"Maria (West Side Story song) ""Maria"" is a song from the Broadway musical ""West Side Story"", sung by the lead character Tony. The music was written by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The song was published in 1956. ""Maria"" is sung by the male lead Tony when he learns the name of the girl he's fallen in love with is ""Maria"". The name ""Maria"" is spoken or sung in the song 29 times. It begins in B major and then modulates to E-flat major. The song is widely known for its use of the melodic interval of a"
"Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American composer, conductor, author, music lecturer, and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the US to receive worldwide acclaim. According to music critic Donal Henahan, he was ""one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history."" His fame derived from his long tenure as the music director of the New York Philharmonic, from his conducting of concerts with most of the world's leading orchestras, and from his music for ""West Side Story"", ""Peter Pan"", ""Candide"", ""Wonderful Town"","
"In 1957, ""West Side Story"" opened; directed by Jerome Robbins, it ran for 732 performances. Sondheim has expressed dissatisfaction with his lyrics, saying that they do not always fit the characters and are sometimes too consciously poetic. While Bernstein was working on ""Candide"", Sondheim reportedly wrote some of ""West Side Story""s music; Bernstein's co-lyricist credit disappeared from ""West Side Story"" during its tryout, possibly as a trade-off. Sondheim insisted that Bernstein told the producers to list him as the sole lyricist. He described the division of the royalties, saying that Bernstein received three percent and he received one percent. Bernstein"
"music, choral works, opera, chamber music and pieces for the piano. Many of his works are regularly performed around the world, although none has matched the tremendous popular and critical success of ""West Side Story"". He was born Louis Bernstein in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the son of Ukrainian Jewish parents Jennie (née Resnick) and Samuel Joseph Bernstein, a hairdressing supplies wholesaler originating from Rovno (now Ukraine). His family spent their summers at their vacation home in Sharon, Massachusetts. His grandmother insisted that his first name be Louis, but his parents always called him Leonard, which they preferred. He legally changed his"
"Somewhere (song) ""Somewhere"", sometimes referred to as ""Somewhere (There's a Place for Us)"" or simply ""There's a Place for Us"", is a song from the 1957 Broadway musical ""West Side Story"" that was made into a film in 1961. The music is composed by Leonard Bernstein with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and takes a phrase from the slow movement of Beethoven's 'Emperor' Piano Concerto, which forms the start of the melody,(actually is a quote from the cello and bass line in Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, 17 bars from the end.) and also a longer phrase from the main theme of"
"composers included the Massachusetts native and conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein, known for his works ""Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs"", ""Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion"", ""Chichester Psalms"", and the musicals ""On the Town"" and ""West Side Story"". Another major composer was Elliott Carter, whom John Warthen Struble claimed would likely be remembered as ""the most significant of the mid-20th century... composers [because he] reconceived and restructured the fundamental language of Western art music in evolving his powerful personal style... his music has earned immense respect from colleagues of virtually every esthetic stripe, as well as three generations of"
"co-author of the lyrics, although Sondheim was uncertain he wanted to receive sole credit for what he considered to be overly florid contributions by Bernstein. Robbins demanded and received a ""Conceived by"" credit, and used it to justify his making major decisions regarding changes in the show without consulting the others. As a result, by opening night on Broadway, none of his collaborators were talking to him. It has been rumored that while Bernstein was off trying to fix the musical ""Candide"", Sondheim wrote some of the music for ""West Side Story"", and that Bernstein's co-lyricist billing mysteriously disappeared from"
"Lady Diana Spencer. In 1984, Leonard Bernstein decided to re-record the musical ""West Side Story"", conducting his own music for the first time. Generally known as the ""operatic version"", it starred Te Kanawa as Maria, José Carreras as Tony, Tatiana Troyanos as Anita, Kurt Ollmann as Riff, and Marilyn Horne as the offstage voice who sings ""Somewhere"". Te Kanawa was the first of the singers to join the project, and said at the time ""I couldn't believe it ... This was music I'd grown up with, music I'd always wanted to sing."" The album won a Grammy Award for Best"
"Tonight (1956 song) ""Tonight"" is a popular song with music written by Leonard Bernstein and the lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and was published in 1956. It was introduced in the Broadway musical ""West Side Story."" The movie version, featuring vocals by Marni Nixon (dubbing Natalie Wood) and Jimmy Bryant (dubbing Richard Beymer), finished at #59 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. The song was revived in 1961 on single records in versions by Ferrante & Teicher (#8 pop, #2 easy listening) and Eddie Fisher, whose version narrowly missed the Top 40. Shirley Bassey recorded"
"Tonight (1956 song) ""Tonight"" is a popular song with music written by Leonard Bernstein and the lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and was published in 1956. It was introduced in the Broadway musical ""West Side Story."" The movie version, featuring vocals by Marni Nixon (dubbing Natalie Wood) and Jimmy Bryant (dubbing Richard Beymer), finished at #59 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. The song was revived in 1961 on single records in versions by Ferrante & Teicher (#8 pop, #2 easy listening) and Eddie Fisher, whose version narrowly missed the Top 40. Shirley Bassey recorded"
"wrote revisions on their manuscript (the original, heavily annotated by Ramin, Kostal and Bernstein himself is in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library at Columbia University). Ramin, Kostal, and Bernstein are billed as orchestrators for the show. The orchestra consisted of 31 players: a large Broadway pit orchestra enhanced to include 5 percussionists, a guitarist and a piano/celesta player. In 1961, Bernstein prepared a suite of orchestral music from the show, titled ""Symphonic Dances from West Side Story"": Recordings of ""West Side Story"" include the following: The 1961 film adaptation of the musical received praise from critics and the public,"
"West Side Story (Cal Tjader album) West Side Story is an album featuring American vibraphonist Cal Tjader, consisting of musical numbers from Leonard Bernstein's ""West Side Story"" in jazz arrangements, by Tjader's pianist and musical director Clare Fischer, without vocals. It was recorded in October 1960 and released on the Fantasy label in January 1961 as Fantasy 3310 / 8054 (reissued on LP in 1968, in stereo only, as Fantasy 8379). On July 30, 2002, Fantasy would reissue it – along with the 1962 LP ""Cal Tjader Plays Harold Arlen"" – on CD as ""Cal Tjader Plays Harold Arlen and"
"Achievement Grammy in 1985. Bernstein was an eclectic composer whose music fused elements of jazz, Jewish music, theatre music and the work of earlier composers like Aaron Copland, Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud, George Gershwin, and Marc Blitzstein. Some of his works, especially his score for ""West Side Story"", helped bridge the gap between classical and popular music. His music was rooted in tonality but in some works like his ""Kaddish Symphony"" and the opera ""A Quiet Place"" he mixed in 12-tone elements. Bernstein himself said his main motivation for composing was ""to communicate"" and that all his pieces, including his"
"in touch with Bernstein, who had returned to New York. When the producer of ""The Painted Veil"" replaced Gardner with Eleanor Parker and asked Laurents to revise his script with her in mind, he backed out of the film, freeing him to devote all his time to the stage musical. In New York City, Laurents went to the opening night party for a new play by Ugo Betti, and there he met Sondheim, who had heard that ""East Side Story"", now retitled ""West Side Story"", was back on track. Bernstein had decided he needed to concentrate solely on the music,"
"lyrics for a musical version of ""The Exception and the Rule""; according to Robbins, Bernstein would not work without Sondheim. When Sondheim agreed, Guare asked: ""Why haven't you all worked together since ""West Side Story""?"" Sondheim answered, ""You'll see"". Guare said that working with Sondheim was like being with an old college roommate, and he depended on him to ""decode and decipher their crazy way of working""; Bernstein worked only after midnight, and Robbins only in the early morning. Bernstein's score, which was supposed to be light, was influenced by his need to make a musical statement. Stuart Ostrow, who"
"two bored automatons. West Side Story (Cal Tjader album) West Side Story is an album featuring American vibraphonist Cal Tjader, consisting of musical numbers from Leonard Bernstein's ""West Side Story"" in jazz arrangements, by Tjader's pianist and musical director Clare Fischer, without vocals. It was recorded in October 1960 and released on the Fantasy label in January 1961 as Fantasy 3310 / 8054 (reissued on LP in 1968, in stereo only, as Fantasy 8379). On July 30, 2002, Fantasy would reissue it – along with the 1962 LP ""Cal Tjader Plays Harold Arlen"" – on CD as ""Cal Tjader Plays"
"Peter Bernstein (composer) Peter Bernstein (born April 10, 1951) is an American film score composer, and is the son of Academy Award-winning composer and conductor Elmer Bernstein, with whom he frequently collaborated. Notable films scored or co-scored by Peter Bernstein include ""Silent Rage"" (1982), ""Bolero"" (1984), ""The Ewok Adventure"" (1984), """" (1985), ""My Science Project"" (1985), ""Canadian Bacon"" (1995), ""Wild Wild West"" (1999) and """" (2001). He has also composed music for television series such as ""21 Jump Street"" (1987), ""The New Outer Limits"" (1996; one episode, season 2, ""Beyond the Veil""), ""Walker, Texas Ranger"" (1995; one episode, season 3,"
"as a leader for several labels. Albam also found an entree into the classical music world when he arranged Leonard Bernstein's score for ""West Side Story"" in 1957. The work earned Albam a Grammy Nomination in 1959. Bernstein was said to have been so impressed that he invited Albam to write for the New York Philharmonic itself, an invitation, according to allmusic.com, that led Albam to study classical music for a time and, in due course, write such works as ""Concerto for Trombone and Strings"". By 1964, Albam became musical director for United Artists-Solid State Records; his jazz suite ""The"
"Walk on the Wild Side (David and Bernstein song) ""Walk on the Wild Side"" originated as the title song of the 1962 film as performed by Brook Benton over the film's coda and closing credits. Lyrics were written by Mack David and music was by Elmer Bernstein. The two earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. The song evokes the jazz and gospel music musical styles of the film's New Orleans setting, and the reputation of its Storyville district. It addresses an unnamed straying Christian — or perhaps all who and seems to threaten them in terms understood within"
"approached Arthur Laurents to write the book. As he relates, Laurents initially was not interested until he saw that the story was one of parents living their children's lives. Composers Irving Berlin and Cole Porter declined the project. Finally, Robbins asked Stephen Sondheim, who agreed to do it. Sondheim had worked with Robbins and Laurents on the musical ""West Side Story"". However, Merman did not want an unknown composer, and wanted Jule Styne to write the music. Although Sondheim initially refused to write only the lyrics, he was persuaded by Oscar Hammerstein to accept the job. Rose and her two"
"of the authors who had revised the tale of ""Sweeney Todd"" over the years, had put the plot into the story. Nevertheless, in 1977, he wrote of Sondheim ""I needn't tell you that Stephen Sondheim is, both musically and lyrically, the most sophisticated composer now working for the Broadway theater."" In reviewing Leonard Bernstein's ""West Side Story"" he focused on the dancing: ""the most savage, restless, electrifying dance patterns we've been exposed to in a dozen seasons... The dancing is it. Don't look for laughter or—for that matter—tears."" In his review of the original 1956 Broadway production of ""Candide"", he"
"degree and then a Master’s degree in Music from the Manhattan School of Music. She also received a degree in Speech Therapy from Universidad de Medicina de El Salvador in Buenos Aires. Apart from Opera, she recorded many songs in different styles and genres such as Tango, Pop Music and liturgical chants. Pochinki played different characters in many popular Operas, not only in Argentina but also in United States and Europe. For nine months she played the role of Maria in Leonard Bernstein's ""West Side Story"" at the Landestheater in Salzburg and at the Vienna's Volksoper. During her stay in"
"yet sensitive and comprehensive interpretations. Mercurio's commitment and passion for operatic scores yields thrilling performances for both audiences and performers. He has conducted more than forty seven operas in seven different languages. For Orchestra For voice and Orchestra Steven Mercurio Steven Mercurio is an Italian American conductor and composer. Steven Mercurio was born in Bardonia, New York in 1956. He is married to Lisa Mercurio (née Lisa Levine), former Sr. Vice President of Universal's Crossover Division and a trained pianist. She is currently the co-founder of BedtimeNetwork.com. Like Leonard Bernstein, who wrote three symphonies as well as West Side Story,"
"Laurents and Mary Rodgers, Richard Rodgers' daughter, to write the lyrics. Even so, Rodgers felt that the original play did not lend itself to musicalization; Sondheim agreed. According to Peter Filichia, ""Sondheim didn’t want to do the musical in the first place, but given that Laurents sought him – and had recommended him for 'West Side Story' when he was a novice — he accepted. Also a factor was that his now-deceased mentor Oscar Hammerstein had recommended that he succeed him as Rodgers’ lyricist."" Rodgers, who was producing the Broadway production, rejected Martin as too old for Leona. Franco Zeffirelli"
"regularly produced by professional opera companies and has never been revived on Broadway. Musically and culturally, even dramatically, the work inhabits the mid-ground between Weill's ""Threepenny Opera"" (1928) and Leonard Bernstein's ""West Side Story"" (1957). The score contains operatic arias and ensembles, some of them, such as Anna Maurrant's ""Somehow I Never Could Believe"" and Frank Maurrant's ""Let Things Be Like They Always Was,"" with links and references to the style of Giacomo Puccini. It also has jazz and blues influences, in ""I Got a Marble and a Star"" and ""Lonely House"". Some of the more Broadway-style musical numbers are"
"as Sidney Bernstein. Curtains (musical) Curtains is a musical mystery comedy with a book by Rupert Holmes, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander, with additional lyrics by Kander and Holmes. Based on the original book and concept of the same name by Peter Stone, the musical is a send-up of backstage murder mystery plots, set in 1959 Boston, Massachusetts and follows the fallout when Jessica Cranshaw, the supremely untalented star of ""Robbin' Hood of the Old West"" is murdered during her opening night curtain call. It is up to Lt. Frank Cioffi, a police detective who moonlights"
"size and instrumentation of a string section. The Broadway musical West Side Story, in 1957, was booked into the Winter Garden theater; composer Leonard Bernstein disliked the playing of ""house"" viola players he would have to use there, and so he chose to leave them out of the show's instrumentation; a benefit was the creation of more space in the pit for an expanded percussion section. George Martin, producer and arranger for The Beatles, warns arrangers about the intonation problems when only two like instruments play in unison: ""After a string quartet, I do not think there is a satisfactory"
"but by the overarching staging concept, which turns the spectator's attention to the overall principle of organization in the same way that an abstract painting does."" The concept musical can be recognized as an extension of the growing concern for the cohesiveness of a particular production: ""Unlike Rodgers and Hammerstein or Lerner and Loewe, who simply found a good story and musicalized it, now it was considered appropriate (and artistically more satisfying) to have a vision of the whole show."" Leonard Bernstein was a key figure in this movement, with his shows ""Candide"" and ""West Side Story"" representing a ""radical"
"by Bill Reddie, Rich received the West Side Story arrangement of Leonard Bernstein's melodies from the famed musical in the mid-1960s and found it challenging. It consists of many difficult sections which feature 4/4 and 6/8 time signatures; it took almost a month of constant rehearsals to perfect. It later became a staple in all his performances, clocking in at various lengths from seven to fifteen minutes. In 2002, a DVD was released called ""The Lost West Side Story Tapes"" that captured a 1985 performance of this along with other numbers. A live recording of the ""Channel One Suite"" is"
"""Los Angeles Times"", and mental_floss magazine, among others. He has written and worked for JPL/NASA and is a frequent writer for the NPR show ""Ask Me Another."" David K. Israel David K. Israel (born in Philadelphia, PA) is an author, television and film writer and composer. In 1991, he was hired by The Estate of Leonard Bernstein to help edit and publish the late composer’s works. Mr. Israel worked on definitive editions of West Side Story, Mass, ""On the Town"", and Wonderful Town. During these years he also worked as a professional composer fulfilling commissions by such groups as The"
"the best schooled, musically, of all of us put together."" The handling of Bernstein's crowning achievement as a Broadway composer by the Kenton band was going to take a very experienced and adept arranger. This was the only time an entire Kenton LP was devoted to a single show; it was the closest thing that could be easily adapted to fit the large scale, progressive jazz style of the Kenton group. The Mirisch Company's film adaptation of West Side Story starring Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer was scheduled for release in September 1961. Both Kenton and Capitol producer Lee Gillette"
"case of the MGM musicals, it was usually Conrad Salinger, and in the case of ""West Side Story"", it was Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal. As mentioned earlier, Green conducted the orchestra for such famous MGM musicals as ""An American in Paris"", as well as for United Artists' 1961 film version of ""West Side Story"". In 1965, Green conducted the music for that year's new adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's only musical for television, ""Cinderella"", starring Lesley Ann Warren, Walter Pidgeon, Ginger Rogers, and Stuart Damon. Johnny Green also adapted, orchestrated and conducted the music for the film ""Oliver!"" (1968),"
"Elmer Bernstein Elmer Bernstein (April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor who is best known for his film scores. In a career that spanned more than five decades, he composed ""some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history"", including over 150 original movie scores, as well as scores for nearly 80 television productions. Examples of his widely popular and critically acclaimed works are scores to ""The Magnificent Seven"", ""The Ten Commandments"", ""The Great Escape"", ""To Kill a Mockingbird"", ""Ghostbusters"", ""The Black Cauldron"", ""Airplane!"", ""The Rookies"", ""Cape Fear"", ""Animal House"", and ""The Age of"