1918-1990
Symphony Conductor, Composer

Career Launched.

Leonard Bernstein's career was launched on 14 November 1943. He was twenty-five, four years out of Harvard, a recent graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, an assistant conductor at the New York Symphony Orchestra, and otherwise undistinguished except for his energy, his good looks, and a vaguely defined artistic potential. Bruno Walter, director of the New York Symphony, was stricken with stomach cramps on 13 November, and the musical director was out of town, so the next day's conducting chores fell to Bernstein by default. His performance was so impressive that the New York Times praised his brilliance in an editorial.

Movies and Plays.

During the 1950s Bernstein was a very busy man. He was a conductor, a concert pianist, a composer, and an impresario. He wrote the musical score for the movie On the Waterfront (1954), starring Marlon Brando", he...