Leonard Bernstein’s 70th #birthday Gala (1988)

Leonard Bernstein’s 70th Birthday Gala (1988) Born: 25 August 1918, Lawrence, Massachusetts, United States Died: 14 October 1990, The Dakota, New York, United States Leonard Bernstein was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first American conductor to receive international acclaim. 26 Aug 1988 Celebration of the 70th birthday of Leonard Bernstein, His 70th birthday celebration took place at Tanglewood, where many of the world’s greatest musicians assembled for an unprecedented tribute. Leonard Bernstein, far and away America’s most famous classical musician, turned 70 years old today. And just as his entire career has been larger than life, so was his birthday party. It consisted of a gala concert tonight, starry even by the standards of such events, which leads off an entire weekend of Bernsteiniana. The host was Tanglewood, the rambling Berkshire