Prokofiev is a Russian composer who was born in 89, he lived until 953. He was a very successful composer and is well known for his Romeo and Juliet compositions. Prokofiev grew up in Russia and lived there for most of his life however, he did live in the US and Paris for a short time. Like Mozart Prokofiev was a child prodigy, in his early music he found inspiration in the late Russian Nationalist school, but shortly after he found his own distinctive style. He entered the St. Petersburg conservatory at the age of 3 and at 9 he made his first public appearance playing a group of his piano pieces, the dynamism of his music revealed his own personal style. Prokofiev faced a lot of hardships during his life under the reign of Stalin and this was represented through his darker works, under Stalin he faced a number of musical restrictions and had to balance being true to his own creativity whilst also pleasing Stalin. Prokofiev identified 5 lines in order to analyze his style. The first element is classical, the second is his search for innovation, the third is the element of a
toccata, the fourth element is lyrical and the fifth is the grotesque line. The way he grew up, where, and how he lived clearly influenced the way he composed.
Bernstein was an American composer who was born in 98, he was a well-known pianist, lecturer, television personality, and author. He was the first American to be both the musical director and conductor of the philharmonic Orchestra. Leonard was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He took piano lessons as a boy and attended the Garrison and Boston Latin School. In 940, he studied at the Boston Symphony Orchestras newly created summer institute, Tanglewood, With the orchestras conductor, Serge Koussevitzky. Bernstein later becomes Koussevitzkys conducting assistant. Bernstein was inspired by a number of different things but his Jewish heritage was clearly represented in his work Symphony No.: Jeremiah (943). Bernstein was inspired also by the popular style of the time which was jazz. His wife was from South Africa, and as a result, he was very familiar with Latin music which shows in his compositions from West Side Story.