For New York For New York For New York (Variations on Themes of Leonard Bernstein) (originally titled To Lenny! To Lenny!) is a one-movement orchestral composition by the American composer John Williams. Written as a tribute to fellow composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, the piece premiered on the last day of Bernstein's 70th birthday gala at Tanglewood on August 28, 1988. The premiere was performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Williams, who was then conductor of its sister orchestra, the Boston Pops. Music critic John Rockwell of "The New York Times" described the work as "feathery and flashy." "For New York" utilizes
Charles Ansbacher Boston, Moscow, Bishkek, and Sarajevo. Among his acclaimed performances were an all-Brahms program at Harvard University’s Sanders Theater, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and the same work in Belgrade with American and Russian soloists. In 2008, he was the first American conductor to appear with the Lebanese National Symphony Orchestra. The performance was received so well that he was invited to return to the podium in 2009. He also conducted the first-ever symphony orchestra concert in Boston’s historic Fenway Park, and in Hanoi as the first American ever to lead the Vietnamese National Symphony Orchestra. His primary