Thursday, October 24, 2019
Leonard Bernstein Essay -- essays research papers
Leonard Bernstein           Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrenceville, Massachusettes on August 25, 1918. He was the first born child of Samuel and Jennie Bernstein, who lived in Boston, but had gone to Lawrenceville to visit some relatives.           Bernstein's parents had little knowledge of, or interest in classical music. The only records Leonard remembers hearing on his family phonograph when he was a child were the popular hit songs of the day, such as â€Å" Barney Google†and â€Å"Oh by Jingo.†For the most part, Leonard Bernstein was an unhappy child. He said, â€Å" I was a miserable, terrified little child†(Musicians p.64). His family moved from town to town, during Bernstein's school days, not giving him a chance to make close friends or feel at home. Sadly, Bernstein's peers would make fun of and tease Bernstein. He was a very sickly child as he suffered from chronic asthma, rose fever, and hay fever. This pathetic child grew to be a very shy person.           Leonard always had a heart for music, even as a young boy. As an eight year old, one morning, when he was sitting in the synagogue, the religious music of the choir and organ overwhelmed him by it's beauty and caused him 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, his aunt sent her piano to his house for his family to keep for storage. â€Å"I made love to it right away†he recalled (Musicians p. 65). He could escape from all his frustrations and sadness by playing the piano. His parents didn't like the fact that he was always at the piano, they wanted him to concentrate on his school work. They thought of piano playing as a waste of time because it stood in the way of Leonard's learning his father's business, which they planned for him to eventually take over.           At the age of ten, Leonard found a piano teacher who would give him lessons for a dollar a lesson. But that teacher soon moved away and Leonard found himself paying another piano teacher three dollars a lesson out of his allowance. After more than a year of piano lessons that just weren't teaching him much, Leonard found a new, and th... ...     Bernstein has received such awards as the Albert Einstein Commemorative Award in the Arts from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine; the John H. Finley Medal for service to New York City; the Golden European trophy, an annual award given to an outstanding figure in popular music; the Datsun Award for â€Å"outstanding service to American music†; the Institute of International Education Award presented by President Nixon; and the George Foster Peabody Awards for his television programs.           Bernstein provided the music for four famous Broadway musicals with a superior amount of sophistication and technique. Often times, he would produce music with great humour and sentiment. Bernstein's great talents led him to author a few books in the 1960's. One of his most recent, famous collections of his music is used in the ever popular film West Side Story.           Leonard Bernstein was the â€Å"Renaissance man of twentieth century music.†Over the decades, Bernstein has been called one of the most charismatic and gifted personalities in the music of our times.
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