Bernstein's Candide is an operetta based on Voltaire's satirical novel. The composer later scored the overture for full orchestra and it is now one of his most frequently heard works. Though breezy and uncomplicated, it contains plenty of musical jokes and contrasts with the initial fanfare with a lightening tour of some of the operetta's best-loved numbers. On the Waterfront was the only motion picture for which Bernstein wrote a score. From this he extracted a suite, which skillfully incorporates all the themes and textures of the original score into a compelling musical whole which is entirely independent of the visual impetus of the film.
Premiered by Benny Goodman, Prelude, Fugue and Riffs is a marriage of concert music and jazz, the Baroque form of prelude and fugue being complemented by a series of jazz riffs.
In the Divertimento, Bernstein consciously looked back to the irreverent manner of Candide. The work is full of musical jokes including a brief quote from Stravinsky, a Viennese waltz parody, a mazurka, a samba, and nods to Copland, Mahler, Shostakovich, Gershwin, and Sousa.
