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IMDbPro

Leonard Bernstein(1918-1990)

  • Writer
  • Music Department
  • Composer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Leonard Bernstein conducting "Quiz Concert: How Musicscal Are You?" to be broadcast on "The CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People" December 10, 1978
Omnibus: Leonard Bernstein
Play trailer2:25
Omnibus (1952–1961)
5 Videos
10 Photos
Renowned composer ("West Side Story", "Candide", "On The Town"), conductor, arranger, pianist, educator, author, TV/radio host, educated at the Boston Latin School and Harvard University (BA) with Walter Piston. Edward Burlingame Hill and A. Tillman Merritt. He studied piano with Helen Coates, Heinrich Gebhard and Isabelle Vengerova, at the Curtis Institute with Fritz Reiner, and at the Berkshire Music Center with Serge Koussevitzky (and became an assistant to Koussevitzky). He was assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic in 1943-1944, and conductor of the New York Symphony, 1945-1948.

He was music advisor to the Israel Philharmonic from 1948-1949, and a member of the faculty at the Berkshire Music Center from 1948 (though he did take leaves of absence), and head of the conducting department there in 1951. He was Professor of Music at Brandeis University, 1951-1956; and co-conductor of the New York Philharmonic, 1957-1958, and music director there after 1958. He won an Emmy award for his televised Young People's Concerts. He was guest conductor of symphony orchestras in the USA and Europe, and conducted the Israel Philharmonic seven times between 1947 and 1957. He toured the US with Koussevitzky in 1951, and was the first American to conduct at the La Scala Opera House in Milan, in 1953. He was awarded the Sonning Prize in Denmark, and was a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters.

He joined ASCAP in 1944, and his chief musical collaborators included Betty Comden, Adolph Green, John Latouche, and Stephen Sondheim. His song compositions include "New York, New York", "Lonely Town", "Some Other Time", "I Can Cook, Too", "I Get Carried Away", "Lucky to Be Me", "Ohio", "A Quiet Girl", "It's Love", "A Little Bit in Love", "Wrong Note Rag", "Glitter and Be Gay", "El Dorado", "The Best of All Possible Worlds", "Maria", "Tonight", "Something's Coming", "I Feel Pretty", "Cool", "America", and "Gee, Officer Krupke".
BornAugust 25, 1918
DiedOctober 14, 1990(72)
BornAugust 25, 1918
DiedOctober 14, 1990(72)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar
    • 29 wins & 56 nominations total

Photos10

Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein and Marian Anderson
Leonard Bernstein and Serge Koussevitzky
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein conducting "Quiz Concert: How Musicscal Are You?" to be broadcast on "The CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People" December 10, 1978
Leonard Bernstein in Omnibus (1952)
Leonard Bernstein in The Making of 'West Side Story' (1985)

Known for

Leonard Bernstein in New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts (1958)
New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts
9.1
TV Series
  • Writer
Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort in West Side Story (2021)
West Side Story
7.2
  • Music Department
  • 2021
"West Side Story" (Saul Bass Poster) 1961
West Side Story
7.6
  • Music Department
  • 1961
On the Waterfront (1954)
On the Waterfront
8.1
  • Composer
  • 1954

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Writer

  • Bernstein's Wall (2021)
    Bernstein's Wall
    • from the words of
    • 2021
  • Quirijn de Lang and Wallis Giunta in Trouble in Tahiti (2017)
    Trouble in Tahiti
    • libretto
    • Video
    • 2017
  • A History of Russia: Tsars and Revolutions (2004)
    A History of Russia: Tsars and Revolutions
    • writer
    • TV Movie
    • 2004
  • Karl Daymond and Stephanie Novacek in Trouble in Tahiti (2001)
    Trouble in Tahiti
    • libretto
    • TV Movie
    • 2001
  • Candide (1991)
    Candide
    • lyrics
    • narrative written by
    • TV Movie
    • 1991
  • Teachers and Teaching: An Autobiographical Essay by Leonard Bernstein
    • Writer
    • TV Movie
    • 1988
  • A Quiet Place (1986)
    A Quiet Place
    • libretto
    • TV Movie
    • 1986
  • Bernstein on Mahler
    • script
    • TV Movie
    • 1985
  • The Unanswered Question: Six Talks at Harvard (1976)
    The Unanswered Question: Six Talks at Harvard
    • script
    • TV Mini Series
    • 1976
  • What Makes a Gershwin Tune a Gershwin Tune?
    • commentary
    • TV Movie
    • 1974
  • Leonard Bernstein in New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts (1958)
    New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts
    • script
    • written by
    • script by ...
    • TV Series
    • 1958–1972
  • Gustav Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde
    • commentary
    • TV Movie
    • 1971
  • Bernstein on Beethoven: A Celebration in Vienna (1970)
    Bernstein on Beethoven: A Celebration in Vienna
    • Writer
    • TV Movie
    • 1970
  • Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution
    • Mr. Bernstein's material
    • TV Movie
    • 1967
  • The Drama of Carmen
    • Writer
    • TV Movie
    • 1962

Music Department

  • Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort in West Side Story (2021)
    West Side Story
    • music by
    • original orchestrations
    • 2021
  • Fancy Free (Magic Martini) - Musical Uplink IX (2021)
    Fancy Free (Magic Martini) - Musical Uplink IX
    • original music by
    • Video
    • 2021
  • Great Performances (1971)
    Great Performances
    • conductor
    • music by
    • orchestrator
    • TV Series
    • 2005–2020
  • Klassik am Odeonsplatz 2019 (2019)
    Klassik am Odeonsplatz 2019
    • music
    • TV Movie
    • 2019
  • Bernstein: Wonderful Town (2018)
    Bernstein: Wonderful Town
    • music by
    • 2018
  • Thibaudet plays Bernstein
    • Music Department
    • Video
    • 2018
  • West Side Story - Bernsteins Broadway-Hit (2018)
    West Side Story - Bernsteins Broadway-Hit
    • composer
    • TV Movie
    • 2018
  • Quirijn de Lang and Wallis Giunta in Trouble in Tahiti (2017)
    Trouble in Tahiti
    • music
    • Video
    • 2017
  • West Side Story
    • stock music
    • Video
    • 2016
  • Shakespeare Live! From the RSC (2016)
    Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
    • Music Department
    • TV Movie
    • 2016
  • American Classics with Audra McDonald & American Ballet Theatre
    • stock music
    • Video
    • 2015
  • Bernstein & Bizet
    • stock music
    • Video
    • 2015
  • The Great American Songs (2014)
    The Great American Songs
    • stock music
    • Short
    • 2014
  • West Side Storytime (2014)
    West Side Storytime
    • music: "West Side Story"
    • Short
    • 2014
  • Joshua Bell, Hugh Downs, Renée Fleming, Alan Gilbert, Lorin Maazel, Natalia Makarova, Audra McDonald, Zubin Mehta, Itzhak Perlman, Louis Perry, Beverly Sills, Martin Bookspan, and Fred Child in Live from Lincoln Center (1976)
    Live from Lincoln Center
    • composer: theme music
    • orchestrator
    • TV Series
    • 1986–2013

Composer

  • Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort in West Side Story (2021)
    West Side Story
    • Composer (music by)
    • 2021
  • Candide (1988)
    Candide
    • Composer
    • TV Movie
    • 1988
  • Barbra Streisand in Barbra Streisand: Somewhere (1985)
    Barbra Streisand: Somewhere
    • composer
    • Music Video
    • 1985
  • "West Side Story" (Saul Bass Poster) 1961
    West Side Story
    • Composer (music by)
    • 1961
  • On the Waterfront (1954)
    On the Waterfront
    • Composer
    • 1954

Videos5

Leonard Bernstein: Omnibus - The Historic TV Broadcasts: Excerpt from the World of Jazz
Clip 1:38
Leonard Bernstein: Omnibus - The Historic TV Broadcasts: Excerpt from the World of Jazz
Leonard Bernstein: Omnibus - The Historic TV Broadcasts: Excerpt From J.S. Bach
Clip 2:26
Leonard Bernstein: Omnibus - The Historic TV Broadcasts: Excerpt From J.S. Bach
Omnibus: Leonard Bernstein
Trailer 2:25
Omnibus: Leonard Bernstein
Omnibus: Leonard Bernstein (World Of Jazz)
Trailer 1:37
Omnibus: Leonard Bernstein (World Of Jazz)
Omnibus: American Profiles
Trailer 1:32
Omnibus: American Profiles

Personal details

Edit
  • Official site
    • Leonard Bernstein
  • Height
    • 5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
  • Born
    • August 25, 1918
    • Lawrence, Massachusetts, USA
  • Died
    • October 14, 1990
    • New York City, New York, USA(heart attack)
  • Spouse
    • Felicia MontealegreSeptember 9, 1951 - June 16, 1978 (her death, 3 children)
  • Other works
    Musical works: "Jeremiah Symphony".
  • Publicity listings
    • 6 Print Biographies
    • 1 Portrayal
    • 1 Interview
    • 10 Articles
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Did not begin playing the piano until age ten.
  • Quotes
    I don't want to spend the rest of my life doing as [Arturo Toscanini] did, studying and restudying 50 pieces of music. It would bore me to death. I want to conduct, play the piano, compose.
  • Nickname
    • Lennie

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