Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) was a composer, conductor, educator, and humanitarian who transformed how the world experiences music. Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, he studied at Harvard and the Curtis Institute before his overnight rise to fame: at 25, he substituted for an ailing Bruno Walter at Carnegie Hall with just hours' notice, making front-page news nationwide.
As Music Director of the New York Philharmonic (1958-1969), he led more concerts than any previous conductor and built a catalogue of over 500 recordings. He was the first American-born conductor appointed to a major American orchestra, and the first to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic and Royal Concertgebouw.
His compositions spanned Broadway to the concert hall - from West Side Story and Candide to three symphonies, Chichester Psalms, and Mass. His celebrated Young People's Concerts television series made him America's most recognized classical musician.
Bernstein was equally committed to peace and humanitarian causes, conducting historic concerts at the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and championing Amnesty International throughout his life.
He received the Kennedy Center Honors, a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, and honors from governments worldwide. He died in New York in 1990.
