Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) was an American conductor who served as music director of the New York Philharmonic from 1958 to 1969, becoming the first American-born conductor to achieve major international acclaim, and remained the orchestra’s Laureate Conductor thereafter. He conducted many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, and London Symphony Orchestra, and was a central figure in the mid-20th-century revival of interest in Gustav Mahler, whose symphonies he recorded and championed extensively, including notable Mahler recordings and performances with the London Symphony Orchestra. His televised Young People’s Concerts (1958–1972) with the New York Philharmonic introduced classical music to a mass audience, and he founded conducting academies including the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Orchestra Academy and Pacific Music Festival. He received seven Emmy Awards and sixteen Grammy Awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. (Bernstein is credited elsewhere on this site as the composer of West Side Story; this entry focuses on his conducting career.)

Bernstein reshaped the conductor’s public role through broadcast media, championed Mahler back into the standard repertoire, and stands as one of the most influential American conductors and music educators of the 20th century.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Bernstein