Leonard Bernstein was a highly influential American conductor, composer, pianist, educator, author, and humanitarian. He achieved international recognition as the first American-born conductor to gain such acclaim. Celebrated for his prodigious talent, Bernstein received numerous honors including seven Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and 16 Grammy Awards. He was also nominated for an Academy Award and honored with the Kennedy Center Honor in 1981, solidifying his legacy as one of the most significant figures in American music history.
On August 25, 1918, Louis Bernstein, later known as Leonard Bernstein, was born. He became a celebrated American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian.
On March 30, 1932, Bernstein gave his first public piano performance, playing Brahms's Rhapsody in G minor at a studio recital.
In 1932, Leonard Bernstein's youngest sibling, Burton, was born.
In 1935, Bernstein enrolled at Harvard College to study music, and he composed his first extant composition, Psalm 148.
In 1937, Bernstein met Aaron Copland and impressed him by playing Copland's Piano Variations.
In 1939, Bernstein graduated from Harvard with a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude.
In 1939, as a college student at Harvard, Bernstein organized and led a performance of Marc Blitzstein's banned musical, "The Cradle Will Rock", about the struggles of the working class.
In 1940, Bernstein attended the inaugural year of the Tanglewood Music Center and studied conducting with Serge Koussevitzky.
In 1940, Dimitri Mitropoulos invited Bernstein to come to Minneapolis for the 1940–41 season to be his assistant, but the plan fell through because of union issues.
In 1941, Bernstein received a diploma in conducting from the Curtis Institute of Music.
On April 21, 1942, Bernstein performed the premiere of his first published work, Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, with clarinetist David Glazer in Boston.
In April 1943, Bernstein sought advice from Aaron Copland about living as a gay man in the public eye.
On November 14, 1943, Leonard Bernstein made his unexpected major conducting debut with the New York Philharmonic after Bruno Walter fell ill.
In 1943, Bernstein and Jerome Robbins began work on their first collaboration, Fancy Free.
In 1943, Bernstein's last-minute conducting debut with the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, broadcast live nationwide, caused him to become famous overnight.
On January 28, 1944, Bernstein conducted the premiere of his Symphony No. 1: Jeremiah with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and soloist Jennie Tourel.
On April 18, 1944, the ballet 'Fancy Free,' a collaboration between Bernstein and Jerome Robbins, premiered with the Ballet Theatre in New York.
On December 28, 1944, 'On the Town,' a musical expanded from the ballet 'Fancy Free', opened on Broadway and broke race barriers.
In 1944, Bernstein's theater work, 'On the Town', premiered.
Between 1945 and 1950, Bernstein recorded a variety of works for RCA Victor, primarily his own compositions and those of other American composers.
In 1945, Bernstein became the music director of the New York City Symphony.
On July 4, 1946, Bernstein conducted the European premiere of 'Fancy Free' in London.
In 1947, Bernstein was the music director of the New York City Symphony.
In April 1949, Bernstein performed as a piano soloist in the world premiere of his Symphony No. 2: The Age of Anxiety.
On December 2, 1949, Bernstein conducted the world premiere of Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
On December 10, 1949, Bernstein made his first television appearance as a conductor with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.
In 1949, 'On the Town' was adapted into an MGM motion picture starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra.
On April 24, 1950, the Broadway production of 'Peter Pan', for which Bernstein composed incidental music, opened.
Between 1945 and 1950, Bernstein recorded a variety of works for RCA Victor, primarily his own compositions and those of other American composers.
On September 9, 1951, Bernstein married actress Felicia Montealegre Cohn and they had three children: Jamie, Alexander, and Nina.
In 1951, Bernstein became head of the orchestra and conducting departments at Tanglewood after Koussevitzky's death.
In 1951, Bernstein composed 'Trouble in Tahiti,' a one-act opera, during his honeymoon.
On February 25, 1953, Wonderful Town opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre. The musical starred Rosalind Russell, Edie Adams, and George Gaynes, and would go on to win five Tony Awards.
In 1953, Bernstein became the first American conductor to appear at La Scala in Milan, conducting Cherubini's Medea.
In 1953, Bernstein composed the theater work, 'Wonderful Town'.
On November 14, 1954, Bernstein presented the first of his television lectures for the CBS Television Network arts program Omnibus, entitled "Beethoven's Fifth Symphony."
In 1954, Bernstein composed 'Serenade after Plato's "Symposium"' and the original score for the film "On the Waterfront".
On April 19, 1955, 'Trouble in Tahiti' opened on Broadway at the Playhouse Theatre.
In 1955, Callas and Bernstein reunited at La Scala to perform Bellini's La sonnambula.
On April 2, 1956, Bernstein signed his first long-term contract with Columbia Records as conductor, piano soloist, and commentator.
On December 1, 1956, Candide opened on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre, directed by Tyrone Guthrie. Despite being a box office disaster, the cast album became a cult classic and kept Bernstein's score alive.
From 1951 to 1956, Bernstein was a visiting music professor at Brandeis University.
In 1956, Bernstein composed the theater work, 'Candide'.
On September 26, 1957, West Side Story opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway. The production, directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, ran for 732 performances and won Tony Awards for Robbins and Oliver Smith.
In 1957, Bernstein conducted the inaugural concert of the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv.
In 1957, Bernstein was appointed the music director of the New York Philharmonic, sharing the post jointly with Dimitri Mitropoulos.
In 1958, Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic embarked on its first tour south of the border, through 12 countries in Central and South America.
In 1958, Bernstein took sole charge as music director of the New York Philharmonic.
On May 14, 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower broke ground for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
In 1959, Bernstein and the Philharmonic undertook a 50-concert tour through Europe and the Soviet Union, sponsored by the Department of State.
In 1960, Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic marked the centennial of Gustav Mahler's birth with a series of performances, with Mahler's widow Alma attending some of the rehearsals.
In 1961, Bernstein composed and conducted a fanfare for President John F. Kennedy's pre-inaugural gala.
In 1961, Bernstein led the Philharmonic on their first visit to Japan, which included acclaimed concerts and cultural exchange.
In 1961, Bernstein's recording of Humor in Music was awarded a Grammy award for Best Documentary or Spoken Word Recording.
In 1961, West Side Story was adapted into a feature film.
On April 6, 1962, Bernstein addressed the audience before a performance of the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, explaining Glenn Gould's idiosyncratic approach to the work.
On September 23, 1962, the New York Philharmonic moved from Carnegie Hall to its new home, Philharmonic Hall (now David Geffen Hall), with Bernstein conducting the gala opening concert.
In 1962, Bernstein began conducting as music director of the New York Philharmonic from its opening as Philharmonic Hall.
On November 23, 1963, the day after President John F. Kennedy's assassination, Bernstein conducted a nationally televised memorial featuring Mahler's Symphony No. 2.
In 1963, Bernstein wrote his Symphony No. 3: Kaddish, which he dedicated to the memory of John F. Kennedy.
In 1964, Bernstein conducted at the Metropolitan Opera for the first time in Franco Zeffirelli's production of Verdi's Falstaff.
In 1964, the Bernstein family sold their house in Redding, Connecticut. Bernstein maintained a studio with a piano in each of his dwellings.
On March 24, 1965, Bernstein participated in the Stars for Freedom Rally in support of the marchers heading from Selma to Montgomery.
On July 15, 1965, Chichester Psalms premiered at Philharmonic Hall in New York City, conducted by Bernstein himself.
In 1965, the Concerts in the Parks were launched, connecting with New Yorkers, and often conducted by Bernstein.
In 1966, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis commissioned Bernstein to compose a work for the inauguration of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
In 1967, Bernstein conducted a concert on Mount Scopus to commemorate the Reunification of Jerusalem.
On January 21, 1968, Bernstein and Paul Newman co-hosted "Broadway for Peace" to support the Congressional Peace Campaign Committee, with Bernstein composing "So Pretty" for Barbra Streisand.
In 1968, after Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated, Bernstein conducted the "Adagietto" movement from Mahler's Symphony No. 5 at the funeral mass.
Bernstein began writing Mass in 1969 as a large-scale theatrical work based on the Tridentine Mass of the Catholic Church.
In 1969, Bernstein became Conductor Laureate of the New York Philharmonic and founded Amberson Productions.
In 1969, Bernstein stopped being the music director of the New York Philharmonic.
In 1969, Bernstein was appointed "Laureate Conductor" of the New York Philharmonic.
On January 14, 1970, Bernstein and his wife Felicia held an event at their Manhattan apartment seeking to raise awareness and funds for the defense of members of the Black Panther Party.
In 1970, Amberson Productions, in partnership with Unitel, created a video production of Verdi's Requiem Mass in St. Paul's Cathedral with the London Symphony Orchestra.
In 1970, Bernstein returned to The Met to conduct Cavalleria rusticana.
In 1970, Bernstein wrote and narrated "Bernstein on Beethoven: A Celebration in Vienna," an in-depth exploration of Beethoven on the composer's 200th birthday, filmed on location in and around Vienna. The show won an Emmy Award.
On September 8, 1971, Mass premiered, conducted by Maurice Peress, directed by Gordon Davidson, and choreographed by Alvin Ailey.
In 1971, Bernstein composed 'Mass'.
In 1971, Bernstein created Mass: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers.
In 1972, Bernstein made his first recording for Deutsche Grammophon with Bizet's Carmen.
In 1972, Bernstein recorded Bizet's Carmen, with Marilyn Horne in the title role and James McCracken as Don Jose. It was Bernstein's first recording for Deutsche Grammophon and won a Grammy.
In 1972, Bernstein returned to The Met to conduct Carmen.
In 1972, Bernstein's influential series of music education programs, the Young People's Concerts, ended after 53 episodes.
In 1972, Mstislav Rostropovich was prohibited to travel outside of the Soviet Union.
In the 1972 academic year, Bernstein was appointed to the Charles Eliot Norton Chair as Professor of Poetry at Harvard, where he delivered six lectures, The Unanswered Question.
In 1973, Amberson productions recorded Bernstein conducting Mahler's Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection" with the London Symphony Orchestra at Ely Cathedral.
On May 16, 1974, Bernstein's ballet Dybbuk was premiered by the New York City Ballet at the New York State Theater, with Bernstein conducting.
In November 1974, a revision of the choreography and score of Dybbuk, titled Dybbuk Variations, was premiered.
In 1974, Bernstein created Dybbuk.
In 1974, Bernstein played a key role in the release of Mstislav Rostropovich from the USSR after Rostropovich had been held in disgrace for years.
In October 1976, Bernstein's concert in Munich with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and pianist Claudio Arrau to benefit Amnesty International.
On October 17, 1976, Bernstein made his first live recording on Deutsche Grammophon, which started a 14-year collaboration.
In 1976, Bernstein intended to present Songfest as a tribute to the American Bicentennial, but it was not finished in time.
In 1976, Bernstein left Felicia for a period to live in Northern California with Tom Cothran.
In 1976, Bernstein recorded Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique and Harold en Italie for EMI.
In 1976, Bernstein's six lectures, The Unanswered Question, were broadcast on PBS.
On October 11, 1977, Bernstein's Songfest: A Cycle of American Poems for Six Singers and Orchestra premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
On June 16, 1978, Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein died of lung cancer, with Bernstein caring for her until her death.
Between 1956 and 1979, Bernstein recorded over 500 compositions for Columbia, 455 of which were recorded with the New York Philharmonic.
In 1979, Bernstein conducted the Berlin Philharmonic for the first and only time, in two charity concerts for Amnesty International featuring performances of Mahler's Ninth Symphony.
In 1980, Bernstein gave a commencement speech at Johns Hopkins University warning the graduating class of the dangers of nuclear proliferation.
In 1981, Bernstein recorded Wagner's Tristan und Isolde for Philips Records.
In 1981, Leonard Bernstein received the Kennedy Center Honor, recognizing his contributions to the performing arts.
In 1982, Bernstein co-founded the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute, a summer training academy inspired by Tanglewood. He served as artistic co-director and taught conducting classes for two summers.
In 1982, PBS aired the Emmy-nominated series Bernstein/Beethoven featuring all nine Beethoven symphonies using films that Unitel had recorded of Bernstein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic in the late 1970s.
On April 30, 1983, Bernstein participated in one of the earliest HIV / AIDS fundraisers at Madison Square Garden, conducting the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Orchestra.
In a written statement for a June 1983 benefit for AIDS advocacy in Houston, Bernstein stated, "AIDS is not, repeat not, the Gay Plague it is so often made out to be; it is part of the human condition, and must be universally researched and annihilated."
In 1983, Bernstein conducted at the Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala.
In 1983, Bernstein created A Quiet Place.
In 1983, Bernstein dedicated the activities surrounding his 65th birthday to the issue of nuclear disarmament.
In 1984, Bernstein and Wadsworth reconfigured A Quiet Place to include Trouble in Tahiti in its middle.
In 1984, Bernstein conducted a Deutsche Grammophon recording of West Side Story, his only recording of the entire work.
On July 4, 1985, Bernstein conducted a nationally televised performance of Songfest as part of the National Symphony's annual A Capitol Fourth concert.
In 1985, Bernstein brought the European Community Youth Orchestra on a "Journey for Peace" tour across Europe and Japan, performing at the Hiroshima Peace Ceremony.
In 1985, Bernstein was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy.
In May 1986, Bernstein conducted the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus for the inaugural concert of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, performing Haydn's Die Schöpfung (The Creation).
In May 1986, the London Symphony Orchestra mounted a Bernstein Festival at the Barbican Centre, featuring a concert in which Bernstein conducted his own works. Queen Elizabeth II attended the performance.
On November 8, 1987, Bernstein participated in "Music for Life", a concert at Carnegie Hall to benefit the Gay Men's Health Crisis, dedicated to Dr. Mathilde Krim.
During summer 1987, Bernstein celebrated the 100th anniversary of Nadia Boulanger at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau and gave a master class.
In 1988, Bernstein had a lavish televised gala to celebrate his 70th birthday.
On November 15, 1989, Bernstein refused the National Medal of Arts from President George H. W. Bush in protest against the revoked National Endowment for the Arts grant for an AIDS-related art exhibit.
In December 1989, Bernstein conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in his operetta Candide and subsequently recorded the work at Abbey Road Studios.
On December 25, 1989, Bernstein conducted Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in East Berlin's Konzerthaus as part of a celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall, replacing "joy" with "freedom" in Schiller's Ode to Joy.
In 1989, Bernstein created Ode to "Freedom".
In August 1990, Bernstein had his final concert performance.
On August 19, 1990, Bernstein conducted his last concert with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood.
On October 9, 1990, Bernstein announced his retirement from conducting.
October 14, 1990, marked the death of Leonard Bernstein, a highly influential American conductor, composer, and musician.
In 1990, Bernstein founded the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, with Michael Tilson Thomas and the London Symphony Orchestra, emphasizing musical training for young students.
In 1990, Bernstein received the Praemium Imperiale and used the $100,000 prize to establish The Bernstein Education Through the Arts (BETA) Fund to develop an arts-based education program.
In 1990, Bernstein used his Praemium Imperiale award money to initiate a project in Nashville, Tennessee that would eventually lead to the nationwide teaching model known as Artful Learning.
In 1990, Leonard Bernstein's 14-year collaboration with Deutsche Grammophon ended due to his death.
In April 1992, the Leonard Bernstein Center was posthumously established, initiating extensive school-based research that led to the current Leonard Bernstein Artful Learning Program.
Between 1992 and 1993, Sony reissued and digitally remastered Bernstein's complete Columbia catalog.
Between 1992 and 1993, Sony reissued and digitally remastered Bernstein's complete Columbia catalog.
In 1997, Sony issued the "Bernstein Century" series, featuring re-releases and items from the "Royal Edition".
In 1998, Bernstein was posthumously inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.
In 2000, Pope John Paul II requested a performance of Mass at the Vatican itself.
By 2001, Sony continued to release the "Bernstein Century" series, which was a combination of re-releases and items from the "Royal Edition".
In 2002, to commemorate Bernstein's legacy as an educator, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival created the Leonard Bernstein Award to honor young musicians.
In 2008, Bernstein was the second-most frequently performed American composer (behind Aaron Copland).
In 2008, Sony acquired Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG), gaining the rights to Leonard Bernstein's RCA Victor recordings.
In 2010, the complete Bernstein Columbia and RCA Victor catalog was reissued on CD as part of the "Leonard Bernstein Edition".
In 2014, the complete Bernstein Columbia and RCA Victor catalog was reissued on CD as part of the "Leonard Bernstein Edition".
In 2015, Bernstein was inducted into the Legacy Walk.
On August 25, 2018, the 100th anniversary of his birth, Bernstein was honored with a Google Doodle. The Skirball Cultural Center also created an exhibition titled Leonard Bernstein at 100.
In 2018, Bernstein was the third-most played composer worldwide.
In 2018, Bernstein's Centennial year, Chichester Psalms was cited as the 5th-most performed concert work worldwide.
In 2018, the complete Bernstein Columbia and RCA Victor catalog was reissued on CD as part of the "Leonard Bernstein Edition".
In 2021, Edward Seckerson wrote that "no other work of Bernstein's encapsulates exactly who he was as a man or as a musician; no other work displays his genius, his intellect, his musical virtuosity and innate theatricality quite like Mass."
In 2021, West Side Story was adapted into another feature film.
In 2023, Bradley Cooper's drama film "Maestro", which chronicles the relationship between Bernstein and his wife Felicia Montealegre, premiered at the Venice International Film Festival.
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