Editing Leonard Bernstein (section)

=== 1935–1941: College years ===

'''Harvard University '''

In 1935, Bernstein enrolled at [[Harvard College]], where he studied music with, among others, [[Edward Burlingame Hill]] and [[Walter Piston]]. Bernstein's first extant composition, [[Psalm 148 (Bernstein)|Psalm 148]], set for voice and piano, is dated 1935.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gottlieb |first=Jack |year=2008 |title=Leonard Bernstein: A Jewish Legacy |url=https://bernstein.carnegiehall.org/leonardbernstein/faith.aspx.html |access-date=April 30, 2025 |website=BERNSTEIN: THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS}}</ref> He majored in music with a final year thesis titled "The Absorption of Race Elements into American Music" (1939; reproduced in his book ''Findings''). One of Bernstein's intellectual influences at Harvard was [[aesthetics]] professor [[David Prall]], and one of his friends at the school was future philosopher [[Donald Davidson (philosopher)|Donald Davidson]]. Bernstein wrote and conducted the musical score for the production Davidson mounted of [[Aristophanes]]' play ''[[The Birds (play)|The Birds]]'', performed in the original Greek. Bernstein recycled some of this music in future works. While a student, Bernstein composed for the [[Harvard Glee Club]] and was briefly its president as well as serving as an unpaid pianist for Harvard Film Society's [[silent film]] presentations.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Swan |first=Claudia |url=https://archive.org/details/leonardbernstein0000unse_q9y6/mode/2up |title=Leonard Bernstein : the Harvard years 1935–1939 |date=1999 |publisher=Eos Orchestra |isbn=0-9648083-4-X |location=New York |oclc=41502300}}</ref>

Bernstein mounted a student production of ''[[The Cradle Will Rock]]'', directing its action from the piano as the composer [[Marc Blitzstein]] had done at the premiere. Blitzstein, who attended the performance, subsequently became a close friend and mentor to Bernstein.{{sfn|Burton|1995|pages=52–55}} As a [[sophomore]] at Harvard, Bernstein met the conductor [[Dimitri Mitropoulos]], who was an influence on Bernstein's eventual decision to become a conductor.{{sfn|Burton|1995|pages=35–36}} Mitropoulos invited Bernstein to come to [[Minneapolis]] for the 1940–41 season to be his assistant, but the plan fell through because of union issues.{{sfn|Laird|Lin|2019|p={{page needed|date=March 2022}}}} In 1937, Bernstein sat next to [[Aaron Copland]] at a dance recital at [[The Town Hall (New York City)|Town Hall]] in New York City. Copland invited Bernstein to his birthday party afterwards, where Bernstein impressed the guests by playing Copland's challenging [[Piano Variations (Copland)|Piano Variations]]. Although he was never a formal student of Copland's, Bernstein regularly sought his advice, often citing him as "the closest thing to a composition teacher [Bernstein] ever had."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bernstein |first=Leonard |year=1970 |title=An Intimate Sketch |url=https://www.loc.gov/collections/aaron-copland/articles-and-essays/an-intimate-sketch/ |access-date=May 1, 2025 |website=Library of Congress}}</ref><ref name="teachers">{{Cite AV media |title=Teachers and Teaching: An Autobiographical Essay by Leonard Bernstein |year=1988 |type=DVD}}</ref> Bernstein graduated from Harvard in 1939 with a Bachelor of Arts, [[Latin honors#United States|''cum laude'']].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Predota |first=Georg |date=August 25, 2023 |title=On This Day {{!}} August 25: Lenny Bernstein Was Born |url=https://interlude.hk/on-this-day-25-august-lenny-bernstein-was-born/ |access-date=May 1, 2025 |website=Interlude |language=en-US}}</ref>

'''Curtis Institute of Music '''

After graduating from Harvard, Bernstein enrolled at the [[Curtis Institute of Music]] in [[Philadelphia]]. At Curtis, Bernstein studied conducting with [[Fritz Reiner]]; piano with [[Isabelle Vengerova]]; orchestration with [[Randall Thompson]]; [[counterpoint]] with [[Richard Stöhr]]; and score reading with [[Renée Longy|Renée Longy-Miquelle]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Wilson |first=Kristina |year=2018 |title=A Deeply Moving Experience |url=https://res.cloudinary.com/curtisinstitute/image/upload/v1653664853/pdf/about/overtones/2018/2018_Spring_4_bernstein_dlbxn9.pdf |access-date=April 30, 2025 |magazine=Overtones}}</ref> In 1940, Bernstein attended the inaugural year of the [[Berkshire Music Center]], the [[Boston Symphony Orchestra]]'s summer home.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Benedett |first=Barbara |date=November 29, 2017 |title=Bernstein at Tanglewood |url=https://www.curtis.edu/news/bernstein-blog-tanglewood/ |access-date=May 1, 2025 |website=Curtis Institute of Music |language=en-US}}</ref> Bernstein studied conducting with the BSO's music director, [[Serge Koussevitzky]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leonard Bernstein |url=https://www.sonyclassical.com/artists/artist-details/leonard-bernstein |access-date=May 1, 2025 |website=Sony Classical |language=en}}</ref> who became a profound lifelong inspiration to Bernstein.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Tanglewood |url=https://leonardbernstein.com/about/educator/tanglewood |access-date=July 1, 2020 |website=Leonard Bernstein Office}}</ref> He became Koussevitzky's conducting assistant at Tanglewood<ref name=":0" /> and later dedicated his [[Symphony No. 2 (Bernstein)|Symphony No. 2: ''The Age of Anxiety'']] to Koussevitzky.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Symphony No. 2: The Age of Anxiety (1949) |url=https://www.leonardbernstein.com/works/view/16/symphony-no-2-the-age-of-anxiety |access-date=May 1, 2025 |website=Leonard Bernstein}}</ref> One of Bernstein's classmates, both at Curtis and at Tanglewood, was [[Lukas Foss]], who remained a lifelong friend and colleague.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rubin |first=Susan Goldman |url=https://archive.org/details/musicwasityoungl0000rubi/mode/2up?q=foss |title=Music was it: Young Leonard Bernstein |date=2011 |publisher=Charlesbridge |isbn=978-1-58089-344-2 |location=Watertown, MA |pages=142–143}}</ref> Bernstein returned to Tanglewood nearly every summer for the rest of his life to teach and conduct the young music students.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Jenn |date=June 19, 2018 |title=A Man for All Seasons {{!}} Timeless New England |url=https://newengland.com/yankee/magazine/a-man-for-all-seasons-timeless-new-england/ |access-date=May 1, 2025 |website=New England |language=en-US}}</ref> Bernstein received a diploma in conducting from Curtis in 1941.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About the Leonard Bernstein Collection |url=https://www.loc.gov/collections/leonard-bernstein/about-this-collection/ |access-date=May 1, 2025 |website=Library of Congress}}</ref>