Customer Reviews

Bernstein: Candide; West Side Story; On the Waterfront; Fancy Free

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My initial encounter with the Candide overture was a result of my blundering into a recording of it on the radio one day. The performance turned out to be this one (the first of Bernstein's two readings of it), and having heard several other attempts at it since, I've always found this early '60s version to be the definitive edition. It's breathtakingly quick and the NYPO plays it with such panache and joie de vivre that every other recording (including LB's 1989 run-through with the London Symphony) comes off sounding stale and flat. This disc also contains Bernstein's only recording of the Symphonic Dances from WSS, and here, too, I feel that I have found my definitive reading. The "Mambo" is frenetic, the percusion riffs at the climax of "Cool" are phenomenal, and the last "I have a love..." movement is gorgeous. The score to "On the Waterfront" was nominated for an Academy Award, but lost; this music is still wonderful and very worthy to hear. "Fancy Free" was written by a 25-year old LB in 1944 and is the piece which established him as a composer. From the first four quick rim-shots to the final chords, it's the most endearing, energetic picture of on the go, wartime NY you can imagine. Once again it's the definitive recording: nobody has proven that they can top Lenny and the Philharmonic yet.

If I had to choose five recordings to represent Leonard Bernstein at his absolute best, this would be one of them. Made in the mid-1960's, these recordings have been reissued a number of times, but never sounding as natural as they do here. They show off some of Bernstein's best work as a composer, as well as his inimitable conducting talent and legendary rapport with the New York Philharmonic during that time.

The disc opens with the rollicking overture to "Candide" - totally infectious - and although some other versions (including Bernstein's later one for Deutsche Grammophon) may be its equal, I can think of none that surpass this one in sheer excitement and precision. Ditto for the sizzling suite from "West Side Story," which will probably remain definitive for many years.

The sweeping music from the film "On the Waterfront" is stirringly conducted, and the addition of the sparkling ballet "Fancy Free" makes this disc a serious contender for many "Desert Island" lists. As for the recording itself, the 1960's sound is excellent and quite listenable. Obviously great care has been taken to preserve the original source material after all these years.

If you want to experience the Bernstein legend, this is probably an essential recording.

This CD contains some of the most wonderful music ever written. I love Fancy Free and Candide, and the recordings here are just as they should be, lots of "punch"!

I bought this CD a few years ago just to for the "Symphonic Suite from On the Waterfront," which is one of my all-time favorite classic film scores. The NYPO's performance is very robust and energetic, and easily the best version available of the piece. Bernstein recorded this same piece again many years later with the Israel Philharmonic, but I found it lacking the same drive and passion as the earlier one. The NYPO really captures the mood of New York and the struggle of the dockworkers, as Bernstein envisioned for the film. And they also splendidly perform the love theme, too.

The rest of the album is also very good, but they're largely his standards that you've probably once too often. "On the Waterfront" is certainly a treat for any fan of film music from Hollywood's Golden Age. One can only imagine what it would have been like had Bernstein scored more films, but apparently the experience he had (music was cut or removed around in the film) made him think twice. But this CD is a winner.

A composer/conductor at the peak of his energy level in some of his own most vibrant music, working with an orchestra that (in these recordings anyway) was an extension of his personality--what more could you possibly want? In later years Bernstein re-recorded most of this music for DG (including the WSS "Symphonic Dances"), and while those readings are technically fine, they miss a lot of the verve and New York atmosphere that this CD exudes. The version I'm writing about is a 2004 reissue with remastered sound and a bonus in the form of Three Dance Episodes from "On the Town."

I am not a hard fan of Leonard Bernstein , but there are exceptional cases like this in which you simply have yo say : Bravo Maestro !
The Candide overture is terrific . Based on the Voltaire work , the overture of almost five minutes is a tribute to the life . played with dyonisiac enthusiasm and overpassing passion .
The West Side Story Suite is extraordinary played . Personally I do not know about any other performance which can match with this one .
On the waterfront is simply brilliant . This is the soundtrack of that brave film of Elia Kazan of the early fifties .
And Fancy free performing only matches with another version of the same director with the Columbia Symphony of 1950 . I hace it in vynil , because believe or not ; this recording has not transfered to CD .
But this set is simply fundamental for you . Be or not a fan of Bernstein , because that inspired music represents the golden years of Bernstein as composer and conductor .
The New York Philarmonic members played as real Greek Gods .
Supreme majesty and overwhelming passion .

This Candide Overture is particularly magnificent. These 1960's recordings are simply definitive, made before Bernstein's decline in the late 1970's. A good rule of thumb with Lenny: always choose the earlier performances. (This is especially true with his Copland recordings, but pretty much applies to his whole discography, I think.)

I really love this disc, which features Leonard Bernstein's best-known theater and film scores worked up in full symphonic versions. These are iconic performances in lush early stereo that make it hard to believe that anyone else put the New York of the 1940s and 50s into music better than Bernstein and his NY Philharmonic Orchestra.

This recording of the "Candide" overture is probably one of the best versions out there -- certainly the best I've heard. This is still a signature piece for the NYPO, which now performs it without a conductor (since none can replace Bernstein). I can heartily recommend listening to Bernstein's own recording here from 1960, and then watching the DVD of the NYPO playing the same piece in North Korea in 2008 (The Pyongyang Concert - New York Philharmonic & Lorin Maazel). Talk about a sense of history and continuity! Amazing.

The "Westside Story" dances are nice to have without words -- not even in "Mambo", which is a bit strange to hear without the members of the orchestra shouting "mambo!" in the breaks. Hearing the Westside Story tunes as a work of orchestral music rather than a Broadway score puts them in a completely new light. The scherzo after "Somewhere" shows a lot of Aaron Copland influence I hadn't noticed before, and the final Adagio is fantastic. My only regret is that there's no Officer Krupke!

The suite from "On the Waterfront" is very different. Most of the other music on this disc is focused on dances -- i.e. on action and storytelling. Since the "Waterfront" suite is from a film score, it is much more atmospheric than narrative. Still, there is plenty of excitement, as the music is also full of the urban rhythms of old New York. At times, the rhythms reminded me of the hustle-and-bustle bits from "Rhapsody in Blue", which I suppose really defined the rhythmic portrayal of urban life for many decades.

With "Fancy Free", we are back to storytelling again -- Bernstein's ballet score about a trio of sailors on shore leave (in Manhattan, of course) looking for beer and women. This early piece, which was a major break for Bernstein as a composer, has a lot of fun and action. Like the whole disc, it features an excellent performance. Highly recommended!

For those interested in getting a larger set of Bernstein's works, note that this disc contains the same material and performances as disc 1 of The Original Jacket Collection: Bernstein Conducts Bernstein.

Anyone who loves Bernstein's theater music has probably owned this CD or its LP equivalent for decades. The sonics are still great--the huge, lush sound that Cloumbia favored for the NY Phil. in Manhattan Center. David Hurwitz is silly to say that Bernstein's music has had "a problem" because he conducted it so well. There's no problem, but it's undeniable that LB was his own ideal conductor. Recently Carl Davis, an experienced film conductor, has led the Royal Phil. of London in the same program we have here. The sound is updated somewhat, and the price is ultra-bargain. So for the first time in forty years one can say that LB has a close rival in the West Side Story suite.

Our Philadelphia Orchestra subscription this year included several concerts with Bernstein's compositions and I ordered this memorable recording after one of those concerts. Now I can listed to it whenever I want. What a great purchase.