Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from Westside Story

Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from Westside Story

The original production of Westside Story ran for 732 performances, spawned a movie that won 11 Academy Awards, and is still a go to on every list of the greatest Broadway Musicals ever written. The collaboration between Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Jerome Robbins was a revolution on par with the collaborations of Stravinsky, Diaghilev, and Nijinsky on the Rite of Spring. No Broadway show had ever been so gritty, so tragic, and so raw. The first performances of Westside Story were done against the backdrop of a rise in gang violence in New York City. The socio-economic aspects of the show were evident to everyone who watched it, and I always like to remind people that the location where Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, who adapted Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet for this show, and Sondheim imagined the story taking place is where Lincoln Center now sits, a seat of opulence and extravagance. Simply put, this was a musical, a comedy, a tragedy, a political statement, and most importantly, a stunningly revolutionary work of art by these collaborators. Today, I want to tell you about the music, and more specifically, the Symphonic Dances from Westside Story, an arrangement that Bernstein made with his colleague Sid Ramin 3 years after the show's premiere. The Symphonic Dances brought Bernstein's electric music from the theatre to the concert stage, and it's stayed there ever since. So today, we'll go through each number, talking about just what makes this music so great, and also about the show itself - its background, its production, and the issues that Bernstein, Laurents, Sondheim, and Robbins were trying to tackle, all through the eyes of a tale of woe about Juliet and her Romeo, or of course, Maria and Tony. Join us!

Jaksot(282)

The Life and Music of Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges

The Life and Music of Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges

Just a glance at a biography of Le Chevalier should have every movie producer salivating. He was the son of a 17 year old slave and her white owner. He was an expert athlete, known as the greatest fen...

11 Kesä 202046min

Stephen Hough on Practicing Through the Pandemic, Composing, and Classical Music as Entertainment.

Stephen Hough on Practicing Through the Pandemic, Composing, and Classical Music as Entertainment.

First, I want to let my listeners know that Thursday will begin a new commitment to exploring the works of minority composers. It's long past time to begin doing that. For today, please enjoy this tho...

8 Kesä 202045min

Bartok Violin Duos and Social Duoing

Bartok Violin Duos and Social Duoing

Bartok's 44 Violin Duos are a triumph of Bartok's devotion to the folk music of Eastern Europe. 42 of the 44 are based on field recordings Bartok collected in his travels, many of which you will hear ...

4 Kesä 202056min

How Musical Revolutions Were Created, Part 2 - w/ Jan Swafford

How Musical Revolutions Were Created, Part 2 - w/ Jan Swafford

Jan Swafford was such a fantastic guest last time that I thought we had to have him back on! During these past two weeks, we discussed how so much of the revolutionary music in the history of classica...

1 Kesä 202048min

Sibelius Symphony No. 7

Sibelius Symphony No. 7

Sibelius' 7th Symphony is a piece that is barely a symphony at all, and yet it carries symphonic logic throughout. It's only 20 minutes long, in one movement that never stops evolving, with a form tha...

28 Touko 202044min

How Musical Revolutions Were Created, Part 1 - w/Jan Swafford

How Musical Revolutions Were Created, Part 1 - w/Jan Swafford

Jan Swafford was such a fantastic guest last time that I thought we had to have him back on. This week(and next week), we discussed how so much of the revolutionary music in the history of classical m...

25 Touko 202039min

Respighi, "The Pines of Rome"

Respighi, "The Pines of Rome"

Respighi occupies a strange place in musical history. He is almost never considered to be one of the "greats," though his mastery of orchestral color is never doubted by anyone. Today on this Patreon ...

21 Touko 202041min

Quarantine, Richter, Kleiber, Dvorak, Zander, Wearing Different Hats, and Schumann w/ Zsolt Bognar

Quarantine, Richter, Kleiber, Dvorak, Zander, Wearing Different Hats, and Schumann w/ Zsolt Bognar

Zsolt Bognar is a Renaissance Man. He is a pianist, a writer, a thinker, and the host of Living the Classical Life, an amazing show where Zsolt sits down with some of the leading lights of the classic...

18 Touko 202047min

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