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Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (or Symphonic Dances) (1960) is an orchestral arrangement of music from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein. It was orchestrated by Bernstein with help from arrangers Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal, who had also orchestrated the Broadway musical.[1] The piece was first performed by the New York Philharmonic on 13 February 1961 at Carnegie Hall, and was conducted by Lukas Foss.[2]
Background
editBefore Bernstein wrote Symphonic Dances, he had already extracted songs and musical numbers from some of his larger works and turned them into standalone pieces: Three Dance Episodes from On the Town (1945) contains three "episodes" of music from Bernstein's musical On the Town,[3] and the Overture to his operetta Candide (1956) has become a standalone piece of repertoire in its right. Kenneth LeFave writes that for Bernstein to arrange music from West Side Story for orchestra, therefore, "was a natural".[4]
Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal arranged Symphonic Dances under the supervision of Bernstein. Ramin and Kostal had previously orchestrated the Broadway musical, also whilst supervised by Bernstein.[5] The Symphonic Dances are so named because
Bernstein dedicated the piece to Ramin with the inscription "To Sid Ramin, in Friendship".[2]
Composition
editBernstein selected a portion of the music from West Side Story—mainly its dance numbers—and arranged them into nine sections in the Symphonic Dances.[6] The music does not always appear in the same order as it does in the musical. LeFave writes that Bernstein reordered some of the music to create "maximum contrast".[4] For example, the song Somewhere from the second act of the musical is the second number to feature in Symphonic Dances, straight after what LeFave calls the "rough-edged music of the Prologue".[4]
Legacy
editAn arrangement of Symphonic Dances for two pianos and percussion was written by Charlie Harmon.[2]
References
edit- ^ LaFave 2015, p. 136.
- ^ a b c Bernstein 1993, p. 369.
- ^ "Three Dance Episodes from "On the Town" (1945)". Leonardbernstein.com. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
- ^ a b c LeFave 2015, p. 136.
- ^ Myers 1998, p. 124.
- ^ Myers 1998, p. 125.
Bibliography
edit- Bernstein, Leonard (1993). Findings: Fifty Years of Meditations on Music. New York: Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-42437-X.
- LaFave, Kenneth (2015). Experiencing Leonard Bernstein: a listener's companion. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442235434.
- Myers, Paul (1998). Leonard Bernstein. London: Phaidon Press. ISBN 0-7148-3701-6.