West Side Story Suite for Violin and String Orchestra (arr. Paul Bateman)

About the work

Bernstein's 1957 musical West Side Story transplants Romeo and Juliet to the streets of New York, its gang-war tragedy scored in a hybrid of jazz, Latin rhythm and Broadway song. Paul Bateman's arrangement threads the show's best-known numbers into a suite for solo violin and string orchestra, the violin taking the voices of Tony and Maria in melodies such as "Maria," "Tonight" and "Somewhere." Theatrical bite and concerto brilliance in a single span.

Upcoming performances