Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story from 1957 is one of the most enduring musicals with its updating of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet set in New York and the wonderful music that showed Bernstein at his most inspired.
Those tunes have, not surprisingly, been arranged many times in many different settings. On the next Fretworks, Spanish guitarist Pablo Villegas will play a medley from West Side Story from his CD "Americano" to begin the hour on this Memorial Day weekend.
Lutenist Paul O'Dette takes us back to the time of Shakespeare with music of John Dowland from the "Complete Lute Works, Vol. 3," and Pepe Romero will be the soloist with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields for the Guitar concerto No. 3 of Mauro Giuliani, the great early 19th century guitarist composer.
Jason Vieaux plays American music from his Grammy-Award winning CD, "Play," Stanley Myers lovely Cavatina from the 1978 film, "The Deer Hunter." American music will also close the hour on Fretworks with four mandolins for music by the innovative early "minimalist" composer Terry Riley, his G-Song from 1973.
Join me for Fretworks Saturday and Wednesday evening at 7 on Classical 101.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxgvW6hB8KA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yffI1XFyJQM