Leonard Bernstein Essay -- essays research papers

Leonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein was born in Lawrenceville, Massachusettes onAugust 25, 1918. He was the first born child of Samuel and Jennie Bernstein,who lived in Boston, but had gone to Lawrenceville to trim down some relatives.Bernsteins parents had little knowledge of, or interest inclassical melody. The only records Leonard remembers hearing on his familyphonograph when he was a child were the best-selling(predicate) hit songs of the day, such as Barney Google and Oh by Jingo.For the most part, Leonard Bernstein was an unhappy child. He said, I was a miserable, terrified little child (Musicians p.64). His family movedfrom town to town, during Bernsteins aim days, not giving him a chance tomake close friends or feel at home. Sadly, Bernsteins peers would make fun ofand tease Bernstein. He was a very(prenominal) sickly child as he suffered from chronicasthma, rose fever, and hay fever. This pathetic child grew to be a very shyperson.Leonard constantly had a heart for mu sic, even as a young boy. Asan eight twelvemonth old, one morning, when he was sitting in the synagogue, thereligious music of the sing and organ overwhelmed him by its beauty and causedhim to burst into tears. When Leonard and his family would visit their friends,Leonard would sneak over to the piano and experiment. When he was eleven, hisaunt sent her piano to his house for his family to keep for storage. I madelove to it right away he recalled (Musicians p. 65). He could escape from allhis frustrations and sadness by playing the piano. His parents didnt like thefact that he was always at the piano, they wanted him to concentrate on hisschool work. They thought of piano playing as a waste of time because it stoodin the way of Leonards attainment his fathers business, which they planned forhim to eventually take over.At the age of ten, Leonard found a piano instructor who would givehim lessons for a dollar a lesson. But that teacher soon moved away and Leonardfound himself paying another piano teacher three dollars a lesson out of hisallowance. After more than a year of piano lessons that just werent teachinghim much, Leonard found a new, and th... ...Bernstein has received such awards as the Albert EinsteinCommemorative Award in the Arts from the Albert Einstein College of medicinal drugthe John H. Finley Medal for service to New York City the Golden Europeantrophy, an annual award given to an outstanding figure in popular music theDatsun Award for outstanding service to American music the Institute ofInternational Education Award presented by President Nixon and the GeorgeFoster Peabody Awards for his television programs.Bernstein provided the music for quartette famous Broadway musicalswith a superior amount of sophistication and technique. Often times, he wouldproduce music with great humour and sentiment. Bernsteins great talents ledhim to author a few books in the 1960s. One of his most recent, famouscollections of his music is used in the ever popu lar film West Side Story.Leonard Bernstein was the Renaissance opus of twentieth centurymusic. Over the decades, Bernstein has been called one of the most charismaticand gifted personalities in the music of our times.