West Side Story

Eugene Migliaro Corporon, Conductor
Christian Bester, Baritone*
Jennifer Ciobanu, Soprano*

Program

Fanfare for the Inauguration of J.F.K., Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, Leonard Bernstein
Suite from Candide*, Leonard Bernstein

Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront, Leonard Bernstein
The BSO Forever, Leonard Bernstein
March from Divertimento, Leonard Bernstein
Danzon from Fancy Free, Leonard Bernstein
Slava!, Leonard Bernstein

Program Notes

Fanfare for the Inauguration of J.F.K. (1961)
Leonard Bernstein
Orch. by Sid Ramin

Fanfare for the Inauguration of John F. Kennedy was composed for inclusion in one of the inaugural galas held for President John F. Kennedy. Bernstein himself conducted the premiere on January 19, 1961. According to author Elise K. Kirk, he was delayed in arriving at the event due to a snowstorm and had to conduct in a shirt several sizes too large. This very brief composition is scored for a somewhat unusual combination of instruments: piccolo, flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 4 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones and percussion.

Symphonic Dances from “West Side Story” (1961/2007)
Leonard Bernstein
Trans. by Paul Lavender

Symphonic Dances from “West Side Story” was first performed by the New York Philharmonic on an all-Bernstein concert in 1961, four years after the opening of West Side Story on Broadway. The songs of the musical had immediately become popular standards, while at the same time, the dance music had been sophisticated enough to find its way into the concert hall, similar to music of a ballet. Most composers for Broadway were songwriters who did not write their own dance music, but Bernstein, a fully trained composer who had already written two formal ballets, crafted these remarkable dances himself.

The following dances from the musical are included in suite: The Prologue, a rivalry between the Sharks and the Jets; “Somewhere,” a dream sequence in which the two gangs are friendly; Scherzo, a continuation of the dream, as the gangs break out of the city into a world of open space; Mambo, a competitive dance between the gangs; Cha-Cha, when Tony and Maria see one another for the first time; Meeting Scene, a short, musical underscoring for their first words together; “Cool,” for when the Jets anticipate a fight; the Rumble, in which the two gang leaders are killed; and the Finale, love music and a procession that recalls “Somewhere” but now in a tragic mood.

Overture to “Candide” (1956/1986)
Leonard Bernstein
Arr. by Clare Grundman

Overture to Candide is the opening to Leonard Bernstein’s operetta based on Voltaire’s satirical novella of the same name. It was Bernstein’s third Broadway show, following On the Town (1944) and Wonderful Town (1950), both of which had been substantial hits. Candide, on the other hand, was regarded as a failure when it closed after only seventy-three performances. It was not until the show was completely restaged by Harold Prince with a rewritten libretto that it became a popular success, nearly two decades after its initial run. Through all these editions of Candide, the overture has remained the same. A fanfare opens the overture and is subsequently repeated three more times. Each occurrence of the fanfare is followed by a motive from “The Best of All Possible Worlds”. Themes from two other songs, “The Battle Music” and “Oh, Happy We”, are alternately heard, followed by music from “Glitter and Be Gay.” The overture ends by recapitulating all four major themes.

Suite from “Candide” (1956/1993)
Leonard Bernstein
Arr. by Clare Grundman and John Gibson

Suite from “Candide” comprises of selections from the musical Candide. The sections of this suite utilize music that has remained virtually unchanged from the original Broadway production. Clare Grundman, who adapted the work for wind band, provided the following synopses regarding each movement:

“The Best of All Possible Worlds”: Doctor Pangloss, Voltaire’s satirical portrait of the philosopher Gottfried von Leibnitz, tutors his Westphalian pupils (Candide and Cunegonde among them) in the finer points of optimism, refined by a classical education. The music alternately enjoins the pupil’s responses with Pangloss’s pedantic free-associative explanations that the ills of this world are somehow all for the best. The refrain is, of course, that this is the best of all possible worlds.

“Glitter and Be Gay”: Cunegonde, Candide’s true love, has become the reigning madam in Paris, France. In a parody of “Jewel Songs”, (such as that in Gounod’s Faust), she sings of how she endeavors to maintain a brilliant, carefree exterior, while she may (or may not) be tortured inwardly by self-doubt.

“Make Our Garden Grow”: At the conclusion of the musical, and of Voltaire’s novella, Candide realizes that the only purpose of living is to cultivate the earth, and to create a garden. He enjoins the others to assist him in bringing things to life, and even Cunegonde proposes to bake a loaf of daily bread. Optimism is transformed into practical necessity, and the entire cast of characters joins in a hymn full of hope. This version of “Make Our Garden Grow” was adapted for winds by Dallas-based composer John Gibson.

Symphonic Suite from “On the Waterfront” (1955/2010)
Leonard Bernstein
Trans. by Jay Bocook

On The Waterfront is an adaptation of the film’s music to Bernstein’s own vision—a continuous 20-minute suite of symphonic music. The resulting On the Waterfront suite consists of six continuously flowing movements. It opens with a hauntingly eloquent horn theme that might be regarded as a musical evocation of a misty melancholy dawn over a grey New York skyline and dockyards. The music grows in emotional depth as more instruments are added to the texture. Alas, the tranquility is brusquely shattered by the ‘rumble’ music, marked “presto barbaro”, which is strangely reminiscent of the distinctive West Side Story gang dances. In the film, this rumble music occurs during an early murder scene where an angry mob brutally throws an informer from a tenement rooftop. The prominent percussion in this section stab out motoric rhythms that express the dockworkers’ feelings of dehumanization.

Bernstein’s highly evocative and emotional score juxtaposes musical moments of exquisite tenderness and pathos with those of cold savagery. The poignant love theme that emerges in the “andante largamente” section (representing the Eva Marie Saint character) is possibly one of the most beautiful melodies that Bernstein ever composed. The film’s love theme is followed by a scherzo-like allegro, and the suite concludes with a tragic development of the opening theme.

“The BSO Forever” March from “Divertimento” (1980/1984)
Leonard Bernstein
Trans. by Clare Grundman

“The BSO Forever” March from Divertimento was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra for their centennial celebration. The thematic material of the eight movements is centered around the pitches “B” for Boston, and “C” for Centennial. The boisterous music of the first movement returns to bring back the march, “The BSO Forever.” The Sousa-like march contains two trio sections and ends with all three themes being played simultaneously. The last chord is a final declaration of the “B” and “C” motive.

Danzon from “Fancy Free” (1944)
Leonard Bernstein
Arr. by John Krance

Danzon is a dance from the ballet Fancy Free, written by Bernstein in collaboration with choreographer Jerome Robbins. The ballet was commissioned by the American Ballet Theatre and later premiered by that organization in 1944 in the New York Metropolitan Opera House. Fancy Free follows the adventures of three United States Navy sailors pursuing girls while on leave in wartime Manhattan. The sailors perform three solo dances to “show off” to the girls. Danzon is the third sailor’s dance in the ballet, and it is characterized by intensity and emotion combined with a passionate Latin flavor.

Slava! (1977)
Leonard Bernstein
Trans. by Clare Grundman

Slava! is an overture written in honor of Bernstein’s friend, Mistislav “Slava” Rostropovich, on his appointment as conductor of the National Symphony. The first theme of Slava! is a vaudevillian razz-ma-tazz tune filled with quick modulations and glissandos. The second is a canonic tune in 7/8 time. A quasi-development section follows, after which the two themes recur in reverse order. Near the end, they are combined with a quotation (proclaimed by the ubiquitous trombones) from the ‘Coronation Scene’ of Moussorgsky’s Boris Goudonov, where the chorus sings the Russian word “slava!”, ironically meaning “glory!”