Leonard Bernstein

Part I of Essay
was born in Lawrenceville, Massachusettes on August 25, 1918. He was the first born child of Samuel and Jennie Bernstein, who lived in Boston, but had gone to Lawrenceville to visit some relatives. Bernstein's parents had little knowledge of, or interest in classical musi ....

Part II of Essay
.... the religious music of the choir and organ overwhelmed him by it's beauty and caused him to burst into tears. When Leonard and his family would visit their friends, Leonard would sneak over to the piano and experiment. When he was eleven, his aunt sent her piano to his house for his family to keep for storage. “I made love to it right away” he recalled (Musicians p. 65). He could escape from all his frustrations and sadness by playing the piano. His parents didn't like the fact that he was always at the piano, they wanted him to concen ....