“Music... can name the unnameable and convey the unfathomable.” Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Leonard Bernstein was an American conductor, composer, pianist, pedagogue, and musical educator. Browse our sheet music and scores, and explore all his ground-breaking works with Stretta Music today!
Bernstein studied music at Harvard and conducting with Sergei Koussevitzky at Tanglewood. His international conducting career got off to a quick start, when he jumped-in for Bruno Walter to conduct the New York Philharmonic. In the following years, he not only became music director of the New York Philharmonic, but he was also the first American to be guest conductor for numerous orchestras in Europe and around the world, including Vienna, London, Berlin, Boston, Prague, Israel, and many more.
His last concerts in 1989 and 1990 were of great importance. On Christmas Day 1989, just a few weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he conducted one of the most impactful performances of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. He made a small, yet decisive change to Schiller’s text in the finale, “Ode to Joy”, the chorus and soloists sang “Freedom”, instead of “Joy”, which was a strong political statement. He also conducted the same work in June 1990, at the final concert of the Prague Spring Festival, only six months after the fall of the communist regime in former Czechoslovakia. Both concerts are still considered symbols of new found freedom, and have had a lasting impact on music history to this day.
Leonard Bernstein quickly recognized the power of the new, emerging medium, television. From as early as the 1950s, he brought music education programmes for both young and old to people’s living rooms all around America. His most popular series was the ’Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic’, which enjoyed 53 episodes. Bernstein was also instrumental in popularising modern American classical music, and he regularly performed works by Aaron Copland and many other American composers.
Bernstein was a polystylist who used elements of both classical and popular music, whichever served him best at any particular moment. His compositions often have a tonal basis, a pronounced irregular or off-beat rhythm, and creative, unusual instrumentation. He often uses several languages in his vocal compositions, most commonly English, Latin and Hebrew. He made a huge impact on American musical theatre, and his West Side Story is one of the most successful musicals of all time. Bernstein’s Three Symphonies, Sacred Music by Bernstein and Bernstein’s Chamber Music are also important additions to performance repertoire around the world today.
for: Choir
Choir score
Item no.: 1212345
for: Male choir
OTHER
Item no.: 1341405
for: Symphonic Band
Score
Item no.: 167898
for: Brass band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1143517
Somewhere
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir part Bass
Item no.: 649414
for: Wind Orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1211751
for: Solo and Mixed Choir
Choir score
Item no.: 1212265
TV, Film, Musical und Show
for: Voice, piano [guitar]
Book
Item no.: 1212213
TV, Film, Musical und Show
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1211976
for: Concert Band/Harmonie/Fanfare
Score
Item no.: 883377
for: Male choir
OTHER
Item no.: 1341407
for: Male choir
OTHER
Item no.: 1341403
for: Solo Voices, Mixed Choir, Percussion and Chamber orch.
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 863140
aus dem Musical "West-Side-Story"
for: KLAV PART
Additional part
Item no.: 364787
Piano Solo Songbook
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 603006
from the Film On the Waterfront
for: Brass, Percussion and Piano
Score, Parts
Item no.: 645515
Choral Highlights
for: Mixed Choir [SAB] and Piano
Choir score
Item no.: 892580
for: Lead Sheet
Item no.: 1364844
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Book
Item no.: 1212158
for: Wind Band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1211870
for: Brass Instruments, Percussion and Piano
Score
Item no.: 897221
for: Choir
Piano reduction
Item no.: 1341409
for: Male choir
OTHER
Item no.: 1341408
for: Wind Band
Score
Item no.: 866243
for: Choir
Choir part Soprano
Item no.: 647949
From "West Side Story"
for: Viola, piano
Music score
Item no.: 791940
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1211546
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1212341
One Hand and America
for: Marching band
Book
Item no.: 1211932
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 903429
for: Blechbläserquartett
Score, Parts
Item no.: 474470
Somewhere
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir part Alto
Item no.: 649413
Saxophone Choir
for: Saxophone ensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1133727
for: Saxophone ensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1132260
aus dem Musical "West-Side-Story"
for: Women's choir a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 271921
for: Choir
Choir part Tenor
Item no.: 348846
for: Women's choir (SSA), piano
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1211726
for: Mixed Choir and Piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1211568
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1211509
for: Wind Band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 149275
for: Male choir
Piano reduction
Item no.: 1341402
for: Concert Band and Brass Quintet
Score
Item no.: 906550
for: Symphonic Band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 167899
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1211576
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1211518
for: Mixed Ensemble
Book
Item no.: 225178
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 745019
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1211496