Click image to view largerBorn in Lawrence, Massachusetts Click image to view larger
First met Dimitri Mitropoulos, Aaron Copland, and Adolph Green Click image to view larger
Graduated cum laude from Harvard with a senior thesis titled “The Absorbtion of Race Elements into American Music”. Click image to view larger
Leonard Bernstein’s debut with the New York Philharmonic, filling in for an ailing Bruno Walter. Click image to view larger
Premiere of Jerome Robbins’ ballet Fancy Free
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1944_3', '
Premiere of musical On the Town Click image to view larger
Premiere of Symphony No. 1, “Jeremiah”; Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Bernstein, Conductor; Jennie Tourel, Mezzo-soprano
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1945', '
Began three year directorship of the New York City Symphony Orchestra. Click image to view larger
Wrote an op-ed in the NY Times calling for affirmative action in orchestras.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1947_2', 'Gave first of nine concerts with the Palestine Philharmonic Orchestra.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1948_1', 'Signed a declaration decrying House Un-American Activities hearings
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1948_2', '
Conducted concerts in Israel during War of Independence Click image to view larger
Premiere of Symphony No. 2, “Tha Age of Anxiety”; Boston Symphony Orchestra; Sergei Koussevitsky, Conductor; Leonard Bernstein, Piano
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1951', '
Marriage to Chilean-born actress Felicia Montealegre Cohn. Click image to view larger
Conducted the world premiere of Charles Ives’ Symphony No . 2 with the New York Philharmonic.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1952_1', 'Premiere of Trouble in Tahiti at Brandeis University.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1952_2', '
Birth of daughter Jamie Anne Maria. Click image to view larger
Premiere of Wonderful Town at the Winter Garden theater in NY.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1953_2', 'Conducted Cherubini’s Medea with Maria Callas.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1954_1', '
Made his first appearance on television in Omnibus with a script describing Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1954_2', 'Premiere of the film On the Waterfront, starring Marlon Brando.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1954_3', 'Premiere of Serenade, Orchestra del Teatro la Fenice; Leonard Bernstein, Conductor; Isaac Stern, Violin.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1955', '
Birth of son Alexander Serge Leonard. Click image to view larger
Premiere of Candide at the Beck Theater in NY.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1956_2', 'Conducted Handel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall as guest conductor of the New York Philharmonic, featuring soloists Adele Addison and William Warfield.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1957_1', '
Premiere of West Side Story at the Winter Garden Theater in NY. Click image to view larger
Led first concert as Co-Principal Conductor of the New York Philharmonic, a post he shared with Dmitri Mitropoulos.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1958_1', 'January 18, 1958. Began the first of 53 televised Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic with a live telecast from Carnegie Hall titled “What Does Music Mean?”
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1958_2', 'Became the first American-born and American-trained conductor to become music director of the New York Philharmonic.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1959', 'Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic tour 17 countries. Click image to view larger
Film version of West Side Story released, starring Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1962_1', 'Conducted the opening concert at Philharmonic Hall, Lincoln Center.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1962_2', '
Birth of daughter Nina Maria Felicia. Click image to view larger
Violinist Sanford Allen became the first African-American full-time musician to be appointed to the New York Philharmonic.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1963', 'Premiere of Symphony No. 3, "Kaddish"; Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein, Conductor; Hannah Rovina, Speaker; Jennie Tourel, Mezzo-soprano.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1963_2', 'Conducts Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection” on national television as a memorial for President John F. Kennedy.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1965_1', '
Performed alongside Sammy Davis, Jr., Harry Belafonte, and others in Montgomery, Alabama.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1965_2', 'Premiere of Chichester Psalms; New York Philharmonic / Leonard Bernstein, Conductor; John Bogart, Boy Treble
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1966_1', '
Double bassist Orin O’Brien became the first woman to become a regular member of the New York Philharmonic.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1967', '
Conducted the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra on Mt. Scopus, Israel following the Six-Day War. Click image to view larger
Conducted the Adagietto from Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 at St. Patrick’s Catherdral, NY, for the funeral of Robert F. Kennedy.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1969', 'May 17, 1969. Conducted Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 in final concert with the New York Philharmonic as Music Director.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1970_1', 'Held controversial fundraising event for Black Panthers Legal Defense Fund.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1971', '
Inaugurated the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC with the premiere of Mass.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1973', 'Conducted Haydn’s Mass in Time of War at Washington’s National Cathedral on the eve of Richard Nixon’s presidential inauguration.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1974', 'Premiere of Jerome Robbins’ ballet Dybbuk with the NYC Ballet.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1976_1', 'Featured works by 32 American composers on bicentennial tour of Europe with the New York Philharmonic
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1976_2', 'Premiere of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue at Mark Hellinger Theater in NY.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1978_1', 'Death of his wife, Felicia Montealegre Bernstein.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1978_2', 'Premiere of Divertimento for Orchestra; Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, Conductor.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1980', 'Received the Kennedy Center Honor for Lifetime of Contributions to American Culture through the Performing Arts.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1981', 'Premiere of Halil, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra; Leonard Bernstein, Conductor; Jean-Pierre Rampal, Flute.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1983_1', '
Premiere of the opera A Quiet Place; Houston Grand Opera; John DeMain, Conductor. Click image to view larger
Spoke for nuclear disarmament at Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1985', 'Conducted “Journey for Peace” concerts commemorating the atomic bomb with concerts in Athens and Hiroshima.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1985_2', 'Conducted a celebration for his long-time friend and mentor Aaron Copland’s 85th birthday with a concert of third symphonies by American composers Roy Harris, William Shuman, and Aaron Copland.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1986', 'Premiere of Jubilee Games; Israel Philharmonic Orchestra; Leonard Bernstein, Conductor.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1986_2', 'Conducted his last concert in Central Park, which included his overture to Candide, and his Serenade, featuring violinist Glenn Dicterow and the New York Philharmonic.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1986_3', 'At the gala reopening of Carnegie Hall, following its extensive renovation, Bernstein led the New York Philharmonic in his own Opening Prayer, the first Carnegie Hall commission.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1988', 'Premiere of Arias and Barcarolles; Louise Edeiken, Sporano; Joyce Castle, Soprano; John Brandstetter, Baritone; Mordechai Kaston, Baritone; Leonard Bernstein and Michael Tilson Thomas, Piano.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1988_2', 'Led the 45th anniversary of his conducting debut with the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall with an all-Bernstein program, featuring violinist Gidon Kremer and pianist Krystian Zimerman
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1989_1', 'Conducted international orchestra in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1989_2', 'Refused National Medal of Arts in protest of recall of Federal grant for AIDS art show.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1989_3', 'Conducted his final concert with the New York Philharmonic with an all-Tchaikovsky program.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); new Tip('tl_ttip_1990_1', '
Died in his New York home. Click image to view larger
Made final Carnegie Hall appearance leading the Vienna Philharmonic in a program featuring the Carnegie Hall debut of baritone Thomas Hampson.
', { delay: 0.3, effect: 'appear', hideAfter: .25, hideOn: 'click', offset: {x:offsetX,y:offsetY}}); //]]> }