Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein is widely known not only as one of the greatest American conductors, but also as a composer whose creativity and passion was spread over a wide range. His social and cultural influences helped shape his career into a musical icon and his music rekindled the American spirit. Above all, he will be remembered as one of the most amazing and influential musical personalities of the twentieth century.
In the following paper I will be exploring the beginning of Leonard Bernstein's career and his family background. I will also look into the influences he had in his life and look at two pieces that he composed, "Jeremiah Symphony No. 1", and "Candide". My reasons for choosing these two pieces is due to the fact that they are contrasting in genre, one being a symphony with orchestration and the other being an operetta, and that they were written at different stages in Bernstein's life. They both produced a number of responses and displayed his wide range of musical ability.
Leonard Bernstein was born on August 25, 1918 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants. Leonard's father, Samuel immigrated to America in 1908 at the age of sixteen from the Russian province of Volhynia where he came from a long line of rabbis. (Gradenwitz 1987: 20)
Samuel worked for his uncle in a barber's shop and quickly picked up the trade. He soon found himself accepting a job in Boston and starting his own company called the Samuel Bernstein Hair Company. Soon after he married Jennie Resnick in 1917, also of Jewish descent. She had lived in America since the age of seven and her family lived in Lawrence. The couple moved back to Boston after marriage but soon returned to Lawrence i...
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Leonard Bernstein, "Candide", London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Leonard
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Leonard Bernstein, "Jeremiah (Symphony No. 1)", New York Philharmonic
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...s work more then anything represented a sound that was quintessentially American, and displayed a uniqueness never heard before in modern American music. Known as “The Dean of American Composers” Aaron Copland is regarded as one of the best and most well known composers of the 20th century. Despite being a confrontational modernist, Copland eventually found himself established as the ultimate American populist. His work, although unique to the time it was created in is relatable and easy enough to listen to that it still holds up today when heard by the average music fan. It’s likely his songs have inspired those in the country, jazz, blues, and folk genres if not at least served as a guide to aspiring musicians and songwriters in those fields and it is likely his work will continue to inspire those who live to create original works of music for years to come.
Richard Strauss was known for being able to portray incredible stories with his music incredibly well. Every part of his writing is so descriptive that even Strauss said that he could “describe a soup spoon” in his music. Program music became so popular and still is for just that reason; a master composer like Strauss can tell any story in a musical format that people enjoy.
Symphony No.1 is melodic style. This work is quiet. This piece is loaded with appeal; the subject is smooth and lends itself well to fugal improvements through which the arranger has possessed the capacity to adventure it in smart and witty ways. This is splendidly created music, clear, cautious, however ailing in solid identity, chilling and at times rather little objected.
It never occurred to me that one simple song could hold as much power as Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony, “Leningrad,” did. The greatest strength of Shostakovich’s biography is his ability to recreate the vivid setting of 1940’s Leningrad. The artful descriptions of the city help bring out the contrast between the fallen city and the hope that Shostakovich’s symphony brought. Memoirs are becoming so popular today because they provide in-depth looks into snippets of history, like M.T. Anderson does with “Symphony for the City of the
Some of the most well known composers came to be in the in the classical music period. Ludwig van Beethoven was one of the composers, along with other greats of the time like Haydn and Mozart, which helped to create a new type of music. This new music had full rich sounds created by the new construction of the symphony orchestra.
Leonard Bernstein was born on August 25, 1918. Bernstein's birth name was Louis, but his family always called him Leonard. At the age of 16 he legal changed his name to Leonard. Leonard grew up understanding that being a musician or artist was off limits. Leonard began playing piano at the age of 10. He had to save up his own money to pay for lessons, because his father refused to. Leonard, being a natural at the piano, impressed hi father enough that when his bar mitzvah came his father bought him a baby grand piano.
Louis Bernstein (as he was originally named) was born on August 25, 1918 in Lawrence, Massachusetts to Ukrainian-Jewi...
This paper will explore the life of the great composer, Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach was considered one of the greatest composers of all time. He created amazing, famous compositions that made a big impact in today’s world. He went through rough times like many people do, the loss of his parents and finding a way back to the old routine was not an easy task. Bach came from generations of musicians and was given a religious education which is something that played a big role in his life when becoming a musician. We will analyze and learn the significance of some of his great compositions, the stories and what inspired him to compose music.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven are very famous past composers that have created many pieces that have influenced not just people of their time, but people in modern times as well.
It is clear that Beethoven’s stands as being significant in development of the string quartet to a massive extent in creativity and innovation. His early quartets show great influence of those from the Classical period and with his own, has influenced his contemporaries and later composers. The quartets published later in his life show even greater imagination and use of expression. It is also through similar uses of texture, harmony, rhythm and counterpoint that composers of the Romantic period and the 20th century wrote their own string quartets. Beethoven’s however prove a huge advancement in how string quartets are written and the intensity of emotions that they portray.
Gertrude Stein was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania on February 3rd, 1874. She was the the youngest out of five children. Her family was considered to be a upperclass German-Jewish-American family. Her father, Daniel Stein, was a wealthy Businessman with real estate holding and was the director of San Francisco's street car lines, the Market Street Railway. Her mothers name was Amelia Stein. German and English were the the two
John Warrack, author of 6 Great Composers, stated, “Any study of a composer, however brief, must have as its only purpose encouragement of the reader to greater enjoyment of the music” (Warrack, p.2). The composers and musicians of the Renaissance period need to be discussed and studied so that listeners, performers, and readers can appreciate and understand the beginnings of music theory and form. The reader can also understand the driving force of the composer, whether sacred or secular, popularity or religious growth. To begin understanding music composition one must begin at the birth, or rebirth of music and the composers who created the great change.
The Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Opus 26 is one of the most famous violin concertos over the musical history. It is also considered to be the most renowned work by the German composer Max Bruch. I will begin with a short explanation of why I choose to analyse this piece followed by what makes this piece so remarkable. I will then present the musical context – German Romantic period – in which this piece was composed and discuss how it is representative of this period. Also, I will present briefly the biography of the composer and relate his life and style with this particular piece of music. After, I will explain the basic structure of a concerto, associate it with this violin concerto, and analyse how each movement is related. Then, I will analyse some psychoacoustic parameters of this piece (pitch, dynamics, rhythm, and texture). Finally, I will give my appreciation of this piece in term of beauty, musical expression, and mood.
...old Medal. In 1985 he was applauded for his long support of humanitarian causes by the National Fellowship Award. He received a Tony award for Distinguished Achievement in Theatre, the MacDowell Colony’s Gold Medal, medals from the Beethoven Society and the Mahler Gesellschaft, the Handel Medallion, and many other awards. Leonard Bernstein is well known for his many achievements on the piano, conducting, and musical abilities all around the world. He traveled the world conducting, but spent most of his time in the United States. He was a well-rounded teacher, musician, and conductor.
The lives of composers have interested people for as long as music has been introduced to the human civilization. Antonio Vivaldi was one of the most influential composers of his time. Vivaldi’s early life, musical career, later life and death all lead to him being recognized as one of Europe’s most renowned figures in classical music during the 17th and 18th century.