Charles Harold Bernstein

Born in Los Angeles, Charles Harold Bernstein was a child prodigy pianist who performed as soloist with orchestras by the age of nine. At the age nineteen a serious health problem put a halt to a promising career. The need to turn his life in other directions led to a career in business. However, in spite of the demands on his time in the world of commerce, the need to express himself in music remained a driving force in his life. Bernstein began composing in 1970, plunging into an intense study of harmony and theory and working closely with such artists as violinist Yoshiko Nakura (founding member of the Tokyo String Quartet), violist Milton Thomas, and violinist Adam Korniszewski. Ironically, having begun his musical career as a pianist, Bernstein does not use a piano for his work nor does he write for it. He has produced an impressive range of music - from extended solos for violin, cello, oboe, clarinet and flute to quintets and eight works for orchestra – several of which have seen performances in the United States. Bernstein’s chamber music is performed in Europe and North America and some of his music is recorded by such well-known musicians as violinist Ivry Gitlis. A number of his chamber works have recently been released on the Centaur label. Bernstein is currently working on a tone poem for baritone and orchestra to a poem by D.H. Lawrence.