Leonard Bernstein at 100

Leonard Bernstein at 100 celebrates the centennial of America’s greatest classical composer and conductor. Drawing from more than 150 photographs, personal items, papers, scores, correspondence, costumes, furniture, and films, Leonard Bernstein at 100 marks the official exhibit of the centennial and is the most comprehensive retrospective of Bernstein’s life and career ever staged in a museum setting. Items on display will include Bernstein’s conductor baton; his first childhood piano; the desk used to compose West Side Story; handwritten score sheets for songs from West Side Story, including “America,” “Tonight,” and “Maria”; Bernstein’s handwritten Harvard study notebook from 1939; and more. In addition to the objects and the multi-media presentations, the exhibit includes a number of interactive displays, designed to allow the museum visitor deep access into Bernstein’s creative mind and music legacy. A listening bar will enable visitors to explore some of Bernstein’s most noted works; and a vocal booth gives visitors the chance to sing lead in West Side Story. Another interactive breaks down the parts of a symphony for greater understanding of Bernstein’s greatest orchestral works, while a specially designed interactive gives visitors the opportunity to step into Bernstein’s conducting shoes and lead the New York Philharmonic. There are Bernstein home movies, GRAMMY® performances, interviews with contemporaries and colleagues, clips of his most noted stage works, segments taken from Bernstein’s famous Young People’s Concerts, and performances with the New York Philharmonic.