(1918 – 1990) An American composer and pianist, Leonard Bernstein also conducted the Boston Symphony and the New York Philharmonic Orchestras. A child prodigy he was committed to bringing symphonic music to larger audiences, aided by his own celebrity status and television. Bernstein is perhaps best known for the rousing, modern music of West Side Story (1957), a re-staging of Romeo and Juliet among New York gangs; his Candide (1956) and Chichester Psalms have been performed in opera houses worldwide.

A charismatic, passionate, politically involved and controversial individual, he reflected many of the social changes of the 1960s. Rumors about his personal and family life abounded during his life, and after his death his homosexual relationships were discussed in biographies.