West Side Story Suite

Joshua Bell ~ Bernstein - West Side Story Suite

My absolute favorite movie in high school was West Side Story. I saw it originally for some class (I can't remember which now - maybe English when we were studying Romeo and Juliet). I subsequently watched it on at least two other occasions at school by arranging viewings in our school library (this was pre-VCR). I also kept a keen eye out for any television broadcasts of it.

The music, the drama, the dancing - I loved every second of this movie!

Last night, Drake and I watched it - amazingly, Drake had never seen it. Racial stereotyping aside, it is just a masterpiece of American musical theater.

Though I love the original soundtrack, for pure listening pleasure apart from the movie, William David Brohn's West Side Story Suite for violin and orchestra can't be beat. Three cheers for Joshua Bell going into "crossover" territory with this. It's too bad Bernstein had regrets of being best-known for this music. I think it's one of the greatest 20th century works and I love Brohn's arrangement of it.