Leonard Bernstein was a pioneer in the field of music. He was the first internationally acclaimed American-born orchestra conductor. Before Bernstein, all the great orchestras in Europe, as well as America, were led by someone from Europe or Asia. Bernstein traveled the world as a conductor and encouraged appreciation of the music of American composers, especially Aaron Copland. Bernstein not only composed classical works but also wrote music for Broadway, including West Side Story (1957) and On the Town (1944). For much of his life, he worked closely with the New York Philharmonic, with which he made several international tours and recordings.


People of all ages enjoy music. The New York Philharmonic had already established a tradition of presenting concerts for young people when Leonard Bernstein took advantage of the power of television to introduce music to children. Between 1958 and 1972 he showed young people how to be good listeners of fine music through his Young People's Concerts. What kind of music do you listen to on television?

The Young People's Concerts revealed Bernstein's mastery of both music education and the medium of television. Combination lecture-concerts were recorded before a concert-hall audience, primarily children, and broadcast in the United States and Canada. Over the course of the broadcasts, Bernstein discussed a wide selection of subjects relating to music history and featured composers and compositions. As part of this series, there were also annual concerts featuring young performers.

Being an educator was very important to Leonard Bernstein. He was eager to share his knowledge with young people. In fact, he once said that the Young People's Concerts were "among my favorite, most highly prized activities of my life." Bernstein led 53 of these special concerts, confirming the fact that he was not only a musical genius, but also a natural born teacher. His students adored him and he taught many musicians and conductors who went on to become well known artists in their own right. Do you have a teacher who inspires you?