''For New York (Variations on Themes of Leonard Bernstein)'' (originally titled ''To Lenny! To Lenny!'') is a one-movement

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l composition by the American composer John Williams. Written as a tribute to fellow composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, the piece premiered on the last day of Bernstein's 70th birthday gala at

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the ...

on August 28, 1988. The premiere was performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Williams, who was then conductor of its sister orchestra, the

Boston Pops The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Sym ...

. Music critic

John Rockwell John Sargent Rockwell (born September 16, 1940) is an American music critic, dance critic and arts administrator. According to '' Grove Music Online'', "Rockwell brings two signal attributes to his critical work: a genuine admiration for all ...

of ''

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'' described the work as "feathery and flashy."

Composition

''For New York'' utilizes themes from Bernstein's musicals '' On the Town'' and ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...

'' (" New York, New York" and " America", respectively), though the climax also contains subtle references to "

Happy Birthday to You "Happy Birthday to You", also known as "Happy Birthday", is a song traditionally sung to celebrate a person's birthday. According to the 1998 ''Guinness World Records'', it is the most recognised song in the English language, followed by " Fo ...

". A performance of the piece lasts approximately three minutes.

Discography

A recording of ''For New York'' was released January 15th, 2002 on a compilation album by

Sony Classical Records Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by S ...

. The album also featured Williams' 1996 and 2002

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

themes, the

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theme '' The Mission'', the six part '' American Journey'', and various other celebratory works and fanfares for orchestra.

References

{{Italic title Compositions by John Williams 1988 compositions Compositions for symphony orchestra 20th-century classical music

Composition

Discography

See also

References