Soundtrack West Side Story: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
- Easy Listening |
- Pop |
- Soundtrack |
- Various Artists |
- Vocals
Release Date: December 10, 2021
Label: Hollywood
With performances from the cast including Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, Mike Faist, the soundtrack to Stephen Spielberg's 2021 adaption of West Side Story also boasts 1961 cast member Rita Moreno performing the show-stopping "Somewhere."
Directed by Stephen Spielberg, West Side Story is an adaptation of the 1957 musical that explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds.
The soundtrack includes the original score, adapted by David Newman, who also wrote the scores to Ice Age, Matilda and Anastasia, the latter of which won him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score.
Leonard Bernstein and Steven Sondheim’s original musical was first adapted for the big screen in 1961, just four years after it first hit Broadway. It’s now receiving its long-anticipated second outing.
Composer David Newman arranged and adapted Bernstein's original score for the film. Gustavo Dudamel conducted the New York Philharmonic during the film's recording sessions in 2019, with additional recording by the Los Angeles Philharmonic done the following year. Jeanine Tesori served as vocal coach, while frequent Spielberg collaborator John Williams served as music consultant.