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!

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How to Be A Film Composer, with Christopher Willis

How to Be A Film Composer, with Christopher Willis

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6 Helmi 202040min

Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3

Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3

Rachmaninoff remains extremely popular as a composer. But at the same time, a kind of condescending attitude continues to linger about Rachmaninoff's music. People say it sounds like movie music, it's...

30 Tammi 202055min

Classical Music Changemakers Week: Aubrey Bergauer + Lorenzo Brewer

Classical Music Changemakers Week: Aubrey Bergauer + Lorenzo Brewer

This week, I'm interviewing 3 people who are making real change in the classical music business. Today, I talk with Aubrey Bergauer, the former Executive Director of the California Symphony, and Loren...

22 Loka 201955min

Sticky Notes Mailbag!

Sticky Notes Mailbag!

At long last, it's the Sticky Notes mailbag! I'm joined by a special guest to answer around 20 questions such as, "What is the best way to learn how to compose?" or "Is there a simple explanation in ...

27 Kesä 20191h 2min

Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 132 (Part 2)

Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 132 (Part 2)

This week we're diving into one of the great movements ever written in Western Music with the slow movement of Beethoven's Op. 132 quartet. This is a movement that explores Beethoven's contradictory r...

13 Kesä 201944min

Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 132 (Part 1)

Beethoven String Quartet, Op. 132 (Part 1)

I've long hesitated to write a show about any of Beethoven's late string quartets. These are pieces that quartets spend the better part of their careers grappling with, struggling with, failing with,...

6 Kesä 201945min

How to Build an Orchestra w/Joshua Roman

How to Build an Orchestra w/Joshua Roman

I was thrilled to be joined by Joshua Roman, cellist, composer, and curator. The core of our discussion centers on building an orchestra from the ground up. That is, not taking over an existing orches...

25 Tammi 201951min

Deborah Borda, President of the New York Philharmonic

Deborah Borda, President of the New York Philharmonic

Of all the interviews I've done this year on Sticky Notes, this might be my favorite. I sat down a few weeks ago with Deborah Borda, the new CEO and President of the New York Philharmonic, to talk ab...

21 Helmi 201849min

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