This playlist demonstrates one of the 20th centuries musical geniuses, Leonard Bernstein. The first track, Overture to Candide, was taken from the musical of the same name. Whilst the musical itself was a failure, the overture, slighly tweaked by Bernstein, has gone on to become a popular item in the concert hall. The second track, Adagio for Strings, was written by the American Samuel Barber. It was arranged from String Quartet op.11, where it formed the slow movement. The track shows Bernstein's ability as a conductor to bring power and emotion to the simplest of scores. The final track demonstrates Bernstein's ability not only as a gifted conductor, but his extraordinary piano talent too. Directing from the piano, he shows how comfortable he was in both classical and jazz idioms. It is also interesting to note that all pieces were composed, conducted and performed by Americans.