Leonard Bernstein's New York

Leonard Bernstein (Composer), Eric Stern (Conductor), Orchestra Of St. Luke's (Orchestra), Dawn Upshaw (Performer), Judy Blazer (Performer), Mandy Patinkin (Performer), Audra McDonald (Performer), Donna Murphy (Performer), Richard Muenz (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Dawn Upshaw, Judy Blazer, Mandy Patinkin, Audra McDonald, Donna Murphy, et al.
• Orchestra: Orchestra Of St. Luke's
• Conductor: Eric Stern
• Composer: Leonard Bernstein
• Audio CD (August 20, 1996)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nonesuch
• ASIN: B000005J40
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #151,847 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #10 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > McDonald, Audra

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful music and performers, January 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Leonard Bernstein's New York (Audio CD)

I can't stop listening to this CD! It's a great introduction to Bernstein's "New York" shows. The Amazon reviewer is right; the female performers really dominate here, although Richard Muenz is very good. Mandy Patinkin is really quite effective in "Come Up to My Place" and "Ya Got Me," but "Tonight" is just not right for him. Fortunately, Audra McDonald saves that one, and she is absolutely wonderful in "A Little Bit in Love." Dawn Upshaw is simply perfect in every song; I especially loved her "Somewhere." The two other female singers, Judy Blazer and Donna Murphy, also do a great job. Judy Blazer, especially, is a very good comic singer and pairs beautifully with Patinkin in "Come Up to My Place." My only complaints about the CD are small: I thought the instrumentals were less effective than the vocals (they sound thin and abrupt), and the insert doesn't contain any background info. on the performers (I wasn't familiar with Murphy or Blazer and would like to know more about them.) Oh, and the CD wound up costing me more money, as I had to go out and order "On the Town," "Wonderful Town" and "West Side Story"!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bernstein's New York, it's a wonderful town!, January 14, 2002

By 

"ivan1138" (Tallahassee,FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leonard Bernstein's New York (Audio CD)

And speaking of "Wonderful Town," it's so nice to hear music from this least appreciated of Bernstein's musicals. "What a Waste," "A Quiet Girl" and Audra McDonald's enchanting "A Little Bit in Love" have never sounded better. Donna Murphy burns the house down with the torchy "Ain't Got No Tears Left," and has fun with Patinkin and Blazer on the raucous "Ya Got Me." "One Hand, One Heart" sung by Dawn Upshaw and Richard Muenz is movingly rendered, as is Patinkin's wonderful delivery of an all-time Bernstein favorite, "Some Other Time." My only comlaint? Where is "I Can Cook Too?" A terrific recording.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The next stop once you've heard the originals, January 8, 2007

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Leonard Bernstein's New York (Audio CD)

As a tribute to Bernstein on Broadway, this CD is hard to beat. All the singers are stars but of a generation, ro two, beyond the originals. Naturally here's been a change of style, and these renditions are more knowing, sophisticated, and at times ironic than the originals. On their own, Donna Murphy, Dawn Upshaw, and Mandy Patinkin, among others, are masters of their craft, but I hope anyone who loves LB will also seek out the original cast albums for all of his musicals, or the clesest one can get (On the Town was remade in the Fifties). Those recordings cast a unique spel, but the next stop is this marvelous CD.