The Three Most Influential Composers of the Late 20th Century

The three most influential composers of the second half of the twentieth century were: Leonard Bernstein, John Lennon, and John Williams. Each of these composers was known to separate from the norms both on and off the musical page.
Leonard Bernstein is well known for being a composer, conductor, lecturer, and the man who brought classical music to the popular realm. Aside from music Bernstein is probably best known for his outlandish personality. This personality proved to be one of his best assets both in and out of Carnegie Hall. His best known work in the field of composition is forty years old and still going strong. “West Side Story” modernized the way musical theatre is created and made it much more accessible to a wider audience. Initially Columbia Records turned down the opportunity to record this incredible work of genius citing that it is too difficult and too depressing, but through the perseverance of Bernstein, and many others, Columbia agreed. In hind-sight this was an incredibly good business decision because the Score has grossed billions of dollars to date and has no end in sight. Probably his most controversial of his extraordinary collection is his 1971 Catholic “Mass”. “Mass” received mixed reviews especially from the Christian Community because both Bernstein and the author Stephen Schwartz were Jewish. Despite the reaction from the Catholics, “Mass” was very well received as a musical masterpiece. In 1943 he was appointed a permanent position as assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic. On November 14, 1943 he had to fill in on just a few hours notice. After this was broadcast on world organizations world wide were seeking him to guest conduct. His unique conducting methods made him one of the most memorable conductors ever. In 1958 this outrageous conducting paid off and Bernstein was awarded the position of music director of the New York Philharmonic, a position to which you are appointed for life. He is credited with being a part of over fifty-eight books including his most popular “The Joy of Music”. He has given countless interviews and guest lectures at many top universities. He is also credited as one of the great teachers and mentors of his time. His influence is undoubtedly wide-spread and continually brings classical appreciation to the popular forum.
In “Time Magazine” John Lennon is voted the number four most influential man of the century. Lennon is recognized with writing many brilliant musical pieces, but more importantly he was a strong political figure. As the front man from the Beatles Lennon wrote the bulk of the music, and was best known for his lyrical text-painting. Lennon found new creative ways of writing some of the worlds most well recognized lyrics. He once wrote a song titled “Glass Onion” that made people ponder those words’ meaning for years. Later he actually admitted that the song’s title had no meaning at all, and he was just poking fun at the way his fans studied his lyrics. His music gained him notoriety and fame that he needed to voice his politics. His political views were best summed up in the two very well known songs: “All You Need is Love” and “Give Peace a Chance”. At a time when the Vietnam War was the most prominent media topic, Lennon chose a side that did not agree with his government. As an American immigrant Lennon was under harsh scrutiny from both the FBI and President Nixon. At one point Nixon believed Lennon’s anti-war influence was becoming too great and tried to have Lennon deported. It was actually proven that the Republicans spent millions of tax-payer dollars to try and get Lennon deported so Nixon would have a chance at re-election. This behavior from the government eerily resembles the way that Communist Russia treated any of their musicians that started to think for themselves. The government actually spent more on unsuccessfully trying to deport Lennon than they did trying to punish Nazi war criminals. Despite all of the political pressures Lennon stayed and used his influence and popularity to start fund raisers, voter-registration drives, and anti-war rallies and concerts.
Two notes, no tricky intervals, just a half step. A silly little chromatic repetition is all John Williams needed to win an Oscar for best film score. Of course the notes referred to are the haunting theme to the motion picture “Jaws”(duhhhn duh). “Jaws” is just one of his 5 Oscars for best film score. Williams wrote the scores to 10 of the top 15 all time grossing movies. America is a culture that goes to the movies, most people get a lot of their musical interest from the movies. John Williams like Bernstein brought classical music into the popular realm. Williams single best selling soundtrack was “Star Wars”. Williams scored many movies: “Harry Potter”, The “Indiana Jones” Trilogy, all of the “Star Wars” movies, “Jurassic Park”, “ET”, “Schindler’s List”, and far too many others to name. Williams is credited as being the single living most Oscar Nominated individual with 41 nominations. He wrote over two hundred scores to movies and video games, so many that you can check them all out at this link. (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002354/) John Williams was a master of suspense and made going to the movies more enjoyable and exciting. Fact is, without music movies would be pretty boring. The single most influential film score composer of all time is John Williams.
All three of these men were incredibly influential in their different genres, and all of them brought sophisticated music to the popular scene. Since one must be picked above the rest the most influential composer of the later 20th century is none other than Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein’s personality rocketed him into the spotlight and he never looked back. Bernstein did more to popularize classical music than any man to date. Influence is the number of people you reach, and when referring to music no man reached more people or influenced more subsequent musicians than Leonard Bernstein.