Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Filed under the name Leonard · July 24, 2026
Leonard Bernstein led the New York Philharmonic and composed "West Side Story," becoming one of the most celebrated musical figures of the whole twentieth century by most any measure you'd care to use. I've never been much for orchestral music, our little country church leaning heavier toward hymns and the occasional piano solo somebody's grandchild worked up for Christmas, but I've always had a soft spot for anybody who manages to be genuinely gifted at more than one thing at once — a composer who could also conduct, or a preacher who could also fix a leaky roof, that kind of person. Bernstein apparently did both the writing and the leading of an orchestra at the very highest level, which strikes this old schoolteacher as a rare double gift, same as the handful of students I had over the years who could excel at both reading and arithmetic without one talent crowding out the other. Some folks just get handed more than their fair share, and it's a joy watching what they do with it.