Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and Bernstein’s West Side Story have a number of elements in common, they are both based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet however, they were written at different times which gave them each their own unique style which also meant that they had to face a number of different obstacles when composing their pieces. Romeo and Juliet is a neo-classical piece that is reflective of the style that was popular at the time, Prokofiev was clearly influenced by what was happening in Russia. West Side Story was written in the 1950s during this time jazz was a popular style. West Side Story stayed true to this style whilst also incorporating Latin American flare. ‘Dance of the Knights' from Romeo and Juliet and ‘The Jets’ from West Side Story were analyzed to understand the contextual issues facing the composer at the time, the treatment of elements in the pieces, compositional devices as well as the relationship between music and choreography. In analyzing these pieces, the similarities and differences between the two were identified to give a clearer understanding of the works as a whole.
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Prokofiev is a Russian composer who was born in 1891, he lived until 1953. He was a very successful composer and is well known for his Romeo and Juliet compositions. Prokofiev grew up in Russia and lived there for most of his life however, he did live in the US and Paris for a short time. Like Mozart Prokofiev was a child prodigy, in his early music he found inspiration in the late Russian Nationalist school, but shortly after he found his own distinctive style. He entered the St. Petersburg conservatory at the age of 13 and at 19 he made his first public appearance playing a group of his piano pieces, the dynamism of his music revealed his own personal style. Prokofiev faced a lot of hardships during his life under the reign of Stalin and this was represented through his darker works, under Stalin he faced a number of musical restrictions and had to balance being true to his own creativity whilst also pleasing Stalin. Prokofiev identified 5 lines in order to analyze his style. The first element is classical, the second is his search for innovation, the third is the element of a toccata, the fourth element is lyrical and the fifth is the grotesque line. The way he grew up, where, and how he lived clearly influenced the way he composed.
Bernstein was an American composer who was born in 1918, he was a well-known pianist, lecturer, television personality, and author. He was the first American to be both the musical director and conductor of the philharmonic Orchestra. Leonard was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He took piano lessons as a boy and attended the Garrison and Boston Latin School. In 1940, he studied at the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s newly created summer institute, Tanglewood, With the orchestra’s conductor, Serge Koussevitzky. Bernstein later becomes Koussevitzky’s conducting assistant. Bernstein was inspired by a number of different things but his Jewish heritage was clearly represented in his work Symphony No.1: “Jeremiah” (1943). Bernstein was inspired also by the popular style of the time which was jazz. His wife was from South Africa, and as a result, he was very familiar with Latin music which shows in his compositions from West Side Story.
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Analysis of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and Bernstein’s West Side Story.
(2023, April 21). Edubirdie. Retrieved April 28, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/analysis-of-prokofievs-romeo-and-juliet-and-bernsteins-west-side-story/
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