Meet the Composer:

Leonard Bernstein!

Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1918. In 1934, Bernstein enrolled at

Harvard University. After finishing his music studies at there, he attended the Curtis Institute of

Music in Philadelphia where he studied piano, conducting, and composition.

In 1943, Bernstein was appointed to his first permanent conducting post as assistant conductor

of the New York Philharmonic. From 1958-1969, he continued to serve at the NYP as the

principal conductor.

Bernstein also composed music for the symphony orchestra and musical theater. His first large-

scale work for symphony orchestra, Symphony No. 1: Jeremiah, received the New York Music
Critics Award. West Side Story, written for the Broadway stage, was later made into an

Academy Award-Winning film.

George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel was born on February 23, 1685 in the German province of Saxony.
In 1702 Handel began to study of law at the University of Halle. After his father's death in the

following year, he returned to music and accepted a position as the organist at the Protestant

Cathedral. In the next year he moved to Hamburg and accepted a position as a violinist and

harpsichordist at the opera house. It was there that Handel's first operas were written and

produced. In 1710, Handel accepted the position of Kapellmeister to George, Elector of

Hanover, who was soon to be King George I of Great Britain.

In the summer of 1717, Handel premiered one of his greatest works, Water Music, in a concert
on the River Thames. The concert was performed by fifty musicians playing from a barge

positioned closely to the royal barge from which the King listened. By 1740, Handel completed

his most memorable work - the Messiah. It is said that when the king first heard the "Hallelujah

Chorus" he rose to his feet. This tradition continues to this day.

On April 6, 1759 Handel conducted his last performance of the Messiah and returned home in
poor health. He died on April 14, 1759 and was buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abby in

London, England. More than 3,000 people attended his funeral.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in 1756 in what is now Salzburg, Austria. At age 4,

Wolfgang began keyboard lessons playing without fault and with great sensitivity, and by age 5

he was composing short pieces which his father wrote down for him. In the following year,

Wolfgang began traveling through Europe, giving concerts in the courts of Europe. While

touring, Mozart learned to play the violin and the organ.

At the age of 8, Wolfgang published his first two sonatas for the harpsichord. His skills as a

composer continued to develop, and by the age of 13 he had composed his first opera. By the

time Mozart was in his mid-twenties he had established himself as one of the most accomplished

keyboard players in Vienna, and was recognized as a talented composer.

Some of his most famous pieces include Eine Kleine Nachtmusik for string orchestra and Ah

vous dirais-je, Maman' for piano solo, which is a set of twelve variations on a French tune that

Mozart would have known as a young boy.

On December 5, 1791, Mozart died at 35 years of age, leaving behind a collection of more than

600 compositions, including works for the symphony, the piano, and the opera. Some of these

pieces are considered to be the finest works in the Classical style.