Friday, May 1, 2015

THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2015

QUOTE:
"Music is the effort we make to explain to ourselves how our brains 
 work.
   We listen to Bach transfixed because this is listening to a human mind."
AUTHOR: Lewis Thomas
MEANING OF THE QUOTE:
"The complexities of the human brain can be
   examined through the art that comes from it."








COMPOSER
BERNSTEIN
ON THE TOWN
Overture
(From the Movie)
MGM Studio Orchestra
ON THE TOWN
Ballet Music
Leonard Bernstein, Conductor
RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra
The Great Lover 0:00
Lonely Town - Pas de deux 1:44
Times Square - Act I: Finale 4:52
Subway Ride and Imaginary Coney Island 8:03
Pas de deux 9:57
http://juliosbv.blogspot.com/2010/06/leonard-bernstein-on-town-original.html
Bernstein's first musical was On the
Town, based on the ballet created by
him and choreographer
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins (Choreographer who also
performed in the original production) 
and some of the words by Bernstein
himself. The production opened at the

on December 28, 1944 and
ran for a hit 483 performances.
http://juliosbv.blogspot.com/2010/06/leonard-bernstein-on-town-original.html
The Dance Episodes
were extracted in 1946 by Bernstein
for concert performances.
ON THE TOWN
Three Dance Episodes
Leonard Bernstein, Conductor
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
1. THE GREAT LOVER
This section captures the sailors'
high spirits and the pulsing
energy of the bustling city.
Singin’ and Dancin’ on the Great White Way // New York City Pop Art by Fazzino
Fazzino: Singin' and Dancin' on the Great White Way
Bernstein quotes:
"In the Dance of the Great Lover, Gaby,
the romantic sailor in search of the
glamorous Miss Turnstiles, falls asleep
in the subway and dreams of his
prowess in sweeping Miss
Turnstiles off her feet."
2. LONELY TOWN (PAS DE DEUX)
This section paints a somber, almost
melancholy picture of how the city
can seem without company.
Casoni Ibolya-Iby:
Different Sunset /Alone-XI/- Times Square-NY
Bernstein quotes:
"In the Pas de Deux Gaby watches
a scene, both tender and sinister,
in which a sensitive high-school girl
in Central Park is lured and then
cast off by a worldly sailor."
3. TIMES SQUARE: 1944
This section is an exuberant fantasy
on the show's best-known melody,
"New York, New York."
Bernstein quotes:
"The Times Square Ballet is a more
panoramic sequence in which all the
sailors in New York congregate in
Times Square for their night of fun.
There is communal dancing, a scene
in a souvenir arcade, and a scene
in the Roseland Dance Palace."
ON THE TOWN
Song: "New York, New York"
Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Narrators
(They introduce the show's opening number.)
Thomas Hampson, David Garrison and Kurt Ollman, Vocalists 
Michael Tilson Thomas, Conductor
London Symphony Orchestra


On the Town tells the story of three
sailors during World War II and their
amorous adventures on a 24-hour shore
leave (liberty) in New York City with the
heady speed of the songs matching
the hectic pace of city life.
ON THE TOWN
Three Dance Episodes
Myung-Whun Chung, Conductor
Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUh8Yk0RgQw

The musical introduced several popular
and classic songs, among them
"New York, New York,"
ON THE TOWN
Song: "New York, New York"
From the 1949 MGM Musical Film
Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly and Jules Munshin, Vocalists

"Lonely Town,"
ON THE TOWN
Song: "Lonely Town"
Leonard Bernstein, Conductor
Thomas Hampson, Vocalist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3kcMO4v9SU
"I Can Cook, Too"
(lyrics by Bernstein),
ON THE TOWN
Song: "I Can Cook Too"
Nancy Walker, Vocalist

and "Some Other Time."
ON THE TOWN
Song: "Some Other Time"
Eileen Farrell, Vocalist
Leonard Bernstein, Piano

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=12&v=A9bLMqztl0Y

MGM acquired the film
rights and made a movie
ON THE TOWN
1949 Film Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pjWi2jJtbM

starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra.
disliked Bernstein's score so much that
almost all of it was replaced in the movie
with new songs by Roger Edens.