Review (PDF) Sondheim On Music: Minor Details And Major Decisions
Stephen Sondheim is widely regarded as the most important composer and lyricist of musical theater in the second half of the 20th century. Celebrating his 80th birthday, this new edition of Sondheim on Music finds him in these guided interviews expounding in great depth and detail on his craft. As a natural teacher, thoughtful and opinionated, Sondheim discusses the art of musical composition, lyric writing, the collaborative process of musical theater, and how he thinks about his own work. Where the first edition focused particularly on six shows—Passion, Assassins, Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, Sweeney Todd, and Pacific Overtures—this second edition presents a new chapter that discusses Sondheim's entire career. Several shows that were not discussed previously are explored here, including A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Merrily We Roll Along, Company, Follies, Anyone Can Whistle, and A Little Night Music, as well as thoughts about the recent film adaptation of Sweeney Todd. The book also features an entire chapter on Bounce: the previous incarnation of his latest musical, Road Show. In addition to Sondheim's list of "Songs I Wish I'd Written," the songlisting and discography has been greatly expanded and updated to include all works composed and recorded over the last six years.
File Size: 8478 KB
Print Length: 585 pages
Publisher: Scarecrow Press; 2 edition (September 20, 2010)
Publication Date: September 20, 2010
Sold by: Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B0058P65TC
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray: Not Enabled
Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Best Sellers Rank: #993,755 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store) #63 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Composers > Sondheim #84 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Arts & Photography > Music > Musical Genres > Musicals #144 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Arts & Photography > Theater > Broadway & Musicals
I have a strong love of Sondheim's work. The genius lyrics, the engaging music, but most of all his attention to detail made me fall for him from "Attend the tale..." As someone who is exploring the world of composition I have looked to his works for encouragement and inspiration. When I heard that there was a book that housed interviews with the man himself I immediately put it on the top of my reading list. When I finally found it I was not dissapointed.Mark Eden Horowitz has presented a series of interviews that delve into the mind of Broadway's leading composer. The insight that Mr. Horowitz has into Sondheim's works is clearly evident as he helps us see the creative process that went into masterworks such as Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park with George. The discussion is broken up into a chapter for each show with each giving a focus on what concept was best exhibited in that musical. Certain works such as "A Little Night Music" and "The Frogs" are not discussed as their own chapter, but some of the works that weren't given their own chapter come up in conversation.I should take this time to point out that if you don't have an understanding of music theory some of this book will be much harder to decipher. With a year of college theory under my belt I still had to consult my professor on a few passages. Mr. Horowitz assists the reader by printing the musical examples pertaining to the topic, but it still requires a certain level of theoretical knowledge. Most of this book delves into concepts of writing and therefore manages to stay accesible, but be warned that parts of the books will need to be read over a few times for full academic digestion.
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