West Side Story

• Bernstein composed his musical West Side Story in 1957. Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics; the book was by Arthur Laurents.
• The show ran for more than two years, and its popularity was cemented by the 1961 film version directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise.
• Bernstein worked on West Side Story and Candide simultaneously and the two projects exchanged content before he completed them. The music of “One Hand, One Heart” and “Gee, Officer Krupke” we both originally intended for Candide.
• The choreographer of West Side Story was Jerome Robbins, with whom Bernstein had previously collaborated on the ballet Fancy Free (1944).
• In the music to West Side Story, two of the most important dramatic-structural elements are the interval of the tritone (heard, for example, in the opening of “Maria”) and the opening theme of “Somewhere.” Both motifs occur frequently throughout the score. 
  • The tritone has a historic association with evil. It is the most harmonically unstable (thus the most dissonant) of the intervals within Western major scale. The tritone in West Side Story seems to be connected with Tony and Maria’s love story and/or the concept of violence.
  • The motif derived from the opening of “Somewhere” has connotations of hope within the musical.¹

Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

• Written in 1960; premiered in 1961 at Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Lukas Foss
• Interesting pieces from the work’s program notes:
  • “Why are these dances called symphonic? Simply because the dance music, even in its original format, is symphonically conceived.”
  • “This is music on its own terms, music that does not have to depend upon presupposed knowledge of the unfolding events on stage.”
  • Read the full program notes for Symphonic Dances from West Side Story here.
• Fun fact – during Berinstein’s centennial celebrations in 2018, Symphonic Dances was by far the most performed work.
• Principal sections within Symphonic Dances:
  • Prologue (Allegro moderato) – The growing rivalry between two teenage gangs, the Jets and the Sharks.
  • Somewhere (Adagio) – In a dream ballet, the two gangs are united in friendship.
  • Scherzo (Vivace e leggiero) – In the same dream, the gangs break away from the city walls, suddenly finding themselves in a playful world of space, air, and sun.
  • Mambo (Meno Presto) – In the real world again, the competitive dance at the gym between the gangs.
  • Cha-cha (Andantino con grazia) – The star-crossed lovers Tony and Maria see each other for the first time; they dance together.
  • Meeting Scene (Meno mosso) – Music accompanies their first words spoken to one another.
  • Cool Fugue (Allegretto) – An elaborate dance sequence in which Riff leads the Jets in harnessing their impulsive hostility, figuratively “cooling their jets.”
  • Rumble (Molto allegro) – Climactic gang battle; the two gang leaders, Riff and Bernardo, are killed.
  • Finale (Adagio) – Maria’s I Have a Love develops into a procession, which recalls the vision of Somewhere.²

1. Paul R. Laird and David Schiff, “Bernstein, Leonard,” Grove Music Online (Oxford University Press: 2012), accessed February 17, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002223796.
2. Jack Gottlieb, “Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (1960),” Leonard Bernstein, accessed May 8, 2023, https://leonardbernstein.com/works/view/73/symphonic-dances-from-west-side-story.