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Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story"

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Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein (trans. Paul Lavender)


General Info

Year: 1967 / 2008
Duration: c. 22:35
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Cost: Score and Parts - $595.00   |   Score Only - $75.00


Movements (played without pause)

1. Prologue
2. Somewhere
3. Scherzo
4. Mambo
5. Cha-Cha
6. Meeting Scene
7. Cool
8. Rumble
9. Finale


Instrumentation

Full Score
C Piccolo
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
Contrabassoon
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Cornet I-II
B-flat Trumpet/Flugelhorn I-II-III
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Euphonium
Tuba
String Bass
Piano/Celesta
Harp
Timpani
Percussion, including:

  • Bass Drum
  • Snare Drum
  • Bongos
  • Chimes
  • Choke Cymbals
  • Conga
  • Cowbell
  • Drum Set
  • Finger Cymbals
  • Glockenspiel
  • Gourd
  • Guiro
  • Maracas
  • Marimba
  • Pitched Drum
  • Police Whistle
  • Suspended Cymbal
  • Tam-Tam
  • Tambourine
  • Tenor Drum
  • Timbales
  • Tom-Tom
  • Vibraphone
  • Wood Block
  • Xylophone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Symphonic Dances from West Side Story was first performed by the United States Marine Band, "The President's Own," with Col. Michael J. Colburn conducting, as part of the Marine Band's fall tours in 2006 and 2007.

- Program Note from score


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 suite encompasses Mambo, a competitive dance between the gangs; Cha-Cha, when Tony and Maria see one another for the first time; and the Finale, love music and a procession that recalls the ever-popular aria Somewhere, but now with a more tragic sentiment.

- Program Notes by California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Wind Ensemble concert program, 28 February 2015


Media


State Ratings

None discovered thus far.


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

  • Arizona State University (Tempe) Wind Ensemble (Jason Caslor, conductor) - 15 February 2023
  • University of Toronto (Ont., Can.) Wind Ensemble (Jeffrey Reynolds, conductor) - 2 December 2022
  • Lone Star Wind Orchestra (Dallas, Tx.) (Eugene Migliaro Corporon, conductor) - 6 November 2022>
  • Central Band of the Czech Armed Forces (Jaroslav Šíp, conductor) – 19 July 2022 WASBE Conference (Prague, Czech Republic)
  • Oregon State University (Corvallis) Wind Ensemble (Erik Leung, conductor) - 19 May 2022
  • University of California, Los Angeles, Wind Ensemble (Travis Cross, conductor) – 22 April 2022 (2022 San Joaquin Valley (Calif.) Concert Band Invitational)
  • United States Coast Guard Band (New London, Conn.) (Adam Williamson, conductor) - 11 April 2022 (Southern Connections Tour, 2022)
  • CBDNA 2022 Western/Northwestern Division (Tacoma, Wash.) Intercollegiate Band (Paula Holcomb, conductor) – 19 March 2022 (CBDNA 2022 Western/Northwestern Conference, Tacoma, Wash.)
  • University of Louisiana at Lafayette Wind Ensemble (William Hochkeppel, conductor) - 9 March 2022
  • San Jose (Calif.) State University Wind Ensemble (David Vickerman, conductor) - 22 October 2021
  • Northshore Concert Band (Evanston, Ill.) (Mallory Thompson, conductor) – 5 February 2020
  • Texas Tech University (Lubbock) Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Sarah McKoin, conductor) – 29 October 2019
  • Texas A&M University (College Station) Wind Symphony (Timothy Rhea, conductor) - 28 April 2019
  • Iowa State University (Ames) Wind Ensemble (Michael Golemo, conductor) – 27 April 2019
  • Indiana University (Bloomington) Wind Ensemble (Rodney Dorsey, conductor) - 18 April 2019
  • University of Kansas (Lawrence) Symphonic Band (Sharon Toulouse, conductor) – 25 March 2019
  • Temple University (Philadelphia, Penn.) Wind Symphony (Patricia Cornett, conductor) – 20 February 2019
  • United States Army Band (Ft. Myer, Va.) (Derrick Shaw, conductor) - 19 December 2018 (2018 Midwest Clinic)
  • Brooklyn (N.Y.) Wind Symphony (Jeff W. Ball, conductor) - 23 May 2010


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

  • Cool (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Murtha) (1957/2018)
  • West Side Story (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Sweeney) (1957/2015)


All Wind Works


Resources

  • Bernstein, L.; Lavender, P. (2008). Symphonic Dances from West Side Story [score]. Boosey & Hawkes: [s.l.].
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