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Technical Notice
| Classical Composer: | Bernstein, Leonard |
|---|---|
| Work: | On the Waterfront Suite |
| Year Composed: | 1954 |
| Instrumentation: | 2+picc 2 2+Ebcl+bcl+asax 2+dbn - 4 3 3 1, timp(2) perc(3-4):SD/BD/ 3tuned dr/2tam-t/cym/wdbl/tgl/glsp/xyl/vib/chimes-hp-pft-str |
| Publisher: | Boosey & Hawkes |
| Duration: | 00:20:00 |
| Period: | 20th Century |
| Work Category: | Orchestral |
Work Information
Available Recording(s)
The music to Elia Kazan's 1954 film, On the Waterfront, represents Leonard Bernstein's only original movie score. Starring a young Marlon Brando, Eva-Marie Saint and a surplus of stars, the Academy Award-winning movie is widely considered one of the greatest films of all time. Bernstein's Oscar-nominated score captures the essence of New York, the city the musician called home for most of his life. Though the film itself was stimulating, he often found the experience confining, lamenting the lost music that ended up on the dubbing-room floor and writing to his friend Aaron Copland, "Hollywood is exactly how I expected it, only worse". Bernstein fashioned a six movement suite from the film score the following year, incorporating some of the discarded material. An atmospheric solo horn that begins the work conjures a dark, urban landscape, invoking the misty East River docks. Saxophones, muted trumpets and percussion give the work a real city feel. Terry's Theme, after the longshoreman character played by Brando, is heard in the middle and end of the suite, contrapuntally intertwined with the opening motive. Throughout, Bernstein contrasts anxious, frenetic rhythms with music of a more lyrical, human nature, a hallmark of the composer's mature style. The suite is dedicated to Bernstein's son, Alexander Serge, named in honor of Koussevitsky, Boston Symphony director and Bernstein's mentor.
Writer: Sean Hickey
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