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The success of Andrew Lloyd Webber
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Andrew Lloyd Webber was born on March 22, 1948. He composed many musicals throughout his lifetime including; “Evita”, “Phantom of the Opera”, and “Cats”. Webber grew up in South Kensington to parents William who was a professional in theory and composition at the Royal College of Music in England and Jean who was a singer and a violinist in the same school. By age three Webber was playing the violin. Then by age six he composed his own songs. Then by age nine he had a piece of music published in the magazine, “Music Teacher.” Thanks to Webber’s Aunt Vi who got him into theatre. She took him to many big production shows like “My Fair Lady.” Vi and Weber also have seen many films together too. “Gigi” and “South Pacific” are some just to name. When Webber was examining schools, he got a letter from Tim Rice, his soon to be partner. Webber was age 17 and Rice at age 21 started to cooperate on their first musical, “The likes of Us.” This musical however, was never preformed. After they have done a few of unsuccessful songs together, they almost called it quits until they got a phone ...
At ten years old, Sondheim moved to Pennsylvania and became neighbors with the famous musical theatre composer, Oscar Hammerstein II. The families became great friends, and Sondheim became Hammerstein’s personal assistant, enabling him to learn great musical techniques from a professional composer. As a 15-year-old Stephen Sondheim composed his first musical, and he put the show on at his high
Born on June 28, 1902, Richard Rodgers grew up in Queens, NY and was brought in a theatre-loving household. His parents loved the musicals on Broadway and his grandparents were Opera fans. Despite having hypochondria, his mother would have sheet music from the Broadway shows and would sing them for Richard and that’s how he began to learn to play the piano (Biography.com). Just a few blocks away from that spot, Oscar Hammerstein was born on July 12, 1895 into a true theatre family. His father managed a vaudeville theatre, his grandfather was an opera producer, and his uncle was a Broadway producer. Hammerstein, at the time, was studying law at Columbia University when he met Rodgers. After falling in love with the theatre, he was employed by his uncle as an assistant stage manager. (Biography.com) The rest, as they say, is history. But, while the names Rodgers and Hammerstein may sound perfect and remind you of the music you love, it wasn’t always Rodgers and Hammerstein. Both Rodgers and Hammerstein worked with other collaborative partners before pairing up. Richard Rodgers was known for working with Lorenz Hart first. They wrote 26 Broadway musicals together and wrote many classic songs, such as: "Blue Moon" (1934), "My Funny Valentine" (1937), "Isn't It Romantic?" (1932) and "Bewitched,
Finally, as the mentioned examples show us: composers becoming immersed with a filmmaker at an early stage of their careers can end up to be one of the most natural, harmonic and fruitful artistic relationships for both of them. Hopefully in future more composers can become a more active part in the storytelling as a co-author of the film, while remaining a versatile and original author of music, in other words a great composer.
Edward Benjamin Britten is an iconic figure of 20th-century British classical music. His works range from orchestral and chamber compositions, to full operas and other vocal music. Born November 22, 1913 in Suffolk, England, Britten displayed his musical gift at an early age. He was born on the feast day of Saint Cecilia, who, ironically, is the patron saint of music. He was born to Robert Victor Britten, who was a dentist, and his wife Edith Rhoda, her was a secretary and an amateur musician. Music inevitably helped the Britten family maintain their social status, as well as bring them closer together as a family. Edith Britten would often invite the community to the house for mini concerts.
Igor was born and raised in Oranienbaum. Stravinsky was born on June 17th in 1882. All his life he was surrounded by music. His parents were into music as well, his
Born in Los Angeles, Newman is a member of one of Hollywood’s most esteemed musical families. His father, film composer Alfred Newman (All About Eve, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Hunchback of Notre Dame), won nine Academy Awards (out of 45 nominations). His uncles are renowned film-score artists Emil and Lionel Newman (Oscar-winner for Hello, Dolly!). His cousin, also a multi-Oscar nominee, is singer-songwriter Randy Newman (The Natural), and brother David is also a busy film composer (The War of the Roses).
Lloyd Webber’s widely regarded masterpiece Phantom Of The Opera uses key motifs and themes throughout the musical to establish its characters and scenes in an effective manner. Throughout the production the motifs, themes and songs all develop to reflect the changes their respective characters undergo. This is particularly evident when analysing The Phantom, his motifs and songs, and how they develop throughout the story.
I can say with absolute certainty that I have always been intrigued by and totally enamored with cultures that were different from my own. I believe this is because I fancy myself to be an imaginative dreamer that has always wished for changes to take place in the world so that it may one day become the way it was supposed to be when the creator of the universe imagined it all those centuries ago.
Ludwig Van Beethoven was one of the greatest classical music composers of all time. He was born around December 16, 1770 to a middle class family in the city of Bonn in the Electorate of cologne. His exact date of birth is unknown but he was baptized on December 17, 1770 and during this time it was law and custom for babies to be baptized within 24 hours of birth. His father Johann Van Beethoven was a court singer and his mother was Maria Magdalena Van Beethoven. Ludwig had four other siblings. The first Ludwig had passed away 6 days after he was born. Anton Karl was born on April 1774, Nikkolaus Johann October 1776 and Maria Margareta Josepha in 1786.
Oscar Hammerstein II, born July 12, 1895, came from a family of theater people. His grandfather, Oscar Hammerstein I, built theatres and loved opera. Following him, would be a generation of theatre managers and Vaudeville presenters. But the true love of theatrical storytelling was in Hammerstein II. From an earlier age, Hammerstein was a quick worker and very productive when it came to his work. Unlike all lyricists at the time, he wrote the libretto to most of the musicals for which he contributed the lyrics. Therefore, the scenes in which his lyrics are place stemmed from the same creative mind. Much of his early career was with many different composers like Herbert Stothart, Otto Harbach, and Jerome Kern. Yet, his name was often
Hugh Laurie was raised in England with his three siblings. As a young boy around age seven, Hugh Laurie began learning how to play piano from a teacher, Mrs. Hare, whom he did not favor because of her style of teaching him how to play. Hugh Laurie had his first encounter when he was ten, when he was listening to his family's car radio(Green 3). Laurie was captivated by the notes of this music, and it was instantly his favorite genre (Karlovits 2). Even after he had this encounter, with the blues, he did not desire a musical career yet. Instead, he started his working life with a comedy TV show on BBC with his friend Stephen Fry. This show, which was called "A Bit of Fry and Laurie", brought Hugh Laurie fame throughout the United Kingdom. However, this success would not last for long. Later, when Hugh Laurie began his acting career with the performance "Botham: The Musical." The audience did not like the play, and Hugh Laurie was doubtful about recovering from this downfall as an actor. As most people know though, he d...
Theatre has heavily evolved over the past 100 years, particularly Musical Theatre- a subgenre of theatre in which the storyline is conveyed relying on songs and lyrics rather than dialogue. From its origination in Athens, musical theatre has spread across the world and is a popular form of entertainment today. This essay will discuss the evolution and change of musical theatre from 1980-2016, primarily focusing on Broadway (New York) and the West End (London). It will consider in depth, the time periods of: The 1980s: “Brit Hits”- the influence of European mega musicals, the 1990s: “The downfall of musicals”- what failed and what redeemed, and the 2000s/2010s: “The Resurgence of musicals”- including the rise of pop and movie musicals. Concluding
Musical concerts are undoubtedly an incredible opportunity to experience a great aesthetic pleasure by listening to the musicians perform in front of your eyes. The power of music can hardly be overestimated – it can transfer a number of messages, thoughts and feelings through the performed sounds. Therefore the one can comprehend the music in the best possible way only when it is heard live. Musical concerts are often revelatory and highly impressive experiences to me. This essay thereby aims to provide my reflections and impressions of the concert of Gregory Porter & the Metropole Orchestra which I had the opportunity to attend in Nashville, TN.
This book discusses the life of Glenn Gould who was a profound pianist known for his classical music, Peter Ostwald a late violinist who wrote “The Ecstasy and Tragedy of Genius of Glenn Gould” believed that Gould was extraordinary gifted and that his music gained much appreciation among the people in the community. He not only saw Gould as a genius but also as a companion who struggled to find peace in his life through the sound of music. Gould didn’t act like a normal child he isolated himself from others because he felt that others around him did not share the same passion for music. His father noticed when he was born that instead of crying, “Glenn always hum” (Ostwald, 1997). This showed that Glenn was born with a passion towards music from the very early stages of life. Gould formed behaviors of an ambivalent attachment style towards his mother and behaviors of a secure attachment towards his father this impacted his ability to form long lasting relationships with people during his childhood progressing into his adult years. (My thesis)
Ludwig Van Beethoven also known as Beethoven was an extraordinary composer known by many. Beethoven was born around December 16, 1770 and died March 26, 1887. In his fifty seven years of life he was able to become a famous composer of classical music. His life may not have been long in our standards, but he had career highlights, music compositions, personal life, and his death.