Bernstein's West Side Story As A Musical

The conductor, Hector Guzman, was effective in leading the music in that whenever the piece called for dynamics, his movements told the musicians how much more or less it was needed. And also, Mr. Guzman did not just interact with the orchestra, but the chorus and vocal soloists as well. He seemed to be respected by his fellow musicians and gave the proper recognition to the soloists of the

Musical conductors are individuals that help direct a musical performance. They will ensure that the band is in the right tempo and that each section of the ensemble enters the performance at the correct time. The conductors may use hand gestures or a baton in order to guide the band. Many people believe that musical conductors are beneficial and help improve a band’s performance. However, Russian composer Igor Stravinsky disapproves of the usage of musical conductors as he believes that they are useless. Through comparisons and sarcastic language, Stravinsky criticizes the egotistical personalities and deceitful nature of musical conductors.

The song reached millions of people touched people in so many different ways . It was a song of culture also was recorded hundreds of times . This compares to the book To Kill A Mockingbird because in the book/movie showed all the racism that went on in the town.

From the title of the story to the ending scene, music plays a leading part in characterizing the characters and culture of Harlem. At a young age, Sonny chooses he wants to become a jazz musician, a choice his brother disagrees with. For Sonny, the world is different from the one his brother experienced during

At this time, Gershwin's career skyrocketed. He was hired by George White to compose for the Scandals series. He continued doing this for four years. During this time, Gershwin composed his first operetta, Blue Monday. It impressed Paul Whiteman, a famous bandleader, so much that he asked Gershwin to compose a symphonic jazz piece. At this time, however, Gershwin was still busy composing for White and forgot to compose for Whiteman until only one month before the scheduled performance. During this rushed creation, Gershwin found inspiration to create his most famous individual piece, Rhapsody in Blue. At its first performance, the piece was loved by the audience so much that they gave it a standing ovation.

Tony and Maria - more romantic love, idealised, though Tony has to agree with Riff,

the training ground and inspiration for the birth of the American musical. As the primary

Music off the Harlem Renaissance also began to influence their plays (Haskins 51). “Jazz music was first introduced to Broadway in the play Shuffle Along with a new type of dance to go with jazz music” (Wintz 7). The play Shuffle Along also broke the color barrier on Broadway (Wintz 7). “In Harlem, one club opened up after another, each featuring jazz orchestras or blues singers” (Wintz 10). “Many African Americans gained their fame at the Cotton Club.

Elton John and Tim Rice were substantially important for the creating the musical performed on

Many people have probably heard of a musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein. They wrote the music and lyrics for many theatre classics, including The Sound of Music, Oklahoma!, The King and I, Carousel and South Pacific. Since their collaboration in the 1940’s and 1950’s, their musicals have been viewed by many, and their songs have become classics. Although they were not the only innovators in musical theatre, Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote many popular musicals,used new techniques, and won many awards; therefore, they left a lasting imprint on the theatrical world.

Essay 2: Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s impact on American Musical is unfathomable. Their methods are still praised to this day, and idealized when creating a musical today. Their formula for musicals was that the song was the servant of the play. They would create the music to a play first, then let the plot follow. They did not need to capture crowds like other musicals by getting a known star to be on their show.

Before coming into this class, I have to be honest, I didn’t know much about the history of the American musical theatre or anything that was related to musicals in general. As a kid, I was exposed to a few musicals here and there, but it never really grabbed my attention because I was a stereotypical athlete. I also have to admit that I was one of those people that thought that there wasn’t a lot of work that go into making a musical and as soon as I started taking this course I have been proved wrong and I am much more appreciative of all the blood sweat and tears that individuals make in creating a musical. One of the very first composers that peaked my interest is the legendary Irving Berlin. Irving Berlin had an interesting and successful life and career that was full of many events and Berlin certainly left his legacy in the world of musical theatre.

The first piece of the Shake, Rattle and Roll concert was Overture to West Side Story. It is a short piece heard before the musical. It is also a modern day adaption of a classic named Romeo and Juliet that was made by William Shakespeare. This piece was written by Leonard Bernstein, he is known worldwide as the greatest musical talent to ever go on stage. Leonard is mostly known for his presence on the conductor’s podium.

Two great writers of American musical theatre, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, had one idea in common. They wanted to present to the American public a new and revolutionary musical that would stand out above the rest. They wanted to make an impact on the societies of the era. They wanted to be creative and do something that was considered rebellious. When they finally combined their ideas together they created an American masterpiece in musical theatre: Oklahoma!. It was the first Rodgers and Hammerstein collaboration, starting the most successful creative partnership in the history of American musical theatre.

many times to signify its importance and the pace of the music was changed towards the middle to a much faster beat then back to normal again, I found this to be interesting and maybe it signifies that nothing is certain, and life should sometimes be fast and unpredictable. Next, West Side Story was composed by Leonard Bernstein and Irwin Kostal, it takes place in late 1950s New York where gang rivalries toke place. The rivalries between immigrant Puerto Ricans and native Anglo youths were portrayed as the Sharks and the Jets. The tension of the musical was built up by restricting the actors from each side to socialize or eat together. The actors were actually separated on and off stage as a way of method acting, the forces the groups to grow closer with their own gang and grew hatred for the other gang.