When Leonard Bernstein died in 1990 at the age of 72, music lovers the
world over mourned the loss of one of the 20th century's artistic giants.
In addition to his role as conductor, composer, educator and performing
artist, Bernstein was one of the early pioneers in bringing the arts to
television. As such, he became one of the most internationally recognized
musical personalities in the world. He was a man who not only needed music
in order to live, but who saw in artistic communication the means to touch
the mind, the heart and the spirit all at once. His need to generate this
communication dictated his life from the day he discovered music to the day
he died. Recorded in March 1990, this performance is Leonard Bernstein's
last concert with the Vienna Philharmonic, an orchestra he deeply loved.