Page "Young People's Concerts" Paragraph 2

Leonard Bernstein brought the Young People's Concerts to a new level of attention when he arrived as conductor of the New York Philharmonic in 1958.

Crucially, the first performance with him as music director, on January 18, 1958 at Carnegie Hall, New York, was the first of these concerts to be televised.

Beginning in 1962, the Young People's Concerts became the first series of concerts ever televised from Lincoln Center.

Bernstein conducted a total of 53 such performances, all of which were telecast on CBS and syndicated in over 40 countries.

Bernstein continued the concerts even during a sabbatical season from the orchestra 1964-65.

Although Bernstein left as music director in 1969, he continued to lead the Young People's Concerts as Conductor Emeritus until 1972.

Bernstein's performances inspired generations of musicians and music-lovers, and twenty-five of them are now available on DVD.

However, the airing of the program was halted in March 1972, with a final Young People's Concert concentrating on Gustav Holst's The Planets.