West Side Story

One of the greatest American film directors of all time taking on one of the greatest American musicals of all time seems like a sure-fire recipe for success - and so naturally, anticipation is high for Steven Spielberg's upcoming remake of 'West Side Story'. The release has been given added poignancy by the death of legendary musical theatre pioneer Stephen Sondheim - who wrote the lyrics for West Side Story. The album features music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, with vocals from the film's ensemble cast including Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist and Rita Moreno.

This is the original 1957 Broadway cast album for West Side Story. Released by Columbia Records, this CD is from the 1990 pressing.

The GAIA Music Festival takes place annually in Oberhofen in Switzerland. The brainchild of violinist Gwendolyn Masin, the Festival is named after the Greek goddess of the Earth, and in just a few years has grown into a thriving and captivating series.

The GAIA Music Festival takes place annually in Oberhofen in Switzerland. The brainchild of violinist Gwendolyn Masin, the Festival is named after the Greek goddess of the Earth, and in just a few years has grown into a thriving and captivating series of events. Concerts from the Festival have been recorded in collaboration with Orchid Classics, capturing the energy and spontaneity of these special live performances.

The soundtrack of the West Side Story film is deservedly one of the most popular soundtrack recordings of all time, and one of the relatively few to have attained long-term popularity beyond a specialized soundtrack/theatrical musical audience. (It is an entirely different recording, it should be emphasized, from the original Broadway cast recording, which was also a massive-selling album.) Its widespread impact could be attributed to a few factors: the wide range of compositional and orchestral styles, from cool swing jazz and shades of Latin pop to classical; the universality of the storyline, pitting underdog lovers against the world; and an assortment of songs that goes well beyond the sentimental love odes that are the staples of musicals (though it has some of those, too), including some downright tough posturing and sardonic social commentary. "Jet Song," "America," "Gee, Officer Krupke," "Tonight," "Cool," "Maria," "I Feel Pretty," and "Something's Coming" are all among the most famous and oft-sung soundtrack numbers ever.

"the great vocal melodies are worthy of voices of the highest calibre…[Troyanos] spans the stylistic dichotomy to perfection in a superb portrayal of Anita. Moreover Bernstein's sons and daughter speak the dialogue most affectingly….the power of the music is greatly enhanced by the spectacularly wide dynamic range of the recording." (Penguin Guide)