Czech National Symphony Orchestra
100 Years of Leonard Bernstein
John Mauceri, conductor
Isabel Leonard, mezzo-soprano

Leonard Bernstein was not only one of the first American-born-and-educated conductors to become internationally famous, he was also a composer, a pianist, and an educator who transcended the classical music field to achieve iconic status in the twentieth century. John Mauceri, a mentee and conducting fellow with Bernstein, and Isabel Leonard, a multiple Grammy Award-winning singer applauded for her interpretations of Bernstein repertoire, join the Czech National Symphony Orchestra in a concert commemorating the centennial of Bernstein’s birth.

The program of Bernstein compositions includes meditations from Mass; symphonic dances from West Side Story; vocal selections from Songfest, Trouble in Tahiti, and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue; the overture from Candide, and more.

The distinguished and varied career of Mauceri has taken him not only to the world’s greatest opera companies and symphony orchestras, but also to the musical stages of Broadway and Hollywood. He has won Grammy, Tony, Olivier, Drama Desk, Emmy, Billboard, and other noteworthy awards.

Mauceri was, in turn, the music director of Pittsburgh Opera, Teatro Regio (Turin, Italy), Scottish Opera (Glasgow), and Washington (D.C.) Opera. He was the founding director of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, where he conducted more than 300 concerts attended by a total of four million people. Mauceri conducted the world premiere of Bernstein’s A Quiet Place. From 2006–2013, he was the chancellor of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Leonard thrills listeners in both opera houses and on concert stages. She has performed with many of the finest opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Paris Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and San Francisco Opera. She has worked with famous conductors in appearances with the Cleveland, Chicago Symphony, and Boston Symphony orchestras plus the New York, Los Angeles, and Vienna philharmonics. She’s also in demand as a recitalist and is on the board of trustees at Carnegie Hall.

“Leonard is a true treasure,” writes a critic for New York Classical Review, “… immensely talented and charismatic … already one of the world’s leading artists though still relatively early in her career.”