Leonard Bernstein was born in 1918 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and the family soon after relocated to Boston. In the process, he shaped works that appealed to musicians of all calibers. He wrote music that was often thoroughly accessible on the surface yet presented rewarding challenges for performers. He maintained a life-long focus on advocating for social justice, notably civil rights at home and peace around the world.īernstein’s restless creative vision defies traditional categories, with a limber affinity to combining styles and genres in unexpected ways. Bernstein-or “Lenny,” as he was often affectionately called-was an extravagantly gifted musician with a common touch. Longtime conductor of the New York Philharmonic, renowned composer of works for the concert hall and Broadway stage, glamorous television personality, virtuosic pianist, and committed educator, Bernstein was a multi-tasker long before the term was coined. He led the way in advocating an open attitude about what constituted “good” music, actively bridging the gap between classical music, Broadway musicals, jazz, and rock, and he seized new media for its potential to reach diverse communities of listeners, young and old. Leonard Bernstein-celebrated as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century-ushered in an era of major cultural and technological transition. Oja, explores the bridge-building musical genius of Leonard Bernstein.

This biography, written by Harvard scholar Carol J.

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