Steven Sondheim's Music

[YesterdayOnceMore]

What do you think of Mr. Sondheim's music? I will let you know my thoughts soon, but am interested to know what you think. Here are a few of his works, thanks to Wickipedia:



Unless otherwise noted, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

Saturday Night (1954, though unproduced until 1997) (book by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein)
West Side Story (1957) (music by Leonard Bernstein; book by Arthur Laurents; directed by Jerome Robbins)
Gypsy (1959) (music by Jule Styne; book by Arthur Laurents; directed by Jerome Robbins)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962) (book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart; directed by George Abbott)
Anyone Can Whistle (1964) (book by Arthur Laurents; directed by Arthur Laurents)
Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965) (music by Richard Rodgers; book by Arthur Laurents; directed by John Dexter)
Company (1970) (book by George Furth; directed by Hal Prince)
Follies (1971) (book by James Goldman; directed by Hal Prince)
A Little Night Music (1973) (book by Hugh Wheeler; directed by Hal Prince)
Pacific Overtures (1976) (book by John Weidman; directed by Hal Prince)
Sweeney Todd (1979) (book by Hugh Wheeler; directed by Hal Prince)
Merrily We Roll Along (1981) (book by George Furth; directed by Hal Prince)
Sunday in the Park with George (1984) (book by James Lapine; directed by James Lapine)
Into the Woods (1987) (book by James Lapine; directed by James Lapine)
Assassins (1990) (book by John Weidman; directed by Jerry Zaks)
Passion (1994) (book by James Lapine; directed by James Lapine)
Bounce (2003) (book by John Weidman; directed by Hal Prince)
The Frogs - Second version (2004) (revised book by Nathan Lane, from Burt Shevelove's 1974 book. Contains seven new songs)
Side By Side By Sondheim (1976), Marry Me A Little (1980), You're Gonna Love Tomorrow (1983) and Putting It Together (1993) are anthologies or revues of Sondheim's work as composer and lyricist, featuring both produced songs and songs cut from productions.



As I mentioned in Tim's Musings, I'm listening and really enjoying his soundtrack of Sweeney Todd......but I am familiar with a lot of the music listed above.....just curious to know if you've an opinion on his music.

I wish you all the best from here in my corner,
Tim

[wisejester7]

It's funny you brought up Sondheim at this time. Tonight I'm going to see "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum".

[YesterdayOnceMore]

Apr 16, 2008 8:14:51 GMT -5 wisejester7 said:

It's funny you brought up Sondheim at this time. Tonight I'm going to see "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum".

Very cool, wj7! Let us know what you think of it. Enjoy!!

[wisejester7]

Apr 16, 2008 8:33:55 GMT -5 YesterdayOnceMore said:

Apr 16, 2008 8:14:51 GMT -5 wisejester7 said:

It's funny you brought up Sondheim at this time. Tonight I'm going to see "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum".

Very cool, wj7! Let us know what you think of it. Enjoy!!

Surprisingly, Sondheim's songs fade in and out of importance. The lyrics range from clever and sometimes kitschy to the other end of the spectrum ... clumsy and cumbersome.

I found some of the music quite memorable, but some was very forgettable. As for Sondheim's music, in general, I like it.

In " ... Forum" the opening song "Comedy Tonight" is one of the most memorable songs for both it's lyrical twists and for the peppy music. Other songs during the play alternated between being background music to being music of importance, songs that moved the storyline along, bracing the visual scene on the stage.

Overall, I enjoyed " ... Forum" .

[ps11932]

For the most part I am only familiar with one or two showcase pieces from each work- but I consider 'West Side Story" a classic and one of the best American pieces of art of the 20th century; many of the numbers ("Maria", "Tonight", "One Hand, One Heart") are cultural icons. I also like the witty banter and lyrics of "America" & "Officer Krupke."

[wisejester7]

Apr 29, 2008 16:21:23 GMT -5 ps11932 said:

For the most part I am only familiar with one or two showcase pieces from each work- but I consider 'West Side Story" a classic and one of the best American pieces of art of the 20th century; many of the numbers ("Maria", "Tonight", "One Hand, One Heart") are cultural icons. I also like the witty banter and lyrics of "America" & "Officer Krupke."

I agree with you on the songs you mentioned above. When Sondheim was "on" he really got it right!

[YesterdayOnceMore]

Apr 30, 2008 6:27:30 GMT -5 wisejester7 said:

Apr 29, 2008 16:21:23 GMT -5 ps11932 said:

For the most part I am only familiar with one or two showcase pieces from each work- but I consider 'West Side Story" a classic and one of the best American pieces of art of the 20th century; many of the numbers ("Maria", "Tonight", "One Hand, One Heart") are cultural icons. I also like the witty banter and lyrics of "America" & "Officer Krupke."

I agree with you on the songs you mentioned above. When Sondheim was "on" he really got it right!

Yep, yep.....me too. Sondheim's style is really all over the board, and yet he wraps it up in a package that screams Sondheim.

If and when you get the chance, the music in Sweeney Todd, which has piqued my interest of late, is fascinating. It moves quite swiftly - it's most dissonant - there are many things about it that I like, a lot! The soundtrack certainly does as it should and tells the story of Sweeney Todd....but the music in and of itself is just amazing. It's as if it were a orchestral piece and as an afterthought, Sondheim put words to it. Hmmm....fun, indeed.

Oddly, and I may have already stated this, but this play/made movie reminds me of the play made movie entitled Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, in that the entire play made movie that is Jacques Brel is made up of his songs. There may be one or two spoken words, but very, very few. It's all music. The same is true with the modern day MOVIN' OUT which ran on Broadway for many years, courtesy of the musical genius of Billy Joel, and the choreography of Twila Tharpe. It, too, is all music. So, we have some interesting parallels here, I'm thinking.

I wish you all the best from here in my corner,
Tim

[smoothie2]

I am most familiar with West side Story the movie, but no doubt Sondheim has many varied accomplishments. I will have to check into more of his works.