William ShUman, Roy Harris, Paul Bowles and Wallingford Rigger.He performed and recorded a lot and willingly the works of his close friend, the American com
positora Aaron Copland. In his youth, Leonard is so hourthen he played his "Variations for Piano", that this work became Bernstein's trademark as a pianista. The writing style of Leonard Bernstein was also influenced by the work of Copeland. Bernstein - author of three symphonies, several choral, vocal and pianocycles, three ballets and two operas. However, the most popular were his works for musical theater. In total, Leonard Bernstein composed five musicals and one operetta. And here he did not want to be like everyone else: he recklessly collided classical intonations and modern rhythms, cultivating his own special, eclectical style. The composer's daughter Jamie described her father's work as follows: "He composed jazz music for concert halls and symphonic music for the Broadway stage."
Two conductors - one symphony. Mravinsky and Bernstein. 5 Shostakovich's symphony.
At the beginning 40s an up-and-coming choreographer named Jerome Robbins shared with Bernstein his idea for a dance show about three sailors who spend 24 hours in New York. The result was the ballet The Carefree, which premiered in 1944. This project marked the beginning of Bernstein's composing career and his collaboration with Robbins, with whom he created two more ballets, Facsimile (1946) and Dybbuk (1974).
The "Carefree" plot was developed in the musical "Dismissal to the City". Bernstein was co-written by director George Abbott and librettists Betty Comden and Adolph Green. As in ballet, the show was set in New York during World War II, and its main characters - sailors Gaby, Chip and Ozzy - went on leave to New York, where in their allotted 24 hours they experienced romantic adventures. The show breathed youth and enthusiasm and did not go unnoticed on Broadway.
In 1971, Bernstein was invited for a year at Harvard to the honorary position of Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry. Among the participants in this program were not only outstanding poets and writers, but also art historians and musicians such as Igor Stravinsky and Aaron Copland. Bernstein prepared a six-lecture series for Harvard entitled "The Unanswered Question." In it, using an interdisciplinary approach that was relevant at the time, he analyzed music through the prism of linguistics, aesthetics, philosophy and musical history. During his year at Harvard, Bernstein became a student idol and was named "Person of the Year".
Leonard Bernstein wrote several books that dealt with various aspects of musical culture: The Joy of Music (1959), Concerts for Young People, An Endless Variety of Music (1966), An Unanswered Question (1976) and Discoveries ( 1982).
In 1990, Bernstein was forced to leave conducting for health reasons. It was not an easy step for a person accustomed to being constantly in sight. Five days after the announcementabout leavingLeonardBernstein passed away.On the day of his funeral procession through the streets of Manhattan, construction workers waved their hats and shouted, "Goodbye, Lenny."
The composer was buried in the Greenwood treasure in Brooklyn. Children put a baton in their father's coffinBernstein, score of Mahler's Fifth Symphony.
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Earlier:Outstanding conductor of the 20th century, composer Leonard Bernstein ()
It is possible to list the merits and achievements of Leonard Bernstein for a long time; during his life, he performed many wonderful concerts and wrote many magnificent works. One of, perhaps, the most important achievements of Leonard was more than 10 years as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic.
Leonard Bernstein is an American composer, conductor, writer and pianist. He became one of the first American-born and educated conductors to achieve international renown; according to some sources, he was one of the most talented and successful musicians in the history of the country.
Leonard was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts (Lawrence, Massachusetts), in the family of Ukrainian Jews Jennie Resnick and Samuel Joseph Bernstein. Film composer Elmer Bernstein Leonard is not a relative, although the two of them had a chance to be friends, and outwardly they were pretty much alike; in the music world they were called the West and East Bernstein. At birth, Bernstein was named Louis, at the insistence of his grandmother; parents, however, always called their son Leonard, and he himself clearly preferred this name - after the death of his grandmother, he even changed it officially.
Leonard was fond of music from an early age; the father initially did not approve of his son's hobbies, but he still took him to concerts,
and subsequently agreed to pay for his musical education. After leaving school, Bernstein entered Harvard, where he studied music for some time; He was most influenced, however, by local aesthetics teacher David Prall, from whom Leonard took over his interest in an interdisciplinary approach. After graduating with honors, Leonard went to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia; here studying gave him much less pleasure, although Bernstein learned something useful from here too.
After graduation, Bernstein lived for some time in New York; along with his friend and neighbor Adolph Green, he performed with the comedy troupe "The Revuers" in Greenwich Village. Leonard's social life was very active; relations during this period he had with both men and women. In 1940, Bernstein began studying at the Summer Institute of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, in the class of conducting.
Bernstein had to make his debut as a conductor quite suddenly; On November 14, 1943, Leonard was informed that the guest conductor had come down with the flu. Bernstein had to replace him almost at the last moment, and without any rehearsals. Leonard coped with his task perfectly - and in an instant he became a star; the concert in which he suddenly became a conductor was broadcast nationally, and in The New York Times, the replacement story made it into the editorial. Bernstein began to be invited to the performances of major American orchestras.
From 1945 to 1947, Bernstein served as Music Director of the New York Symphony Orchestra, founded just a year earlier; the orchestra differed from the New York Philharmonic primarily in its orientation towards a wider audience (and more affordable ticket prices).
After World War II, Bernstein was also talked about at the international level. In 1946, he first went on tour to Europe, in 1947 - for the first time
e performed in Tel Aviv (Tel Aviv). A year later, he had the opportunity to perform in the open air for troops in Beersheba - in the heart of the desert, during the Arab-Israeli war.
On September 10, 1951, Leonard married the Chilean-American actress Felicia Cohn Montealegre. It was rumored that this marriage - after much deliberation and a rather unstable relationship - Leonard went to maintain the image, on the advice of a colleague. There was a lot of controversy about Bernstein's orientation; apparently Leonard was at least bisexual. At least the first years of marriage, however, turned out to be quite rosy - and later the spouses even had three children.
In 1951, Bernstein acted as conductor of the New York Philharmonic at the world premiere of Charles Ives' Symphony No. 2 - written almost 50 years ago, but never performed. In 1958, Leonard became the musical director of the entire orchestra; he held this position until
1969. In 1959, Bernstein toured Europe and the USSR with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra; The key moment of the tour was the performance of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony in the presence of the composer himself.
Bernstein continued to work successfully further; he did a lot to reveal to the world several little-known or unjustly forgotten composers. In 1966, Leonard made his debut at the Vienna State Opera. Bernstein spent some more time in Vienna, simultaneously recording an opera for Columbia Records and arranging his first subscription concert.
Working with the New York Philharmonic led Leonard to abandon his composing career somewhat, although Bernstein did write a symphony in honor of the recently assassinated President Kennedy (John F. Kennedy) on his "day off". In order to somehow relieve his busy schedule, Leonard decided to leave the post of musical director - and subsequently did not occupy such positions. Perform with the orc
strom, however, Bernstein continued until his death, occasionally going on tour. Leonard also developed good relations with the Vienna Philharmonic - here he staged all 9 completed symphonies by Gustav Mahler.
Certain problems for Bernstein could be caused by his political views - like many of his friends and colleagues, Bernstein actively collaborated with organizations and movements of the left from the 40s. The US State Department even blacklisted Leonard, although this did not particularly affect his career.
Leaving managerial activity, Bernstein began to actively write music; during this period he wrote "MASS: A Theater Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers", the soundtrack for the ballet "Dybbuk"; orchestral-vocal "Songfest" and musical "1600 Pennsylvania Avenue". The premiere of "MASS" was also conceived as an anti-war action; this rather unusual and eclectic work contained certain attacks on the Roman Catholic
a historical church.
In 1979, Leonard Bernstein was the conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for the first and only time in his life.
Until the very end of the 1980s, Bernstein continued to write, conduct, teach and create new music. Among his most famous works of this period, the opera "Quiet Place" should be mentioned. Bernstein's last performance as conductor was on 19th August 1990, with the Boston Symphony. During the next piece, Leonard was attacked by a terrible cough, which almost disrupted the concert; the conductor, however, regained control of himself. On October 9, 1990, Bernstein announced his retirement, and 5 days later he died of a heart attack. Leonard was only 72 years old at the time of his death; being a heavy smoker, closer to 55 years old, the composer was forced to fight with emphysema. The sketches of his memoir "Blue Ink" survived only in electronic form, and the document was password-protected and remains uncracked and unread to this day.
Bernstein's parents are from Rivne. Bernstein studied composition at Harvard University with Walter Piston, then studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Fritz Reiner (conducting), Randall Thompson (orchestration), Richard Stöhr ... Read all
Leonard Bernstein (born August 25, 1918, Lawrence, Massachusetts - October 14, 1990, New York) is an American composer, pianist and conductor.
Bernstein's parents are from Rivne. Bernstein studied composition at Harvard University with Walter Piston, then studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Fritz Reiner (conducting), Randall Thompson (orchestration), Richard Stöhr (counterpoint) and Isabella Wengerova (piano); later he also studied under the guidance of Sergei Koussevitsky.
Assistant Conductor (1943-44), Conductor (1957-58), Principal Conductor (1958-69) of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (where he succeeded Bruno Walter) and the New York City Symphony Orchestra (1945-48).
Winner of the Siemens Prize (1987). Author of The Joy of Music (1959) and The Infinite Variety of Music (1966).
Died of a heart attack.
Essays
Opera
* "Trouble in Tahiti" (1952, Waltham)
* "Quiet Place" ("A Quiet Place"; 1986, Vienna),
* operetta "Candide" (1956, New York)
Musicals
* Dismissal to the city (On the Town)
* Peter Pan (1950)
* Wonderful Town (1953)
* Candide (1956)
* West Side Story (1957)
Symphonies
* Jeremiah (1942)
* The Age of Anxiety (1949)
* Kaddish (Kaddiss, 1963)
Other
* music for the ballet "Fancy Free"
* "Chichester Psalms" for chorus and orchestra (Chichester Psalms, 1965)
* Mass (1971)
