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