Leonard Bernstein's On the Waterfront

Released in 1954, On the Waterfront’s Oscar-nominated score represented a rare venture into film music composition by Leonard Bernstein, one of the towering figures of classical music in the 20th century. In Leonard Bernstein’s On the Waterfront: A Film Score Guide, Anthony Bushard examines this landmark work, a score that continues to influence composers of film and classical music alike. This book begins with a biographical survey of Bernstein’s work, followed by an examination of Bernstein’s compositional method, a look at the context of the film, and finally an analysis of the score.