Editing Leonard Bernstein (section)

=== As a composer ===
{{further|List of compositions by Leonard Bernstein}}
Bernstein's music combined genres and musical styles. He wove together elements of classical, [[jazz]], popular, [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], [[Latin music|Latin]], [[Jewish music]], and more to create a musical fabric uniquely his own.<ref>{{Cite book|via=W. W. Norton & Company Study Space|chapter=Leonard Bernstein|chapter-url=https://wwnorton.com/college/music/enj10/complete/content/composers/brnstn.asp?chap=81|title=The Enjoyment of Music|author1=Kristine Forney|author2=Joseph Machlis|date=2007|edition=10th StudySpace|publisher=W. W. Norton|access-date=February 28, 2024|isbn=978-0-393-92888-4}}</ref>

Bernstein's Jewish influences are clearly audible in both his symphonic and theatre works. Two of his symphonies, ''[[Symphony No. 1 (Bernstein)|Symphony No. 1: "Jeremiah"]]'' and ''[[Symphony No. 3 (Bernstein)|Symphony No. 3: "Kaddish"]]'', incorporated Hebrew texts and sources, as did his ''[[Chichester Psalms]]'', ''[[Hashkiveinu (Bernstein)|Hashkiveinu]]'', ''[[Four Sabras]]'', ''[[Ḥalil (Bernstein)|Halil]]'', and ''[[Dybbuk (ballet)|Dybbuk]]''. In two of his theatre works, ''[[Candide (operetta)|Candide]]'' and ''[[West Side Story]]'', the call of the [[shofar]] can clearly be heard in the score.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Lessner |first=Joanne Sydney |date=March 5, 2018 |title=A Shofar Sounds in Leonard Bernstein's Work |url=https://www.hadassahmagazine.org/2018/03/05/shofar-sounds-leonard-bernsteins-work/ |access-date=April 3, 2024 |magazine=[[Hadassah Magazine]]}}</ref> Bernstein occasionally turned to Christian sources as well, for example in his ''[[Missa Brevis (Bernstein)|Missa Brevis]]'' and his theatre work ''[[Mass (Bernstein)|MASS]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 17, 2018 |title=Bernstein: Missa Brevis |url=https://londonconcertchoir.org/musical-works/bernstein-missa-brevis |access-date=April 3, 2024 |publisher=[[London Concert Choir]]}}</ref>

Among the 20th century composers who influenced Bernstein were [[Aaron Copland]], [[Igor Stravinsky]], [[Maurice Ravel]], [[George Gershwin]], and [[Marc Blitzstein]].<ref name=GrammyMuseum /> Bernstein's score for ''West Side Story'' incorporated multiple elements from classical, Latin-Caribbean, and bebop jazz.<ref>Baber, Katherine. ''Leonard Bernstein and the Language of Jazz'' (2019){{page needed|date=February 2024}}</ref> While his music was rooted in tonality, many of his works incorporated [[Twelve-tone technique|12-tone]] elements – from the atonal score of the ballet ''Dybbuk'' to his ''Symphony No. 3: "Kaddish"''.{{sfn|Gottlieb|2010|page=146}}

Bernstein's Broadway shows — ''West Side Story'', ''[[On the Town (musical)|On the Town]]'', ''[[Wonderful Town]],'' and ''Candide'' — as well as his theatre piece ''[[Mass (Bernstein)|MASS]]'' continue to be produced worldwide. In addition to his works for the stage, all three of his symphonies, his ''[[Serenade after Plato's "Symposium"|Serenade]]'', and his song cycles, including ''Songfest'' and ''Arias and Barcaroles'', are inspired by theatrical and literary sources. Bernstein himself said that virtually all his compositions "could in some sense be thought of as 'theatre' pieces".{{sfn|Rosen|1978}}

Bernstein's keen sense of rhythm lent his compositions readily to use for ballet and other dance forms. In addition to his own ballets — ''[[Fancy Free (ballet)|Fancy Free]]'', ''Facsimile'', and ''Dybbuk'' — and musicals, many works were choreographed in his lifetime, as well as afterward, for both stage and film. Choreographers of Bernstein's music include [[Jerome Robbins]], [[Alvin Ailey]], [[John Neumeier]], [[Alexei Ratmansky]], [[Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker]], [[Larry Keigwin]], and [[Justin Peck]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bernstein and Dance {{!}} Composer {{!}} About {{!}} Leonard Bernstein |url=https://leonardbernstein.com/about/composer/bernstein-and-dance |access-date=March 19, 2024 |website=leonardbernstein.com}}</ref>

The eclectic nature of Bernstein's music often generated criticism, particularly from the academic community of the mid-20th century where the [[Second Viennese School]] and its 12-tone approach held sway.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tommasini |first=Anthony |author-link=Anthony Tommasini |title=Critic's Notebook; When Bernstein Saw the Future |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/22/arts/critic-s-notebook-when-bernstein-saw-the-future.html|access-date=May 3, 2024|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 22, 1998 |pages=E1–E2}} [https://nyti.ms/3UoAk1h Facsimile]</ref> Bernstein received additional criticism for his theatre work ''MASS'', which some members of the Catholic Church considered offensive. The work's thinly veiled antiwar stance was enough to prevent President Richard Nixon from attending the premiere at the 1971 opening of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.{{sfn|Burton (Doubleday)|1994|pages=406-407}} While his eclecticism, as well as his fearlessness in taking on social issues, generated controversy in his lifetime, Bernstein is now considered a hero and role model for the next generation of composers.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hagen |first=Daron |year=2015 |title=Bernstein's Seemingly Simple Song |url=https://leonardbernstein.com/uploads/pages/files/PFR_2015_SS.pdf |journal=Prelude, Fugue & Riffs |pages=4}}</ref>

Despite frequent criticism in his lifetime, Bernstein's music has endured into the 21st century and is regularly performed, discussed, and recorded around the world. In 2008–09, his 90th anniversary year, Bernstein was the second-most frequently performed American composer (behind Aaron Copland).<ref>{{cite web |title=2008–2009 Season, Orchestra Repertoire Report |url=http://www.americanorchestras.org/images/stories/ORR_0809/ORR_0809.pdf |access-date=January 21, 2011 |publisher=League of American Orchestras}}{{Dead link|date=October 2022|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> In 2018, his centennial year, Bernstein was the third-most played composer worldwide for the year, alongside Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, and Brahms. That year, four of the five most-played concert works worldwide were Bernstein compositions: ''[[Symphonic Dances from West Side Story]]'', ''[[Overture to Candide]]'', ''[[Serenade after Plato's "Symposium"|Serenade (after Plato's Symposium)]]'', and ''[[Chichester Psalms]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Classical Music Statistics for 2018 |url=https://bachtrack.com/classical-music-statistics-2018 |access-date=March 19, 2024 |website=bachtrack.com |language=en}}</ref>