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Naxos

Bernstein: West Side Story / Schermerhorn, Nashville Symphony

$19.99

Details

Composer
BERNSTEIN
Artist
Nea, Winter, Lee, Mike, Gabriel, Billy, Eldred, Robert, Ditty, Marianne, Dean, Joanna, Cooke, Chozen
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Oct 01, 2002
Catalog #
8559126
UPC
636943912621

About

This new West Side Story, the first American-based recording to appear since DG's star-studded 1985 composer-conducted version, blessedly avoids that earlier production's operatic pretensions, returning instead to the work's Broadway roots by using young, theatrically trained singers with some genuine acting ability. Even with that, it's probably wishful thinking to expect that this cast (fine as it is) can recreate the vibrant, raw freshness and scintillating brilliance of the original. Mike Eldred's Tony comes off best; singing with a more mature sound than Larry Kert, he nonetheless creates a sense of heightened expectancy and wonder in "Something's Coming". As Maria, Betsi Morrison struggles to maintain an authentic-sounding Puerto Rican accent, but she sings beautifully throughout, especially in "Tonight" and "I Have a Love". I'm afraid Marianne Cook's Anita is no match for Chita Rivera's, but she communicates the character's feelings convincingly enough. The remainder of the ensemble consists of good, solid, legit voices, but a lot has changed on Broadway since 1957: the overall style of singing, with its occasionally overemphatic declamation (as in "A Boy Like That" and "Cool") makes clear how years of Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals have influenced American performers.


This recording utilizes Bernstein's score in its original form, before it underwent the necessary revisions to make it more suitable to the needs of musical theater at the time. Actually, it sounds pretty much the same, the most obvious distinctions being a few missing bars near the end of the Prologue and the different vocal arrangement for "America".


Kenneth Schermerhorn was studying with Bernstein during the creation of West Side Story and briefly was considered as a possible conductor for the premiere. Finally getting his chance nearly 50 years later, Schermerhorn conducts the score with an authority and enthusiasm that reveals his intimate knowledge and personal conviction, even if at times his tempos drag (as in "I feel pretty" and "Gee Officer Krupke"), though not as much as the elderly Bernstein's. Then there's the somewhat obsessive concern with full note values at the expense of rhythmic flow (as in the "Jet Song", and in "Quintet", with its heavy articulation on the word "tonight") that occasionally robs the music of its spontaneity.


Throughout, the Nashville Symphony plays with an ideal blend of symphonic elegance and jazzy swagger that shows why this work is such a wonderful classic. Only the multimiked and obviously studio-bound recording, with its artificially close voices, slightly disappoints. Yet despite this and the above-noted concerns, this production faithfully recreates the magical and enthralling world that is West Side Story, and anyone coming to this piece afresh is in for a rare and special experience. [11/4/2002]
--Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com

Tracklist 23 tracks

  1. 1 Act I: Prologue 04:18
    Track
    1
    Title
    Act I: Prologue
    Duration
    04:18
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  2. 2 Act I: Jet Song 02:30
    Track
    2
    Title
    Act I: Jet Song
    Duration
    02:30
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Mike Eldred, Robert Dean, Jeff Whiting, Billy Ditty, Jeff Lewis, Greg Schanuel, Neal Richard Lee
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  3. 3 Act I: Something's Coming 02:49
    Track
    3
    Title
    Act I: Something's Coming
    Duration
    02:49
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Mike Eldred
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  4. 4 Act I: Blues 01:54
    Track
    4
    Title
    Act I: Blues
    Duration
    01:54
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  5. 5 Act I: Promenade 00:22
    Track
    5
    Title
    Act I: Promenade
    Duration
    00:22
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  6. 6 Act I: Mambo 02:39
    Track
    6
    Title
    Act I: Mambo
    Duration
    02:39
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  7. 7 Act I: Maria 03:07
    Track
    7
    Title
    Act I: Maria
    Duration
    03:07
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Mike Eldred
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  8. 8 Act I: Balcony Scene / Tonight 07:21
    Track
    8
    Title
    Act I: Balcony Scene / Tonight
    Duration
    07:21
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Betsi Morrison, Mike Eldred
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  9. 9 Act I: America 04:59
    Track
    9
    Title
    Act I: America
    Duration
    04:59
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Betsi Morrison, Marianne Cooke, Joanna Chozen, Michael San Giovanni, Nandita Shenoy, Winter Gabriel
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  10. 10 Act I: Cool 04:35
    Track
    10
    Title
    Act I: Cool
    Duration
    04:35
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Mike Eldred, Robert Dean, Jeff Whiting, Billy Ditty, Jeff Lewis, Greg Schanuel, Neal Richard Lee
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  11. 11 Act I: One Hand, One Heart 04:58
    Track
    11
    Title
    Act I: One Hand, One Heart
    Duration
    04:58
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Betsi Morrison, Mike Eldred
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  12. 12 Act I: Tonight 03:56
    Track
    12
    Title
    Act I: Tonight
    Duration
    03:56
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Betsi Morrison, Mike Eldred, Marianne Cooke, Robert Dean, Jeff Whiting, Billy Ditty, Jeff Lewis, Greg Schanuel, Joanna Chozen, Michael San Giovanni, Nandita Shenoy, Winter Gabriel, Neal Richard Lee
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  13. 13 Act I: The Rumble 03:08
    Track
    13
    Title
    Act I: The Rumble
    Duration
    03:08
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  14. 14 Act II: I Feel Pretty 03:57
    Track
    14
    Title
    Act II: I Feel Pretty
    Duration
    03:57
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Betsi Morrison, Joanna Chozen, Nandita Shenoy, Winter Gabriel
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  15. 15 Act II: Ballet Sequence 01:32
    Track
    15
    Title
    Act II: Ballet Sequence
    Duration
    01:32
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Betsi Morrison, Mike Eldred
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  16. 16 Act II: Transition to Scherzo 00:41
    Track
    16
    Title
    Act II: Transition to Scherzo
    Duration
    00:41
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  17. 17 Act II: Scherzo 01:40
    Track
    17
    Title
    Act II: Scherzo
    Duration
    01:40
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  18. 18 Act II: Somewhere 02:38
    Track
    18
    Title
    Act II: Somewhere
    Duration
    02:38
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Michelle Prentice
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  19. 19 Act II: Procession and Nightmare 03:37
    Track
    19
    Title
    Act II: Procession and Nightmare
    Duration
    03:37
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Betsi Morrison, Mike Eldred, Marianne Cooke, Robert Dean, Jeff Whiting, Billy Ditty, Jeff Lewis, Greg Schanuel, Joanna Chozen, Michael San Giovanni, Nandita Shenoy, Winter Gabriel, Michelle Prentice, Neal Richard Lee
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  20. 20 Act II: Gee, Officer Krupke 04:20
    Track
    20
    Title
    Act II: Gee, Officer Krupke
    Duration
    04:20
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Mike Eldred, Robert Dean, Jeff Whiting, Billy Ditty, Jeff Lewis, Greg Schanuel, Neal Richard Lee
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  21. 21 Act II: A Boy Like That / I Have a Love 06:05
    Track
    21
    Title
    Act II: A Boy Like That / I Have a Love
    Duration
    06:05
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Betsi Morrison, Marianne Cooke
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  22. 22 Act II: Taunting Scene 01:07
    Track
    22
    Title
    Act II: Taunting Scene
    Duration
    01:07
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn
  23. 23 Act II: Finale 02:52
    Track
    23
    Title
    Act II: Finale
    Duration
    02:52
    Composer
    Leonard Bernstein
    Performer
    Betsi Morrison, Mike Eldred
    Ensemble
    Nashville Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Kenneth Schermerhorn