Baton for Bernstein

For some time now, two extraordinary institutions--the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and Leonard Bernstein--have been at loose ends. The Philharmonic has suffered from an excess of guest batons and a lack of inspired leadership. Leonard

Bernstein, its co-conductor this season, has suffered from an excess of careers--conductor, serious composer, writer of musical comedies, pianist, teacher, celebrity. This week both the Philharmonic and Bernstein moved to put their houses in order: starting next season, the Philharmonic announced, Bernstein, 39, will take over from Dimitri Mitropoulos as the orchestra's musical director.

Choice conducting plums have been dangled in Bernstein's face before, and he has turned them all down, except for a 1945-48 stint as full-time conductor of the now defunct New York City Symphony. Said he once: "I don't want to spend the rest of my life, as Toscanini did, studying and restudying, say, 50 pieces of music."

What changed his mind? "We're getting old, you know," he says. "We just don't have the energy we had at 20. One begins to center on certain things." Does it mean that Lennie is finally settling down to one career? Not at all. He is determined to go on composing serious music ("I cannot live without it"). He even hopes to get in a musical comedy occasionally, but with the time and trouble required for Broadway productions, "it will have to be put off a while--a good, solid while."

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