Leonard Bernstein, born 1918 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, was child of Russian immigrants and spent his childhood in Boston, where as of 1930 he attended the New England Conservatory of Music. He later studied piano, conducting and composition at Harvard University and Curtis Institute. In 1943 he conducted the New York Philharmonic in place of the ailing Bruno Walter. The sensational success of the show propelled him to fame in the U.S. overnight. First European tour 1946. As of 1954, Bernstein was announced on television the most successful classical music. With the musical "West Side Story" Leonard Bernstein achieved his breakthrough on Broadway in 1957. In 1958 he became director of the New York Philharmonic. In 1971, on his tour of Germany, Leonard Bernstein played with the Vienna Philharmonic Ravel's G-major Piano Concerto exclusively on a C. Bechstein concert grand piano. Bernstein died 1990 in New York.

Photos: © C. Bechstein Archiv / Foto KIEHL, Wikipedia