Leonard Bernstein was born to immigrant parents in Lawrence, Massachusetts.  His early successes came as a conductor, most notably as a last minute substitute, without rehearsal, for an ill Bruno Walter in 1943, leading the New York Philharmonic.  The concert was broadcast live across the nation on the radio.  Bernstein’s only preparation was a 15-minute discussion with Walter before taking the podium.  Bernstein became an overnight sensation.   The New York City newspaper critics showered the young conductor with praise in the morning’s papers, calling the concert a “good American success story.”  Bernstein was the first conductor to lead a major American Orchestra who was educated and trained in the United States.  He used his new international fame to become the Music Director of the New York City Symphony Orchestra, followed by the appointment to chair the conducting department at Tanglewood.  In 1958 he earned the spot of Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, where he led the famed orchestra in more performances than any previous conductor.  Bernstein and the NY Philharmonic became synonymous, completing more than 200 recordings together.  Bernstein also toured the world as guest conductor with many of the world’s best orchestras.  He became a leading interpreter of Mahler and recorded and performed all nine of Mahler’s symphonies multiple times.

In the years before his conducting successes, he eeked out a living with a comedy troupe comprised of his close friends, Betty Comden, Judy Holliday, and Adolphe Green with whom he shared a New York apartment.  Comden and Green would team up with him on many of his successful musicals, including On the Town (1944), Peter Pan (1950), and Wonderful Town (1953).  However, Comden and Green turned down the opportunity to work on his most popular musical, West Side Story, so an up-and-coming lyricist named Stephen Sondheim got the job.

West Side Story debuted on Broadway in 1957 and ran for nearly 800 performances.  The musical was nominated for six Tony Awards and won two.  The successful movie from 1961 won ten Oscar awards including best movie of the year.  A 2021 remake of the move was well-received by audiences.   

The “Symphonic Dances” is a suite of melodies from the musical arranged by Bernstein for a fund-raising gala for the New York Philharmonic in 1961.  Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal had just completed the orchestrations for the film version and suggested to Bernstein the exact sections to arrange into a suite.  Bernstein created the “Symphonic Dances” in a rather short period of time.