Leonard Bernstein loved festivities, especially when they focused on him. Too bad he isn't around for "Bernstein: The Best of All Possible Worlds," a 10-week, 50-event New York City-wide celebration of the 90th anniversary of his birth and the 50th anniversary of his appointment as music director of the New York Philharmonic. The festival, presented by the Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall, surveys theater works, opera, orchestral and choral music, films, jazz and educational programs — all reminders of what a vital presence Bernstein remains on the current scene. For those who can't get tickets to the opening night gala at Carnegie — Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Philharmonic, with Dawn Upshaw, Thomas Hampson and Yo Yo Ma — it will be broadcast later on PBS.
— Christopher Porterfield