Leonard Bernstein - Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story", Candide - Overture, Prelude, Fugue and Riffs / Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra / City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Paavo Järvi / Simon Rattle, LEonard Slatkin / EMI Classics Audio CD 2008 / American Classics

UPC 5099920662622

MADE IN THE EU

TOTAL TIME: 74:28

English Summary:

Here's an odd, all-Bernstein disc. It starts out with heavily sentimentalized performances of the Candide Overture, Facsimile (Choreographic Essay for Orchestra), and On the Town (Three Dance Episodes) with Leonard Slatkin leading the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, follows that with an aggressively brash performance of the Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story" with Paavo Järvi directing the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, follows that with a heavily rhythmic performance of Prelude, Fugue and Riffs by Simon Rattle and the London Sinfonietta, and concludes with a pair of dull and dreary performances of excerpts from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and Mass sung by baritone Bruce Hubbard accompanied by the Orchestra of St. Luke's under Dennis Russell Davies. One could, of course, argue that, except for dull and dreary, these are all perfectly appropriate ways to approach Bernstein's music. To do so, however, would be to underestimate the music. Bernstein's music can be described as sentimental, brash, and rhythmic, but it can also be described as warmhearted, witty, and sublime. These latter aspects of Bernstein's music are altogether missing here. For Slatkin, Bernstein is a kind of composing André Kostelanetz, for Järvi, an American cousin of Prokofiev, and for Rattle, a middle-brow Stravinsky. Recorded in sound that ranges from the very close Rattle, the very loud Järvi, the very smooth Slatkin, and the very dry Davies, this disc cannot be recommended except to diehard fans of the performers.

Artists & Credits:

Tracklist:

1    

Overture to Candide, for orchestra
   
2     
Facsimile, Choreographic Essay, for orchestra (from the ballet)
    
Dance Episodes (3) from "On the Town", for orchestra     
    
3     
The Great Lover
   
4     
Lonely Town (Pas de deux)
   
5     
Times Square: 1944
   
Symphonic Dances (9) from "West Side Story", for orchestra (orchestrated with Ramin & Kostal)     
    
6     
1. Prologue
   
7     
2. Somewhere
   
8     
3. Scherzo
   
9     
4. Mambo
   
10     
5. Chacha
   
11     
6. Meeting Scene
   
12     
7. Rumble
   
13     
8. Finale
   
14     
Prelude, Fugue & Riffs, for clarinet & jazz ensemble
   
15     
Scena
   
16     
A Simple Song, for voice & piano (from "Mass")