Leonard Bernstein’s Concerts for Young People

The popular composer inspired a whole, new generation of artists through innovative music education.

Leonard Bernstein with members of the New York Philharmonic rehearsing for a television broadcast, circa 1958. Bert Bial, New York Philharmonic Archives. New York Philharmonic Archives/CC BY 2.5

Leonard Bernstein became a living legend in his lifetime. Numerous biographies of him appeared before he passed away in 1990.

The first of these was written by his sister, Shirley Bernstein. In “Making Music: Leonard Bernstein,” she relates the story of her brother’s earliest memory.