West Side Story is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music composed by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Recordings of the musical include cast albums of the 1957 and 2009 Broadway productions and foreign productions sung in other languages, as well as live concert versions and studio albums. The 1958 West End production never released a cast album, but many of its stars recorded excerpts of the work across several recordings. Bernstein conducted the 1985 studio recording released by Deutsche Grammophon led by opera singers José Carreras and Kiri Te Kanawa. It won the Grammy Award for Best Cast Show Album in 1986, and a television documentary about the making of that album won the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary the same year. The 2009 cast album won the same Grammy award in 2010. A 2013 concert recording by the San Francisco Symphony was nominated for a Grammy Award.
West Side Story was adapted into films released in 1961 and 2021, and soundtrack albums were released for both movies. The musical's score has also been adapted by music arrangers and musical ensembles for albums over the decades. Bernstein arranged music from the show into a suite titled Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, which has been recorded several times. The 1961 jazz album Kenton's West Side Story, by Stan Kenton and the Stan Kenton Orchestra, won the 1962 Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album.
Recordings Cast albums and live concert recordings YearAlbumTonyMariaAnitaRiff Bernardo ConsueloConductorLabelNotesReferences 1957West Side Story, original Broadway cast Larry KertCarol LawrenceChita Rivera Michael Callan Ken Leroy Reri Grist Max Goberman Columbia RecordsBroadway pit orchestra1968ウェストサイド物語 (English: West Side Story)Miyako KoshiroMari YashiogiTermi FumizukiYouko NatsumiJunko SasaNatsumi SayaKazuaki HashimotoExpressOriginal Japanese Takarazuka cast1996West Side Story Hoogtepunten Uit De Nederlandse Versie Endemol/Dino MusicDutch original cast"West Side Story – Joop van den Ende Theaterproducties BV – 1996-09-08", theaterencyclopedie.nl1997West Side Story Svensk JubileumsversionPetra NielsenKarl DyallMaria RydbergMartin StenmarckRichard HerreyDan MalmerPer-Magnus AnderssonJan RadesjöGazellSwedish cast Swedish cast1997West Side StoryAlena AntalováRoman VojtekMultisonicOriginal Czech cast Czech cast2001West Side Story (Tennessee Repertory Theater and Nashville Symphony concert cast)Mike EldredBetsi MorrisonMarianne CookeRobert Dean Michael San GiovanniWinter GabrielKenneth Schermerhorn Nashville SymphonyNaxos Records2009West Side Story: The New Broadway Cast AlbumMatt CavenaughJosefina ScaglioneKaren OlivoCody GreenGeorge AkramDanielle PolancoPatrick VaccarielloSony MusicWinner of the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2010.2013West Side Story (San Francisco Symphony concert recording)Cheyenne JacksonAlexandra SilberJessica VoskKevin VortmannKelly MarkgrafLouise Marie CornillezMichael Tilson ThomasSan Francisco SymphonySFS MediaNominated for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.
Studio albums YearAlbumTonyMariaAnitaRiff Bernardo ConsueloConductor / orchestraLabelNotesReferences1959West Side StoryBruce TrentLucille GrahamMary ThomasJoyce BerryGeorge ChakirisLawrence LeonardSaga RecordsFeaturing the chorus and orchestra of the 1958 West End production, it did not feature the actors who played Maria, Anita, Tony, or Riff in the cast but did have some returning performers, such as Chakiris, and was led by the London production's conductor. It was later reissued in 1961 and 1966. In 2024 this recording was reissued by Stage Door Records in compilation with a separate 1959 excerpt recording of four songs from West Side Story with Don McKay (Tony) and Marlyn Watters (Maria) from the 1958 West End cast (see below); it was billed as the London Studio Recording.1985Leonard Bernstein Conducts West Side StoryJosé CarrerasKiri Te KanawaTatiana TroyanosKurt OllmannRichard HarrellStella ZambalisLeonard BernsteinDeutsche GrammophonMarilyn Horne performed the song "Somewhere" and was credited as the "off-stage" voice. The recording won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album at the 28th Annual Grammy Awards in 1986. The making of this album was the subject of the 1985 BBC One television documentary Leonard Bernstein: The Making of West Side Story which aired on the Omnibus program. It was the winner of the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary at the 39th British Academy Film Awards in 1986 and also aired on television in Italy, where it won the Prix Italia. It was also nominated for an Emmy in the category "Outstanding Classical Program in the Performing Arts". 1993West Side Story (Pickwick) Michael BallBarbara BonneyLa Verne WilliamsMichael PearnLee Gibson Barry Wordsworth Pickwick RecordsRecorded in London in 1993.1993West Side Story (Orbis)Paul ManuelTinuke OlafimihanCaroline O'ConnorNicholas WarnfordNick FerrantiJohn Owen EdwardsNational Symphony OrchestraOrbis Records; later re-released by TER/Jay RecordsThe first complete recording of the score. Recorded in 1993 in London, some of the performers on this recording reprised their roles from the 1984–1985 West End production at the Leicester Haymarket Theatre. Opera singer Sally Burgess is a performer on the recording in a minor role that she had portrayed early in her career in the West End.1995West Side Story Versione ItalianaRichard ParrinelloNuova CarischItalian studio cast
Film soundtracks YearAlbumTonyMariaAnitaRiffBernardoConductorLabelNotesReferences 1961West Side Story (1961 soundtrack) Richard BeymerNatalie WoodRita Moreno Tucker Smith George Chakiris Johnny Green Columbia Masterworks RecordsSoundtrack for the 1961 film adaptation which was co-directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. While Beymer, Wood and Moreno were credited as the singers for Tony, Maria and Anita, their voices were dubbed by ghost singers Jimmy Bryant (Tony), Marni Nixon (Maria) and, in some numbers, Betty Wand (Anita).2021West Side Story (2021 soundtrack)Ansel ElgortRachel ZeglerAriana DeBose Mike FaistDavid Alvarez Gustavo DudamelHollywood RecordsSoundtrack for the 2021 film adaptation which was directed by Steven Spielberg. Rita Moreno sings "Somewhere". It includes a version of "La Borinqueña", the official Puerto Rican anthem, sung by Alvarez and the Sharks.Kuperinsky, Amy. "West Side Story review: There's a place for Spielberg's updated musical"
Excerpt recordings YearAlbumPrincipal performersLabelNotesReferences1958The Sound of West Side StorySid Ramin and Irwin Kostal, conductorsThe Ramin-Kostal OrchestraThe Honey DreamersRCA VictorThis EP included four songs: "Maria", "Mambo", "Cool" and "Cool Fugue". It was led by Ramin and Kostal who were the original arrangers and orchestrators of the 1957 production. The Honey Dreamers were the vocalists. The manuscript for the score used is held in the Sid Ramin papers collection at the library of Columbia University.1959West Side StoryDon McKay, tenorMarlys Watters, sopranoLawrence Leonard, conductorHis Master's VoiceDon McKay and Marlys Watters sing highlights from the roles of Tony and Maria. This EP of just four songs ("Maria", "Tonight", "One Hand, One Heart" and "I Feel Pretty") was made at the time that both performers were starring in those roles in the original West End production at Her Majesty's Theatre. It was later rereleased in 2024 in compilation with the 1959 London studio recording by Stage Door Records.1965West Side Story / Och Stoppa Världen – Jag Vill Stiga Av! (English: West Side Story / Stop the World – I Want to Get Off) Mats Olsson, conductorTowa CarsonLars LönndahlJan MalmsjöRCA CamdenSwedish language excerpts from both West Side Story and Stop the World – I Want to Get Off. Songs from West Side Story include "Something's Coming", "Maria", "Tonight", "America" (instrumental only), "One Hand, One Heart", "I Feel Pretty" and "Gee, Officer Krupke". Carson sings the part of Maria and Lönndahl the part of Tony with the exception of the song "Something's Coming" which is sung by Malmsjö. "Gee, Officer Krupke" was reworked to predominantly feature Malmsjö as a soloist.1966West Side Story / Porgy and Bess, conductorMonika DahlbergPeter BeilPhilips RecordsGerman language excerpts from both West Side Story and Porgy and Bess. Songs from West Side Story include "Gee, Officer Krupke", "Maria", "I Feel Pretty", "Something's Coming", "Tonight", "One Hand, One Heart", "Somewhere" and "America"1967West Side Story / Mary PoppinsHeinz Geese, conductorWolfgang KielingPeter RubinWolfgang AnheisserIngeborg HallsteinHeinz HoppePolydor LimitedGerman language excerpts from both West Side Story and Mary Poppins. Songs from West Side Story include "Prologue", "Jet Song", "Maria", "I Feel Pretty, "Promenade", "Gee, Officer Krupke", "Jump", "Tonight, "Blues", "One Hand, One Heart", "Cool" and "America"1985Höhepunkte aus West Side Story: Bernstein on Broadway (English: Highlights of West Side Story: Bernstein on Broadway)Deborah Sasson, sopranoPeter Hofmann, tenorCBS RecordsMarketed to a German audience; Michael Tilson Thomas conducted orchestras in Germany and California. Sasson sang the role of Maria and Hofmann sang Tony.1994Somewhere – The Songs of Sondheim and BernsteinMarina Prior, sopranoMelbourne Symphony OrchestraSony Music AustraliaThis album is named for the song "Somewhere" and includes that song as well as several others from West Side Story along with other works by Bernstein and Sondheim.1994Lost in Boston, vol. 1Singers Judy Malloy, Richard Roland and Sal VivianoVarèse SarabandeThis album contains the only recording of the song "Like Everybody Else"; written by Bernstein and Sondheim for West Side Story but which was cut from the show.1996A Simple Song: Blackwell Sings BernsteinHarolyn Blackwell, sopranoRCA VictorBlackwell performs songs by Bernstein including a medley of songs from West Side Story with Vanessa Williams as Anita to her Maria. Blackwell portrayed Consuelo, was the understudy for Maria, and was the soloist who sang "Somewhere" in the 1980 Broadway revival of the musical.1996The Songs of West Side StoryRCA Victor"The Jet Song" sung by Brian Setzer; "Cool" sung by Patti Austin, Mervyn Warren, and Bruce Hornsby; "A Boy Like That" sung by Selena; "I feel Pretty" sung by Little Richard; two versions of "Somewhere" performed by Aretha Franklin and Phil Collins; "Tonight" sung by Wynonna Judd and Kenny Loggins; "America" sung by Patti LaBelle, Natalie Cole and Sheila E.; "I Have a Love" sung by Trisha Yearwood; and "Rumble" performed by Chick Corea Elektric Band and Steve Vai's Monsters.2007West Side Story – 50th Anniversary recordingHayley Westenra as Maria, Vittorio Grigolo as Tony, Connie Fisher for "Somewhere", Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Nick IngmanUCJ Music/Decca 173 3909 Liner notes by Jamie Bernstein; authorized by the Bernstein Foundation; nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Show Album."West Side Story – 50th Anniversary recording (UCJ Music)", January 12, 2013, Manchester Evening News"West Side Story: 1 Hand 1 Heart 50 Years" by Ken Richardson, Sound&Vision, November 7, 2007 (also mentions six other recordings)"Bernstein: West Side Story" by Andrew Lamb, January 21, 2012, BBC Music Magazine2007A Place for UsKristin Chenoweth and Hugh Panaro in "Tonight", "Cool" piano solo by Eldar Djangirov (new recordings)Masterworks BroadwayPreviously recorded cover versions"Andrews, Streisand, Chenoweth, Mitchell and More Featured on West Side Story Tribute CD" by Andrew Gans, September 14, 2007, Playbill
Jazz recordings