mesake and he was the one who guided Leonard toward his amazing career in conducting. His other influences included Blitzstein, Schumann, Hindemith and occasionally Gershwin. After Harvard, Bernstein then completed training at the Curtis Institute of Music and spent two summers of great learning and experience at the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood. Bernstein fell under Serge Koussevitzky’s spell of conducting and decided then and there that conducting would become his main focus of musical activity. He became his assistant in 1942 and was appointed the assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in 1943. (Gutmann: 2001)On November 14, 1943 Bernstein was asked to substitute conduct on a few hours notice, for the ill Bruno Walter at a Carnegie Hall concert. The concert was broadcasted nationally on radio and television and received great praise from all that heard it. Soon orchestras worldwide sought out Bernstein as a guest conductor.Bernstein then spent most of his career interpreting the classics and concentrating on revealing the narrative of the music. He was less interested in sound and structure and pushed the envelope on all he brought to life. His strengths were in American music such as Copland and Ives and although he loved conducting, he still continued to compose. Throughout his career he returned to Jewish subject matter for inspiration and became a cultural icon who stressed the importance of musical values. (Schiff 2001: 447)In 1942, Bernstein wrote his first major work for symphony orchestra entitled, Jeremiah Symphony No. 1. The piece was inspired by the biblical prophet, Jeremiah. Leonard cared deeply about the struggle between good and evil, joy and misery on earth and love and destruction and his concerns can be found expressed in almost everything he has written. (Gradenwitz: 1987: 144)The symphony is comprised of three movements, Prophecy, Profanation and Lamentation. As stated ...
