On October 14, 1990, Leonard Bernstein died aged 72. He was pianist, composer,  conductor and music lecturer, regarded as one of the most important, influential and successful artists in the American music history. He was director of the New York Philharmonic and has been conducting concerts with some of the leading world orchestras. As composer he has worked with various music forms including ballet, opera, musicals, film scores, orchestral, chamber, choral, piano and  vocal music. Many of his music works are still regularly performed on the stages around the world, and his best known and most popular musical “West Side Story” is regarded as one of the classics of the world music literature.