Download or read book Leonard Bernstein 1918 - 1990 written by Cornelia Gitterle and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2005-06-08 with total page 17 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: Gut, University of Innsbruck (Amerikanistik), course: SE: American Music: From Blues to Bernstein, 5 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Leonard Bernstein was one of the most talented and successful musicians in American history. He was a not only a composer but also a conductor, pianist, author and lecturer. His diversity is also reflected in his music: He wrote jazzy as well as classical music; he composed very successful Broadway-musicals as well as symphonic works, ballets, songs and piano works. This paper will first give an overview of Bernstein’s life, career and music and will then present him in his cultural context. Although Bernstein was a versatile musician, he is mainly remembered for his popular musicals such as On the Town and West Side Story. In the second part of this paper the focus will particularly be on West Side Story, because with this work Leonard Bernstein added a new dimension to the Broadway musical by integrating a serious subject and by collaborating in an operatic type of musical in which drama, singing and dancing are of equal importance.