| PRODUCT DETAILS | | The Making of West Side Story - Leonard Bernstein |  | |
The Making of West Side Story - Leonard Bernstein
1. Arrival of the principal singers, blending off 2. I feel Pretty (Piano rehearsal) 3. First session: introduction of the principals 4. Tonight (ensemble) (rehearsal) 5. Jet Song (recording) 6. Cool (recording) 7. Tonight (Piano rehearsal) 8. Something's Coming (recording: take, playback, retakes) 9. Troyanos on working with Bernstein "Tonight (Ensemble)" (recording) 10. Tonight (Ensemble) (recording- contd.) 11. Bernstein talks about the orchestra, "I feel pretty" (recording) 12. Te Kanawa on working with Bernstein 13. Problem passages, "Dance at the Gym" (recording & playbacks) 14. Bernstein talks to the press "Dance at the Gym" (recording-contd.) 15. Recording Nina and Alexander Bernstein ("Meeting Scene" - "Dance at the Gym") (recording- contd.) 16. Te Kanawa on West Side Story, "Somewhere" (recording) 17. Troyanos on recording, "America" (rehearsal and recording) 18. One Hand, One Heart (recording) 19. Te Kanawa on singing Bernstein's music 20. Maria (piano rehearsal) 21. Maria (recording) 22. Carreras on the Interruption, "Maria" (recording- contd.) 23. Te Kanawa on working with Berstein 24. A Boy like that "I have love" (recording) 25. Gee, Officer Krupke (recording) 26. Balcony Scene (recording) 27. Berstein on recording West side Story, "Balcony Scene" (recording) 28. End titles
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
Price Range: $17.46 - $29.98
 The Making of West Side Story - Leonard Bernstein
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| User Reviews |  | the maestro
rating: 5
Hello, Back in the 80's I saw the original showing on TV of this and tried to buy a video of it without success. This year is tha Anniversary of West Side Story and I just wondered if maybe ther was a DVD of it. Of course, here it is. West Side Story was what gave me my love of musicals and in my opinion it has never been surpassed and Leonard Bernstein is the tru Maestro- so charismatic as are all of the participants. A must see.
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Big Voices for Lighter Music
rating: 4
Loved watching the rehearsal process in the video! The singers being opera stars have very different voices than are usual for this style of "Broadway show tunes". Wish they had identified by name the orchestra members and chorus. They are all terrific! The conflicts between Maestro Bernstein and Jose Careras were amusing to watch, though I know it wasn't funny for them! Enjoyed seeing the producers and engineers at work, too. Both "I Feel Pretty" and "Gee, Officer Krupke" are stunningly beautiful and hilarious. It is fascinating to think that four gay, Jewish men came up with this astounding, macho, and even violent "Romeo & Juliet"- inspired musical about gang rivalries between Italians and Puerto Ricans in New York. Great stuff!
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Learning with the Master
rating: 5
The absolute genious of L. Bernstein drives us constantly to tears of emotional joy. Paraphrasing Dame Kiri te Kanawa "...it's like having Mozart in front of you..."
I've always been learning music with Bernstein especially when, as young piano student back in the 70', I watched astonished and marvelled at the "Concerts for Young people". I'll never forget his performance, as conductor and pianist, of Rhapsody in Blue (live in Paris) and his sublime interpretation (also as soloist and conductor) of Beethoven's 1st Piano concerto in Vienna.
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The Soul of Music-Making is Laid Bare
rating: 5
Well, not really. But this documentary comes as close to it as any documentary I've seen. You see and hear it all: preliminary rehearsals, takes and retakes, instructions to the orchestra, frustration, pleasure, triumph, take out food, the works. And some glorious glorious music. The final take of "One Hand, One Heart" is astounding: benevolent Lenny conducts, Carreras conducts himself, Te Kanawa beaming at Carreras, and pulling herself out at the end, and the wonderful sound of their two voices. The middle, orchestral part, is marred by a voice-over from Bernstein, but you learn to ignore it. And that's only the BEST sequence on tape. There's lots more. "Officer Krupke" is a lot fun, as the singers act and gesture in role (some even have 50s-style letter jackets). "Maria" is superb, after Carreras recovers from a frustrating session where he walked out of the studio in anger. Bernstein chews out someone for not getting his annotations marked on the parts, praises the first trumpet player, throws shoulder moves on the orchestra. And so forth. Get it, now.
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The Making of West Side Story . . the way it really is!
rating: 5
What a great DVD! As a professional musician myself, it's a wonderful experience to see one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century (Bernstein) conducting a talented group of performers and musicians in his classic musical, West Side Story. The video editing is amazing, and truly captures not only the brilliance of this amazing composer and conductor, but also the challenges of ANY major recording endeavor. I highly recommend this to ANYONE who loves 20th century music, broadway musicals, the orchestral recording process, and Bernstein.
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The Making of West Side Story - Leonard Bernstein
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