Last night saw ROSL ARTS join forces with the Park Lane Group to celebrate 100th anniversary of the birth Leonard Bernstein, renowned composer, conducter, and pianist. The evening saw four pianists perform all 29 Anniversaries composed by Bernstein with a special introduction to the concert from Bernstein academic, Humphrey Burton. 

All four pianists are supported by the Park Lane Group, two of which are also ROSL ARTS prizewinners; Gamal Khamis Accompanist Prizewinner 2017 and Dominic Degavino, Keyboard Section Final winner 2017. As well as hearing some of Bernstein’s lesser-known works, some audience favourites were also performed, including the Overture to Candide, plus Tonight and America from West Side Story.

Bernstein was a pianist before he was a composer or a conductor; and while those fields won him his international reputation, he remained an accomplished soloist and accompanist. Bernstein’s Anniversaries were mostly dedicated to friends, relations, and lovers and characterise the person they were dedicated to. Bernstein’s most well-known work is West Side Story, a Broadway phenomenon that is still widely performed to this day.

2018 is a celebration of all things Bernstein and if you missed our concert then you can catch more of his oeuvre at the BBC Proms this summer, as numerous works by Bernstein will be performed including West Side Story, and On the Town in August by the John Wilson Orchestra, as well as his more classical works such as Serenade after Plato’s ‘Symposium’ on 3 September. Look here for more information

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