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They Write the Songs

Series 1

Episode 5: Leonard Bernstein

Duration: 1 hour

First broadcast: on BBC Radio 2Latest broadcast: on BBC Radio 2

Barry Manilow turns his attention to the composer Leonard Bernstein, who was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on 25 August 1918.

Bernstein is particularly unusual - whereas Gershwin was a popular composer who aspired to write classical music - Bernstein was a classical musician who wrote popular music. Through musical successes such as On The Town, Candide and West Side Story he brought a complexity of arranging styles and musicianship that was unrivalled amongst Broadway composers.

Barry shows how Bernstein's ability to orchestrate his own melodies had such a great impact on musical theatre and defined Bernstein as a composer. As he deconstructs West Side Story's Officer Krupke, Barry illustrates Bernstein's expert use of dissonant chords and rhythm structures. Show less

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