Written by Anna Vorhes

BORN
August 25, 1918, Lawrence, Massachusetts

DIED
October 14, 1990, New York, New York

COMPOSED
This suite was excerpted from the successful original musical by Bernstein with assistance of Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal

PREMIERED
February 13, 1961, Carnegie Hall, New York, performed by the New York Philharmonic, Lukas Foss conducting, as part of a gala in support of a pension fund.  The concert was called "A Valentine for Leonard Bernstein."

INSTRUMENTATION
Piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, e-flat clarinet, two clarinets, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, piano/celesta, and strings.

DURATION
24 minutes

SOMETHING INTERESTING TO LISTEN FOR
West Side Story investigated the sounds drawn from the Puerto Rican culture which was growing in New York City in the 1950s.  It also included popular jazz rhythms and instrumentation.  Along with the expected ballads and ensemble numbers, there are examples of Cha Cha and Mambo.  You will hear jazz rhythms along with the inclusion of saxophone and a full complement of brass, percussion, and wind instruments.  The work is presented without pauses between sections though they are woven together so that those familiar with the musical can imagine the scenes and solos that originally used the music as an integral part.

PROGRAM NOTES

In 1949, Jerome Robbins presented Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Laurents with the idea for a reworking of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.  The idea was based in the East Side of New York City and featured romance between a Jewish young woman and an Irish Catholic young man.  A number of circumstances postponed further discussion, including other projects for those involved.  For Bernstein, it was the premier of Candide.  By the time the project came up again the tension between rapidly growing Hispanic communities-Mexican in Los Angeles and Puerto Rican in New York-led to resetting the conflict to the West Side of New York and making the lead couple a Puerto Rican woman and a Polish/Irish Catholic man.

Jerome Robbins choreographed the resulting musical.  When Laurents opted out of the project, young Stephen Sondheim was encouraged to become the librettist as it would bring him in close working contact with Bernstein.  The resulting musical included dance scenes that stretched the boundaries of ballet in a musical.  The choral numbers in ensemble scenes proved the classical control of Bernstein's writing could enhance something that relied on popular genres.  The emotional content gripped the audience.  When the musical opened in September 1957, it became an immediate hit.

A symphonic suite seemed inevitable.  Bernstein enlisted the help of Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal to produce this suite.  From the plaintive Somewhere to the jazz of Cool, the dances that produce the thread of the plot even without the words, come together to create a very entertaining suite.  As the movie remains accessible to viewers, the audiences remain familiar with the story here told only through the music of dance.  Even without the physical dancers presenting the story, we can follow.  The orchestra is asked to incorporate a few sounds the cast would add to the music - finger snaps and shouts of Mambo in appropriate places - but it doesn't detract from the orchestral experience.

The work is a single movement in nine sections.  The sections are clearly separated by connecting material.  They are:

Prologue: the opening dance sequence, originally presented by young men in blue jeans and t-shirts, is presented by the orchestra.  The opening gesture is a three-note phrase ending with a tritone, sending listeners into the cool jazz realm.
Somewhere: The poignant ballad of longing sets up the sense of doomed romance.
Scherzo: A normal bustling street life is the inspiration for this section, though Somewhere does reappear toward the end.
Mambo: Latin American dance rhythms lead this section.  Pay attention to the brass as they use various mutes to good effect.
Cha-Cha: Based on a Cuban dance form, Bernstein changes the mood of the hero's solo Maria into their first dance together.  This dance is accomplished without words to each other.
Meeting Scene: The music that was originally the backdrop for the words shared between the star-crossed lovers connects the dances to the building tension between the gangs.
Cool: The vocal fugue that builds tension in the musical is recast with instruments.  The intensity is palpable.
Rumble: The final fight between the gangs cannot come to a good end.  A poignant flute solo finishes the rumble, helping us hear the now deserted streets.
Finale: Suitable music for heartbreak with echoes of earlier melodies and the cries of those left behind after violence echoing through the orchestra.

West Side Story is still produced today, though as our attitudes continue to change toward increasing cultural awareness, it seems a bit dated.  Productions have included the Puerto Rican Sharks speaking and singing in Spanish among other attempts at being more aware of today's values.  While there is room for criticism of depictions of the gangs in the musical, the music remains a masterpiece of Bernstein's ability to incorporate his wide body of compositional tools to create something amazing.