Lauren Meadows

European Music Traditions

Dr. Ashby & Liz Rockwell

April 21, 2023

West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein

The musical West Side Story opened on Broadway on September 26, 1957 at the Winter

Garden Theater. With a score by Leonard Bernstein, book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Stephen

Sondheim, and choreography by Jerome Robbins, West Side Story has become a classic loved by

many. The story is based on the tragic tale of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, set in the streets

of Manhattan. The rivalry between the Jets, who are primarily white, and the Sharks, made up of

Puerto Rican immigrants, is in full force. When ex-Jet Tony meets Maria, the sister of the Shark

leader Bernardo, he is entranced. The two fall desperately in love, despite pushback from their

close friends and family, and the chaos their romance will cause. The show ran for 732

performances, and went on to have multiple tours and revivals. Two film adaptations have been

made; in 1961, directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, and more recently in 2021,

directed by Stephen Spielberg.

Much of the love for this show stems from the fantastic score by Leonard Bernstein.

Bernstein was an American composer and conductor who was internationally recognized for his

work. He received many honors during the course of his career, including seven Emmy awards,

two Tony awards, sixteen Grammy Awards, and more. He explored many genres, including

orchestral, symphonic, film, theater, ballet, opera, choral, and piano music. Though West Side

Story remains one of his most popular works, some of his other famous projects include his

choral works MASS and Chichester Psalms, instrumental works Serenade after Plato’s
“Symposium” and the score for On the Waterfront, and theatrical works On the Town, Candide,

and Wonderful Town.

Bernstein’s score of West Side Story expertly captures the drama and emotion in the plot

of this show. It also is a fusion of many different music styles and techniques, which is a part of

why the music is so captivating. Bernstein used a mixture of opera, comedic theater, jazz, and

Latin music styles in this show. Originally, the creators of this show were basing the Romeo and

Juliet characters off of an Irish-Catholic boy and a Jewish girl, so the idea of Latin influences

wasn’t even on the table. As the show developed over the years, the story landed in Manhattan

with the two parties being the Puerto Rican immigrants and white residents of European descent.

This was partially because these characters were relevant to more recent conflicts, and because

Bernstein mentioned his fondness of Latin jazz rhythms. As for the operatic influences in the

music, Bernstein originally proposed the concept in operatic form. However, Laurents and

Robbins resisted this idea, and they settled on the term “lyric theater” to describe the project.

Comedic theater numbers, specifically “Officer Krupke,” were added when Laurents suggested

that the tragic ending would be built up further by comic relief in the middle of all the chaos.

The music of West Side Story fits seamlessly together, almost as if it were one continuous

piece. This is because Bernstein expertly incorporated recurring musical themes all throughout

the score. One of the most prominent examples of this is his use of the tritone. Some have called

this musical element the backbone of the score, and for good reason. It shows up everywhere, but

is skillfully and strategically placed to represent what is happening in the story. The tritone is the

pitch interval between two notes separated by three whole tones. In a scale, it is the first note to

the fourth note, raised a half step (or the fifth lowered a half step). This augmented fourth/

diminished fifth divides the twelve-tone scale exactly in half, and creates a very unsettling,
dissonant sound. In music, this dissonance is typically resolved by having a note move either a

half step up or down.

Bernstein uses this interval in many places throughout the show. The first time we hear it

is in the opening of the prologue, and shortly after in the “Jet Song.” In both cases the tritone

does not resolve, which is uncommon in Western music. However, Bernstein did this

purposefully. Without the resolution, a sort of ominous feeling is created in the music. It gives

the idea that all might not be as well as it seems. It shows up next in Tony’s songs, “Something’s

Coming” and “Maria.” Both of these find their resolution to the perfect fifth a half step above.

Although they resolve, relieving us of that unsettling feeling, the simple presence of it during

these hopeful songs hints at trouble. Tony and Maria are ignoring the fact that their relationship

will have ramifications, and are basking in the bliss of “now.” The tritone next appears in the

Jet’s song “Cool.” It is incorporated in an eighth note pattern that ascends to the tritone, briefly

resolves up to the fifth, and then steps back down and continues back to the original note. So the

tritone does technically resolve, however it is so brief that the dissonance still remains in the ear.

This is representative of how the Jets believe they are in control of the situation, when in reality

they have no idea what is about to happen and their resolution is short lived. Up until this point

in the story, the tritone’s presence has only threatened disruption and violence, however that is

about to change. The “Rumble” music brings back the same melodic theme from the prologue,

and it is clearly heard when Riff is killed by Bernardo. As Maria begs Anita to understand her

love for Tony in “A Boy Like That/I Have A Love,” the interval is interspersed with perfect

fourths to show that things are falling apart despite Maria’s desperate attempts to keep them

together.
 The final presence of the tritone is combined with another recurring theme in the show,

referred to as the “Somewhere” theme. This theme involves a minor seventh leap up that

symbolizes a longing feeling, and accompanied by the words “There’s a place for us,” is one of

the most bittersweet moments of the show. It shows up many times in fragments throughout the

score, but is sung in full by Maria in the song titled “Somewhere,” while she is holding a dying

Tony in her arms. After his body is carried away by both the Jets and the Sharks united, the

finale music places the tritone in the middle of the “Somewhere” theme, interrupting the

bittersweet longing with its dissonance and ominous feel. This poses the question, is this peace

between the two gangs permanent? Why was it that only death could make them reconcile their

differences? Can love ever triumph over hate? Bernstein created an incredibly powerful and

impactful finale with the combination of these two musical elements.

It is no question after examining Bernstein’s score of West Side Story that he was an

expert of his craft. The amount of time and effort it must have taken to create beautiful music

like this as well as make it seamlessly connect to the story from start to finish is astounding.

Bernstein’s detail oriented composition tactics are incredibly rewarding both to listen to and to

study. At first listen, we might not know exactly what is happening in the music, but we do know

that it is a wonderful piece and evokes emotions that perfectly match the story. Knowing the

music theory and thinking behind the score just makes it all the more impressive. West Side Story

is undoubtedly a classic and will be studied, played, and beloved by many generations to come.