Jazzy, Gritty, Romantic Score and Suite

Born on August 25, 1918, in Lawrence, MA, to Ukrainian-Jewish immigrant parents, Leonard Bernstein was a child prodigy who began playing the piano at age 10. Despite his father's initial opposition, he flourished in music, studying at Harvard University and the Curtis Institute of Music, and later became a protégé of conductor Serge Koussevitzky at Tanglewood. 

Bernstein would go on to become one of the most important conductors of his time. He was widely considered to be the first American-born conductor to receive international acclaim. As a composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian, he received numerous honors and awards, making him one of the most well-known artists of the 20th century. Bernstein’s most famous compositions include the film score to On The Waterfront (1954), the operetta Candide (1956), the musical West Side Story (1957), and the choral work Chichester Psalms (1965).

The film On The Waterfront focuses on union violence and corruption among longshoremen, detailing widespread extortion and racketeering on the waterfronts of Hoboken, NJ. It was a critical and commercial success and is considered one of the greatest films ever made.

On The Waterfront can also be seen as a 20th-century equivalent of Romeo and Juliet for the film’s principal characters. There is a growing, tender, and often uncertain romance between Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) and Edie Doyle (Eva Marie Saint). 

Despite its title, the On The Waterfront Suite is a beautifully integrated single-movement work, rather than a collection of short pieces. From the pulsing opening section to the tragic strains of the dirge-like finale, it seethes with dramatic tension. It features dramatic, jazz-influenced themes, including a solo horn opening, intense brass, and a love theme mirroring the film's gritty, romantic, and tense atmosphere.