Bernstein, Leonard

(1918–90)

   US conductor and composer. Leonard Bernstein as a conductor earned a special place in the annals of the Israel Symphony Orchestra. In 1949, he persuaded them to ride in trucks and follow the Israel army south to Beersheba, which had just been taken. There among the ruins of a building and with the sound of gunfire in the distance, the orchestra played to weary soldiers and nurses and a handful of Arabs. He was a frequent guest conductor in Israel after that.

   Born in Lawrence, Mass., Bernstein studied composition and piano and then learnt conducting from Serge KOUSSEVITZKY. In 1943 he became assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic, rising to music director and conductor in 1958. After 1969 he devoted himself to composition. He wrote a number of symphonic and vocal works, including Jeremiah Symphony (1944) and Kaddish (1963), to Hebrew texts, and Mass in Time of War (1972). He also had great success with popular music, in particular his score for the musical West Side Story (1957). He experimented with jazz, lectured and gave outstanding concerts for the young seen on television in many parts of the world. His later works include the Dybbuk Ballet (1974), Haiti (1980) which is a tribute to the soldiers who died in the Israel wars, and Jubilee Games (1986), written for the fiftieth anniversary of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra. Among his many awards, he received a lifetime achievement Grammy award (1985), a gold medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1985), a gold medal from the British Royal Philharmonic Society (1987) and was decorated Commandeur du Legion d’Honneur (1986).