Poster Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
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Performance Today®

Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

Can a European orchestra get its groove on? Leonard Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story can sometimes pose a difficult challenge to ensembles not used to the Latin rhythms of his song "Mambo," or the swing rhythms of "Cool." But the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra does a pretty darn good job. Today we'll hear them capture the grit, swing and groove of the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story on Performance Today.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Erik Satie (transc. Toru Takemitsu): Son of the Stars (Le Fils des Etoiles)
Patrick Gallois, flute; Fabrice Pierre, harp

George Gershwin: I Got Rhythm
Daniel Hope, violin; Sebastian Knauer, piano
Savannah Music Festival; Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, Savannah, Georgia

Jean Marie LeClair: Sonata No. 6 for two violins
Caterina Lichtenberg, mandolin; Mike Marshall, mandolin
Savannah Music Festival; Charles H. Morris Center, Savannah, Georgia

Johannes Brahms: Trio in a minor, Op. 114
Alexander Fiterstein, clarinet; Gilles Vonsattel, piano; Nicholas Canellakis, cello
Brooks Center for the Performing Arts, Clemson University, Clemson,

Toru Takemitsu: Face of Another: Waltz, from Three Film Scores
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Paul Goodwin, conductor
Saint Paul's United Church of Christ, Saint Paul, Minnesota

Arcangelo Corelli: Concerto Grosso in F Major, Op. 6, No. 6
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Paul Goodwin, conductor
Saint Paul's United Church of Christ, Saint Paul, Minnesota

Hour 2

Leonard Bernstein: Fancy Free; Three Dance Variations
Nashville Symphony; Andrew Morgrelia, conductor

Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonata in g minor for Violin and Harp,
Lara St. John, violin; Marie-Pierre Langalmet, harp
Lyon & Healy Hall, Chicago, Illinois

Fritz Kreisler: Liebesleid
Lara St. John, violin; Marie-Pierre Langalmet, harp
Lyon & Healy Hall, Chicago, Illinois

Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story"
Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra; Wayne Marshall, conductor
Philharmonie, Luxembourg

Ballake Sissoko: Chamber Music
Ballake Sissoko, kora; Vincent Segal, cello
Savannah Music Festival; Lucas Theater for the Arts, Savannah, Georgia

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