Leonard Bernstein

 Leonard Bernstein (August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990)

He was among the first conductors born and educated in the U.S. to receive worldwide acclaim. His fame derived from his long tenure as the music director of the New York Philharmonic, from his conducting of concerts with most of the world's leading orchestras, and from his music for West Side Story, Peter Pan, Candide, Wonderful Town, On the Town, On the Waterfront, his Mass, and a range of other compositions, including three symphonies and many shorter chamber and solo works. Bernstein was the first conductor to give a series of television lectures on classical music, starting in 1954 and continuing until his death. He was a skilled pianist, often conducting piano concertos from the keyboard. He was also a critical figure in the modern revival of the music of Gustav Mahler, the composer he was most passionately interested in. As a composer he wrote in many styles encompassing symphonic and orchestral music, ballet, film and theater music, choral works, opera, chamber music and pieces for the piano. Many of his works are regularly performed around the world, although none has matched the tremendous popular and critical success of West Side Story. Like many of his friends and colleagues, Bernstein had been involved in various left-wing causes and organizations since the 1940s. He was blacklisted by the US State Department and CBS in the early 1950s, but unlike others his career was not greatly affected, and he was never required to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee.

He was married to actress Felicia Cohn Montealegre from 1951 until her death in 1977, although the couple had separated briefly in 1976. Despite his marriage, and having three children, his homosexuality was not a secret to his friends and wife, and he often engaged in relationships with men. Bernstein announced his retirement from conducting on October 9, 1990. He died five days later from a heart attack, age 72. Bernstein is buried alongside his wife at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.