Further Reading
25th August 2018
On the composer's 100th birthday, Chris recommends some favourite recordings of his key works across all genres, from the ever-popular West Side Story to comparative rarities like Trouble in Tahiti and the song-cycles.
9th June 2014
Katherine enjoys a wonderful, fresh new recording of Bernstein's modern re-telling of the story of Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story.
Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony release Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story as you’ve never heard it before: a live recording of the first-ever concert performances of the complete Broadway score, starring Cheyenne Jackson as Tony and Alexandra Silber as Maria. The 2-hybrid SACD set is sumptuously packaged in a 100-page, hard-bound full colour book.
Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony serve up the most sizzling release of the summer: Leonard Bernstein’s legendary musical score to West Side Story. The live recording from San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall captures the first-ever concert performances of the complete Broadway score, including spoken dialogue. The talented cast is led by two young stars of the stage and screen: gay icon Cheyenne Jackson (30 Rock, Glee, Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida) as Tony, and Alexandra Silber (Carousel, The Woman in White, Master Class) as Maria. There can be no better conductor at the helm of this greatest of theatrical scores than MTT, who is indelibly associated with Leonard Bernstein and his legacy.
The appeal of this West Side Story will be broad, to collectors of classical, musical theatre and audiophile recordings. The sumptuous package features two premium audio hybrid SACDs in a 100-page, hard-bound full colour book featuring a major essay, notes by Jaime Bernstein and Rita Moreno, interviews, a historical timeline, archival photographs, complete lyrics, and extensive rehearsal and performance photos.
Artists
Alexandra Silber (Maria), Cheyenne Jackson (Tony), Jessica Vosk (Anita), Kevin Vortmann (Riff), Kelly Markgraf (Bernardo), David Michael Laffey (Big Deal/Snowboy), Juliana Hansen (Rosalia), Louise Marie Cornillez (Consuelo), Zacharay Ford (Diesel), Cassie Simone (Francisca), Justin Keyes (Action), Chris Meissner (Baby John), Louis Pardo (A-rab), Michael Taylor (Officer Krupke), Julia Bullock (A Girl)
San Francisco Symphony, Members of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, Michael Tilson Thomas
