Leonard Bernstein Research Paper

Leonard Bernstein was born on August 25, 1918 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. At an early age, Bernstein found his love for music and dedicated his life to it. Bernstein learned from some of the best composers and conductors, which helped shape him and his music career. He led internationally known orchestras and was one of the first native-born Americans to do so. He was passionate and inspired many to appreciate, not only music, but all forms of art. He composed, conducted, taught and lived for music until the day he died.

When he was ten, Bernstein first played his aunt’s piano and fell in love. He was a natural and soon after began taking lessons, which he paid for himself. He later studied music theory at Harvard University. After spending

In addition, his composition to the ballet Fancy Free arranged by Jerome Robbins was later fostered into the musical On the Town. Bernstein first performed on an international scale in 1946 in Europe. There he recorded Ravel’s Piano Concerto as a solo conductor. He also conducted opera for the first time the same year. Afterward, he was asked to co-conduct two concerts with the NBC Symphony Orchestra. In 1947, Bernstein performed in Israel, which blossomed into a lasting friendship. Bernstein recorded his works with the Israel Philharmonic. In 1949, he conducted the world premiere of the Turangalîla-Symphonie by Olivier Messiaen with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Bernstein wrote Candide in 1956, his first operetta. He also collaborated with Jerome Robbins, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents to produce West Side Story. When it opened in show, people unanimously raved and it later became a well-known and well-loved movie in

Bernstein was a closeted homosexual man living in a time where being who you are could get you hurt or killed. He is rumored to have had romantic and sexual relationships as early as his time in Harvard. He allegedly had a romantic relationship with mentor and conductor Dmitri Mitropoulos and renowned composer Aaron Copland. Nevertheless, in 1951, Bernstein married Felicia Montealegre despite his homosexuality, of which she knew. He had three children with Felicia Bernstein whose names were Alexander, Nina and Jaimie, to whom he was dedicated. In 1976, Bernstein and Felicia Bernstein announced their trial separation. Felicia Bernstein feared for her family’s safety after Leonard began to seriously see a young musician named Tom Cothran, so Bernstein moved out and in with Cothran. In 1977, his wife was diagnosed with lung cancer and Bernstein moved back in and tended to her until she passed on June 16, 1978. He reportedly felt a great deal of guilt over her death. Cothran too died of AIDS soon after Felicia Bernstein’s death. Afterward, Bernstein allegedly started diving into drugs and men of all kinds, perhaps making up for lost