On this day in 1958, Leonard Bernstein conducted his first Young People's Concert, just two weeks after becoming Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. Such programs were already a Philharmonic tradition when Bernstein arrived, but he made them a centerpiece of his work, part of what he described as his "educational mission." In this first program, What Does Music Mean?, Bernstein used musical examples from Frédéric Chopin, Beethoven, Rossini, Johann Strauss II, Richard Strauss, and Ravel

Leonard Bernstein and the @New York Philharmonic's final Young People's Concert was broadcast on this day in 1972. The concert explored Gustav Holst's "The Planets". Five of the seven movements—Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, and Uranus—were performed at the concert, and then Bernstein and the Philharmonic improvised a piece for Pluto, whose discovery in 1930 postdated Holst's composition. We share with you this excerpt of the Young People's Concert, where Bernstein introduces the work. | Leonard

We continue our centennial celebration of "Façade – An Entertainment," with this excerpt from the Young People's Concert "The Sound of a Hall," in which Leonard Bernstein recites the Tango-Pasodoble, with members of the New York Philharmonic. Music by William Walton and poetry by Edith Sitwell. Enjoy! | Leonard Bernstein