Filming Leonard Bernstein for 'West Side Story' Documentary with director Christopher Swann | FORTE
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- čas přidán 29. 09. 2023
- After 40 years, director Christopher Swann has spoken out for the VERY FIRST TIME about what it was like filming Leonard Bernstein for his famous 1985 documentary 'The Making of West Side Story'.
Listen here for the full story! - Krátké a kreslené filmy
AND...this interview is as priceless as the documentary. Amazing.
I so agree! I am glad I just found this. I have the documentary and would watch it time and time again! Will watch this too.
What a wonderful explanation of the difference between classically trained and jazzers. And to think, one of THE best jazz trumpeters was playing lead. He had no problems playing with the conductor.
This interview is gold!
Thank you Elaine!
After just watching Maestro on Netflix, ( which i profoundly enjoyed) - I am finding myself in a rabbit hole on youtube re-watching some Young Peoples concerts @ lincoln center I went to in my elementary school years and seeing the profound impact they had on me. Then i turned to 'the making of west side story' in 1985 and interviews with Sondheim amongst others on Lenny. I just found this one and really enjoyed it. Thank you for posting. West Side Story, in my opinion is a perfect musical and my most favorite.
Bernstein wrote the greatest musical of all time. He wanted to be taken seriously as a classical composer but he lived in a time not realizing that musical theatre IS the opera of our time. His work in popular music is his legacy as a composer.
I think My Fair Lady and Oliver are far better musicals. I actually never enjoyed West Side Story either musically or lyrically. Found it annoyingly dull. The subject matter was just uninteresting to me and no I don't think he was such a great composer. Great conductor though.
But our tastes are clearly different!
@@Richard-hv5hhthat’s fair. I just saw Oliver at the city center and I was surprised how the main character, Oliver, had such little to do. He was sort of a prop piece shuttled around the stage with no agency of his own. That’s my biggest gripe with that show but it’s a tuneful score.
My fair lady is a charming show but it hasn’t aged that well- what used to be considered cute banter between the two leads now looks in the post Me2 era as a huge amount of misogyny coming from Higgins. But lovely tunes.
I would disagree about Lenny’s writing. Candice, Fancy Free, On the Town and west side are all wonderful pieces- I think west side story resonates because it was one of the first musicals to tell a story in such a dramatic way- and using dance as exposition.
Totally agree with you. Too many strong influences devaluing his own creative work.
Couldn't agree more about musicals being the opera of our times. I just staged a show whose title is A history of American opera. I based my point on 4 composers Gershwin, Bernstein, Kurt Weil and... Stephen Sondheim (who actually hated the traditional opera form).
@@Richard-hv5hh I think my fair lady & oliver are by far less good the WSS! Bernstein wasn't a composer on the Beethoven level, but still a very good composer. Obviously with this comment of yours you have no knolledge about ( classical) music at all. You moron to write this 'stupidity' about Bernstein , you should be a shamed!
This is a real gift for those who’ve seen the film which is in part both brilliant and painful. The film really points up the dangers having magnificent classical voices interpret essentially populist music. I remember poor Carreras - Golden Voice and all -struggling with the syncopation in much of Bernstein’s score. Thanks so much for the “skivvy.”
chris swann - master story teller!
John - you sweetie you - and yes I do remember meeting....... just the experience as I experienced it as frankly an outsider.... but my memory is particularly sharp about those things I was thrust into.
Wow! I am grateful that Mr. Swann's achievement in completing this documentary had the effect of invigorating Mr. Bernstein's career energy and sense of purpose during the final phase of his career.
This is extraordinary. Christopher Swann tells such a good story, so well. Thanks for posting.
You're welcome and it was a pleasure to meet Christopher as a fellow filmmaker. Learned a huge deal from the great man!
@@FORTEPodcast❤
How absolutely extraordinary. What could have easily been just a conventional recounting of an event I thought I knew everything about, became instead every bit as enthralling a tale as the musical being discussed. Mr. Swann had me riveted throughout, and in 35 minutes had me chortling, and near tears several times. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you very much. Lenny will always be my Number 1.
Even after 33 years I miss him so much!
did he try to kiss you on the mouth too.
What a brilliant storyteller with a real film makers sense of keeping things engaging. Loved his documentary!
I'm gathering from the comments that this interview is an original piece made by this channel's owner? If so, thanks for the great interview. And if not, thanks for finding this great interview.
Just watched the film yesterday and I'm always more interested in the behind the scenes story than the actual story. Although in this case, the actual story IS a behind the scenes story, so it's a total win for me!
Too bad they didnt find some kickass US pop singer to cover the Tony part. Steve Perry probably coulda handled it, and I'm sure there are others that I can't think of at the moment. Or maybe a jazzer, although I don't know of any names off the top of my head in that departnent either.
But heck, if they hadn't cast Carraras, there wouldn't he quite the drama in that film, so maybe it'd wouldn't be so great.
Anyway, thanks again.
What a project to be a part of! Thank you for posting this rare interview on the infamous WSS album/video of the 80s.
What a fabulous, totally frank account. Having seen the film and been impressed by the 'backroom' skills of John McClure, purely on the off-chance I emailed the latter and, to my great surprise, received a reply. His wife said he'd found my approach refreshing, as he was usually contacted purely for self-serving reasons and was genuinely grateful, despite his own illustrious career, that someone was seeking simply to offer their thanks and acknowledgment of his own talents. I still remain in contact with Mr McClure's widow and should be delighted to hear Mr Swann's impressions of John McClure during this somewhat difficult project - especially as Mr Swann mentions (at 26:52) that he'd 'not been particuarly nice' to Mr McClure!. Many thanks from Oxford for this fascinating account!
Now I understand. Thank you, Christopher Swann, for your wonderfully insightful explanation.
So wonderful to view this after just watching Maestro. Simply fabulous story telling by Chris.
The joke about Odile/Odette was very funny.
Astounding to get the inside scoop from Swann.
So interesting hearing all the aspects of the making of.
I'd like to see the documentary
Thank you so much for posting. Christopher Swann in a great and gracious storyteller.
Absolutely wonderful. ❤️🙏
I've watched "Making of.." about a dozen times or more in the past 30 years. And this is a wonderful insight about what happened beside all the great things you can see in the documentary. Very well narrated! ♥
What a great tribute. Thank you for recording it and speaking in it now.
Incredibly interesting! Thank you for recoding and sharing this important story.
Fantastic can feel the vibe of Maestro Bernstein in the reinactment of the meetings very good and accurate great and entertaining presentation thank-you.I bet he was fun to be with.
He was. A genius of sorts but like all the geniuses I have worked with at root just an ordinary human being to whom extraordinary things happened - based on god given talent that most of them dont really understand they just know the talent is there to be used. And all genius's want a good time and to be fun around....
@@christopherswann I was referring to your presentation of your work on the documentary "West Side" and your meeting with Maestro Bernstein, It was funny and well put together and hence I could see the aura of Bernsteins flamboyance and I meant YOU would be fun to be with judging by the humour portrayed in this presentaion of yours!! not L.B!.
@@sarahjones-jf4pr Ha ha. Well that's the sweetest thing anyone has said to me in quite some time. I am not sure my children would agree with you. But as I have said before it is not the films you make that you remember but the time you spend making them and if that isn't enjoyable and fun and stimulating then why on earth do it. The quality of your life is not the end product it is the path you take to achieving anything.
This is incredible, thank you!
Pleasure!
Gloriously detailed recollections of an extraordinary experience. Huge congrats all!
Splendid video! Mr. Swann is very in depth and detailed. Truly wonderful!
It's amazing to me what a missed opportunity Bernstein's final take of "West Side Story" ended up as. Carreras as Tony is like asking Axl Rose to sing Calaf in Turandot.
Well, it was supposed to be Neil Shicoff (who would have owned it), but...
Carreras I don't think knew what he was getting into when accepting this.This was painful to say the least
What a wonderful interview! Very very interesting. I love it. Thank you so much!
It was a total pleasure to do!
This is brilliant 👍
Thank you for this!
You're welcome! Pleasure to do!
"Leonard tried to kiss me." Said in passing!
I have no idea why musical theater singers were not utilized?! Insane.
I totally agree!
I had heard that Jerry Hadley had been asked to sing Tony. I mean, anyone would’ve been better than Carreras, with the accent and a wobble that no young Tony would have. He single-handedly sank the recording. Troyanos was marvelous, Ollmann was great, and Kiri was delightful, despite not sounding like a young girl.
Jerry Hadley was terrific. See the marvelous recording of "Candide" with the LSO at the Barbicon. Concert version with Lenny conducting - definitive! Hadley a great Candide after suffering badly with the flu - in fact, pretty much everyone involved had it. Bernstein said his Cunegonde nearly died. She was magnificent!
I knew Jerry - he wasnt.
Is the documentary streaming anywhere? So far it looks like you have to buy the dvd.
16;23 Alberto Remedios? Never in a million years! He was a British Wagner tenor born in 1935, and frankly not that known outside the London Coliseum!
❤
Is this an excerpt of a larger documentary?
Unfortunately not. But I do have a new documentary in production revolving around the life and works of England's most-renowned art-song composer, Ian Venables. Release should be on this channel around early 2024.
In the days when BBC TV took classical music seriously
Right at the beginning. If he means Placido Domingo, he is Spanish, not Mexican. Compromises everything that follows.
He moved to Mexico when he was eight. It is true that he was born in Spain but his fach is coloured by his Mexican accent. i am delighted you spotted that but it doesnt diss the rest of the interview - I just omitted to give Placido more context - who is a singer I have worked with a number of times since.
I appreciate your explanation, sir. From a great fan of ”West Side Story" in Japan🎵@@christopherswann
Plácido Domingo is Spanish, not Mexican although he was born in Mexico, I believe. He now lives in Madrid. The problem, as others have commented is that both Plácido Domingo and Jose Carreras are Spanish so they had trouble with the American-ness of the accent and the Jazz rhythms.
Born in Spain - moved to Mexico when he was eight, has a Mexican accent - would class himself as primarily Mexican with Spanish roots.
@@christopherswann hi, I don't know if you speak Spanish or not but I do. I lived and studied in Spain in Madrid and I hear the "ceta" ( I know that's not spelled right) in his accent. I also studied in Mexico and although I'm not a native speaker, I don't hear much Mexican, especially the tendency to inflect up or said another way, to sound a little bit sing-song. Of course I don't presume to know Plácido a madrileño after so many years.
It's interesting isn't it. Placido always went on about his Mexican roots - in particular he supported the Mexican earthquake victims as I remember. There was also a certain amount of marketing - Pavarotti Italian, Jose Spanish and Placido Mexican/Spanish I suppose to differentiate them. To be honest I dont think Placido would have made a particularly good Tony either but you're looking at a world 40 years ago now when record companies suddenly had more money as everyone was buying CDs and they did bonkers things. The important thing about the recording of WSS was not that it was rubbish casting - of course a Broadway cast would have brought more sass - but that Lenny got to conduct it - as Kiri said it was like having Mozart in the room - you rarely (but you do) get the composer conducting his own piece - Elgar of course and so on - but to have Lenny in the room conducting WSS for the first time was the most interesting part of it all - for me at any rate - and despite the pompous posturing so long afterwards by some of the people who have viewed my interview - I am beyond glad I was there, I remember every moment vividly - and no one will ever have the experience I and my crew had again. I was glad the young guy from the Times asked me about it (no one had before) as any moment in history is worth having witnesses to and I was lucky enough to be one@@baxtercol
@@swanntv-um7wc thank you for sharing that with me. I'm jealous! You're absolutely right.
I could never understand why Carreras was chosen to sing Tony; why choose any singer with a Spanish accent, or anyone but an American to sing Tony, a New York born teenaged character, who is a contrast & antagonist to Bernardo, leader of the Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks? It didn’t work in more ways than that Carreras could not sing jazz.
I bet Sondheim hated operas because the librettos were always so weak.
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He's well-meaning, but this is an impossibly convoluted spin on what was a simple disaster from day one, due to Bernstein's manager. Humphrey Burton saved the day. I was there. In fact, I'm in the opening shot. I hope other producers watch this and do their homework.
'Well meaning'?? What a patronising thing to say. He's the man who made the film, and eventually, on his own terms. LB's management may have been a nightmare, and Burton, no doubt, did square a circle. He could that, but by the time Swann was in New York with his crew, all the clearances were in place. I'm a great admirer of Burton's work, but in this case, he was superfluous to the end product. So, please don't try to paint him back into the picture.
It's unfortunate that the sound quality is so poor, and that Swann mumbles so much.
He doesn't mumble at all! I heard every word....
Great documen;tary on the musical but, I must say, that the singers, great opera singers for sure, were just terrible for this genre...kind of like having the rolling stones sing in a Verdi opera...this is for young voices..not some mid forties voices that are Italian..sorry, in fact, it is the worst rendition of this I ever heard...I much prefer some of the high school versions on you tube such as the Stratford high school version out of Texas...p.s. the new movie also sucks the big one
Never mind the sound, the homophobia is surprising, and ignorant.
Sorry, I'd have to say that Bernstein is recognised as being a man of voracious appetites. The swan story is odd, by any standards, openly digging for someone's sexual orientation, but for a straight man to express his discomfort at another man's oral intervention is NOT homophobic. I have an old friend who will want to give me a firm, moist kiss on the lips when we part, but I grasp him in a brace to minimise that intervention. Am I, a gay man, being homophobic in not liking that he'll do that? I think not.
???Homophobia???
I find a wet probing tongue tasting of ash tray and bar slops repulsive.
NOT Homophobic.
What f*cking homophobia?
Seeing ghosts, you crybaby? 🙈
I enjoyed his documentary, but Jesus what a narcissistic, crashing bore Swann is. And the story about Lenny kissing him is in incredibly poor taste (and, I suspect, made up).