Leonard Bernstein, the American conductor and composer, was one of the most talented artists of the twentieth century. You may know him because he wrote the famous musical, west side story. But did you know that he was also a pianist and an educator?
Bernstein was not from a family of musicians. He began taking piano lessens when he was ten years old. But he learned quickly and surprised his teachers. He was also a very good student. After high school, he studied music at Harvard university. One day, Bernstein went to a symphony concert in Boston led by a Greek conductor named Dimitri Mitropoulos. Bernstein loved his powerful way of conducting and decided to learn how to become a conductor.
After graduating from Harvard, Bernstein went to a music school to study conducting. A few years after finishing, he started working as the assistant conductor for the New York Philharmonic. He got his big chance on November ｆourteenth, nineteen forty three, when the guest conductor of the day became sick. Bernstein took his place and did so well that he suddenly became famous. He was only twenty five years old. He soon became the first American conductor to work with many famous orchestras around the world.
Bernstein became famous as a conductor worldwide, but he wanted to do more than just conducting. He started writing classical music such as symphonies, ballets and operas. Some people said this was not a good idea. They thought he should only work on conducting. Luckily, he didn’t listen to them and wrote his greatest success, the musical West Side Story. Even with all his success, he never stopped working. He continued to write many more pieces of music, especially classical music.
Bernstein was also passionate about music education. In the nineteen fifties, he became a TV personality. Many people liked his fun way of talking about famous classical pieces, and his show became a big success.
He also held teaching events for young musicians in different parts of the world. In Japan, he created the Pacific music festival in nineteen ninety. This is an educational program for young musicians held every summer in Sapporo. Many people from around the world joined in this festival. At the opening ceremony in nineteen ninety, Bernstein said, I will support music education for the rest of my life. But he died in October of that same year.
In August two thousand eighteen, it will be one hundred years since this multi talented artist was born. As a conductor and composer, he left many pieces of work for us to enjoy. But his work as a music educator will continue to influence many young musicians in Japan and around the world.