Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein was one of the most prodigiously gifted and charismatic musical personalities of the 20th century. Born to Russian-Jewish immigrants in Massachusetts, he shot to instant fame in November 1943 when, at age 25, he stepped in without rehearsal to conduct the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall in a nationally broadcast concert.

As music director of the New York Philharmonic, Bernstein brought classical music into millions of living rooms through his televised Young People's Concerts. As a composer, he effortlessly dismantled the barriers between high classical art and popular musical theatre, composing the Broadway masterpiece West Side Story (1957), Candide, On the Town, and three monumental symphonies. In 1989, following the fall of the Berlin Wall, Bernstein conducted Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Berlin, famously changing 'Freude' (Joy) to 'Freiheit' (Freedom).