Lenny

Like many people my age, my first exposure to classical music was watching Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts on television. I didn’t become an instant fan of the music, but I was fascinated by the incredibly articulate man who was speaking.

Years later (after I became a music aficionado) I was mesmerized by his brilliant Norton Lectures. Has anyone ever spoken so eloquently about music? Has anyone ever gotten so "inside" a Beethoven sonata in such an amusing way? Take a look. Leonard Bernstein was a master composer for the concert hall and musical theater. He was also the great conductor of his day. How many people could write the Serenade for violin (after Plato’s Symposium), the song “New York, New York” and conduct an ecstatic performance of Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony? Leonard Bernstein was sui generis.