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Today's subject is the Great American Composer and Conductor Leonard Bernstein, who summed up his relationship with composer and a conductor,

who summed up his relationship with the orchestra

in the following way.

It is a love affair in which you and a body are breathing together, pulsing together.

I mean, one rides on something like waves of love which are dictated by the composer. It is sort of sexual.

Bernstein was an extraordinary man. He looked like a genius with that powerful face and shock of fine hair.

Then there's the work, a decade as musical director at the New York Philharmonic, Broadway successes such as

West Side Story and Wonderful Town, and then there was his role in the International Celebrations

for German reunification and the Freedom concert in Berlin in 1989, this barely scratches the surface

of what he achieved.

With me in the studio, I have the conductor Charles Hazelwood, Bernstein's nominator today. The obvious opening question, Charles, has

he inspired your own life, your own choice of career? Why, how?

I would say he's inspired my career and every aspect of my musical life more than any other single musician in the whole history of music really.

Firstly because he fearlessly crossed so-called borders or divides within music.

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