Leonard Bernstein
The 20th & 21st Centuries
Jack Mitchell, CC BY-SA 4.0
One of the most significant forces in American music of the 20th century, Leonard Bernstein was born in northern Massachusetts in 1918. His father was a well-off business owner and Bernstein benefitted from a strong education. He attended Boston Latin School and went on to Harvard University. Graduating in 1939, he moved to Philadelphia to study conducting and orchestration at the Curtis Institute of Music. Following this, he took additional conducting lessons with Aaron Copland at the Tanglewood Summer Institute, and got a job as the assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
His breakthrough came in 1943 when the Philharmonic’s lead conductor was unable to attend a CBS radio broadcast and Bernstein stepped in to conduct. His performance earned widespread acclaim and catapulted Bernstein to international fame. The following year, he was able to premiere his first symphony, “Jeremiah,” with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. That same year, Bernstein composed his first Broadway musical, “On the Town,” which was highly successful. After this, he was appointed music director of the New York Symphony.
In 1946, Bernstein attended a party hosted by a pianist from Chile. The pianist introduced him to one of his students, a professional actress named Felicia Montealegre. Bernstein soon proposed to her, but she turned him down, possibly after he made her aware of the fact that he was also attracted to, and had multiple relationships with, other men. However, they remained friends, and when Bernstein proposed again in 1951, she accepted.
The 1950s were a productive time for Bernstein. He continued composing for Broadway, writing such hits as Wonderful Town in 1953, Candide in 1956, and West Side Story in 1957. The following year, Bernstein was appointed music director of the New York Philharmonic. Over the next fourteen years, he worked regularly with CBS to broadcast a series of “Young People’s Concerts” on television, while composing more serious works such as “Chichester Psalms.” During the same period, Bernstein and his wife had three children, all of whom eventually became involved in the arts in various ways.
Bernstein was politically outspoken. He performed at rallies for Martin Luther King, Jr. and actively opposed the Vietnam War. He caused a stir in 1970, several members of the Black Panther Party had been arrested for plotting to plant bombs around the city to kill police officers. They were held on extremely high bail, which was viewed by some (including Bernstein) as racially discriminatory. Bernstein hosted several members of the Black Panther Party at his New York home as a fundraiser to raise bail money, earning both scorn and praise while Bernstein himself enjoyed the attention. His career emerged unscathed from any political controversy, and in 1971 he was commissioned to compose a mass for the opening of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
A few years later, Bernstein briefly separated from his wife and moved in with a man named Tom Cothran, the director of a classical radio station in San Francisco. This was very much over his wife’s objections, who was insulted when Bernstein said Cothran understood his music better than she did. The separation, however, was short-lived, as Felicia was diagnosed with cancer soon afterward. Bernstein returned home to care for her and was devastated by her death in 1978.
Bernstein’s health declined throughout the 1980s, especially due to respiratory issues from a lifetime of heavy smoking. He retired from conducting in 1990, at the age of 72, and died five days later.