Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein was one of twentieth-century music's most successful and recognizable figures. In a career spanning five decades, he conducted many of the world's leading orchestras and composed scores for landmark musicals such as West Side Story. With an iron self-belief, he negotiated risky and challenging musical situations that resulted in always passionate, if sometimes mixed, reviews. Published to coincide with the hundredth anniversary of Bernstein's birth, this engaging new biography provides a concise overview of the life and work of a prodigiously talented, endlessly enthralling, and controversial musician.Drawing on more than thirty years of study, leading Bernstein scholar Paul R. Laird describes Bernstein s work as a conductor, composer, music educator, and commentator, evaluating all of his major compositions. Laird also explores the impact of Bernstein s complicated personal life on his professional work, including his homosexuality and many affairs with men, and his strong yet difficult marriage. Featuring original insights into Bernstein s life and work, including information gleaned from a 1982 interview with Bernstein, Laird s book is the ideal introduction to Bernstein s eclectic musical style and complex character, showing how both fit within the larger world of twentieth-century music.