Leonard Bernstein: Talented Musician

Leonard Bernstein was a talented composer, conductor, and pianist who helped to bridge a gap between classical music and conventional popular music for younger audiences. Leonard Bernstein was born on August 25, 1918 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He started to play piano at the age of 10, after being given a piano by a relative. Although, Bernstein had a blossoming interest to play piano, his father would not pay for his lessons, which made Bernstein pay for lessons himself. Once his natural talent and musical intellectually was noticed by his father, he was given a baby grand piano on his 16th birthday. He attended Boston Latin School and Harvard University, where he majored in business. In 1937, while attending a Boston Symphony concert, Bernstein was immensely touched by the passionate performance of conductor Dmitri Mitropoulos that Bernstein decided to devote his life to music. Around the age of 22, Bernstein started to expand his musical training by attending the Curtis Institute and the Berkshire Music Center. While at the Berkshire Musical Festival, Bernstein met Serge Koussevitsky, who later became his teacher and an influential figure in his life.
However, two years later in 1943, he became Artur Rodzinski’s assistant conductor at the New York Philharmonic by the recommendation of Koussevitsky. Bernstein was given short notice about the position because he was actually a substitute for Bruno Walter, who had quickly fallen ill. Although Bernstein was not given any prior notice or time to practice, he gave a very impressive performance that gave him a front-page article on The New York Times. The positive exposure was the catalyst for his musical career. Bernstein continued his work at the Philharmonic and New York Center City orchestra and later had international opportunities like in