Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the son of Eastern European Jewish immigrants. He died 72 years later, an international superstar and American icon. He achieved a level of celebrity that few musicians, and fewer classical musicians, ever attain. The first American-born musician to become the leader of a major American orchestra, Bernstein launched a new era, still very much alive today, broadening the path for all American musicians ever since.
Bernstein's life captivated the public, giving rise to many indelible photographs by many of the greatest photographers of the 20th Century. Whether on stage or backstage, jet-setting from country to country, partying with other celebrities or at home with his family, this book tells Bernstein's story through the lenses of such masters as Richard Avedon, Heni Cartier-Bresson, Bruce Davidson, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Ernst Haas, Ken Heyman, Stanley Kubrick, Gjon Mili, Ralph Morse, Carl Mydans, Arnold Newman, Ruth Orkin, Gordon Parks, and Irving Penn.
Bernstein landed squarely in the public eye beginning in 1943, when his last-minute conducting debut with the New York Philharmonic, broadcast nationwide from Carnegie Hall, caused a media sensation. The dynamic young musician was barely 25 years old. Fifteen years later, as the New York Philharmonic's Music Director, he began regularly presenting the orchestra's Young People's Concerts over the CBS television network. Leonard Bernstein became a household name across the nation.
But Bernstein was so much more. He was also a celebrated composer in multiple genres; from orchestral and choral music to operas and ballets, as well as several Broadway musicals, including the much beloved West Side Story.
A true renaissance man, Bernstein was above all a sharer and advocate for culture and ideas. He created a devoted, multigenerational audience of music lovers around the world; his extensive travels brought him into contact with eminent artists, thinkers, and heads of state. Through all he did, Bernstein strove to make the world a safer, more peaceful, and more compassionate place for all peoples.
Leonard Bernstein was a celebrity- a dashingly handsome and stylish man who, not surprisingly, was constantly being photographed. Not shy in front of a camera, Bernstein was also not reticent in his enthusiasms--for people, parties, and late nights. Leonard Bernstein lived every day with passion and intensity--and with every passing
year, his brash, busy life became written more clearly into the lines of his face.
This rich trove gives generations to come an unforgettable, enlightening glimpse into the life of an artist who changed the face of culture in the 20th century--a life documented by many of the most important photographic artists of that era.
