Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, and educator known for leading the New York Philharmonic and creating works such as West Side Story. He advocated for music’s social power, famously urging that the reply to violence is to make music more intensely, more beautifully, and more devotedly than ever before.
Quotes by Leonard Bernstein
Quotes: 2
When Music Becomes a Defiant Answer to Violence
Bernstein’s principle thrives when musicians convert ideals into concrete acts. Commissions that grapple with injustice, benefit concerts like One Love Manchester (2017), and open rehearsals that welcome traumatized communities all make beauty public and useful. Programming that pairs lament with works of renewal guides audiences from darkness toward orientation. Even symbolic gestures—Bernstein’s Ode to Freedom performance of Beethoven’s Ninth in Berlin (1989), changing Freude to Freiheit—show how art can name a historical turn. Thus the reply becomes actionable: organize, rehearse, perform, and repeat, until devotion outpaces the noise of harm. [...]
Created on: 9/12/2025
To Achieve Great Things, Two Things Are Needed: A Plan and Not Quite Enough Time - Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein was a renowned conductor, composer, and pianist known for his prolific work within tight schedules. His personal experience in managing large projects under time pressure lends credibility to this statement. [...]
Created on: 7/2/2024