ABSTRACT
After first bursting onto the national music scene in November 1944, when, at age twenty-six he stepped in at the last moment for an ailing Bruno Walter and conducted a brilliant-and widely publicized-performance of the New York Philharmonic, the conductor remained more or less constantly in the public eye throughout his lifetime. With his varied and wide-ranging output of compositions, concert work, conducting, television shows, books, and political causes, he achieved a stature in the world of serious music unique for an American.
