MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bloch: Sacred Service / Foss: The Song of Songs / Ben-Haim: Sweet Psalmist of Israel

Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) was perhaps the most influential figure in classical music in the last half of the twentieth century. Composer, conductor, author, lecturer and often controversial media personality, the American-born Bernstein had a dramatic impact on the popular audience's acceptance and appreciation of classical music. His own work as a composer, particularly his scores for such Broadway musicals as West Side Story and On the Town, helped forge a new relationship between classical and popular music.