Stephen Sondheim is a well-known musical theatre composer who has been quite successful with his work. This world-renowned composer has had many prosperous musicals such as West Side Story, Sunday in the Park with George, Assassins, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, and Into the Woods. These are only a few out of over twenty of the other musicals he has written. This man’s music is very different from music written by other composers. This certain kind of music has a unique sound that has clashing notes, yet is sounds satisfying and appeals to large audiences. Sondheim’s music is well-appreciated by many people of all ages. He has won eight Tony’s, more than any other composer. Sondheim sculpted the musicality of musical theatre into what it is today by …show more content…
He did not have any interest in music when he was younger. When he was a boy he had a high IQ, and he was competitive and sarcastic. Being a mathematician was what he wanted to be as he got older. Sondheim started his musical journey at the age of seven with piano lessons; he started to enjoy playing piano and eventually got to be a very musical person. Secrest stated that “All children had similar gifts, he believed, but their interests were not allowed to develop” (20). 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 …show more content…
Gypsy had many runs on Broadway. It was first opened on Broadway on May 21, 1959. Then on March 29, 1973 Gypsy opened in London; it moved from London to Broadway on September 23, 1974. This musical is known for its line, “sing out, Louise”, but it was actually not in the original script. As Dale states, “The musical's most famous line was not in the original script”(Broadwayworld.com). The original cast of Gypsy summoned many people to see this new show. Ethel Merman starred as Rose, and this is the role that she became famous for. Without this admirable musical many actors would not have had their start on broadway, and the inspiring line, “sing out, Louise” would not inspire performers of all
In June of 1925, Florence received vaudeville's highest honor. She was the star attraction at the Palace Theatre. By heading the bill at the Palace, she became the first black performer to have that honor.
so his love for music started when he was very young. When he was little, his
Aaron Copland and George Gershwin held multiple similarities throughout their pre-composing lives. The two were born around the same time, Gershwin being born September 26th of 1898 and Copland November 14th of 1900 both in Brooklyn New York. Both of the composers came from Russian Jewish immigrant families, and both developed into musical prodigies through piano teachers from the neighborhood which they both rapidly outgrew. It wasn’t until both men began their musical careers that stark differences arose between the two, mainly through their musical education and how immersion in American society versus European society affected their styles. Both artists are still considered to be the most widely celebrated and most successful modern American
The partnership of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein was made possible by Richard Rodgers’ partner, Hart, becoming increasingly difficult to get back to work. Rodgers wished to adapt the play Green Grow the Lilacs into a musical, but Hart wasn’t interested in the show. So, Rodgers took Oscar Hammerstein up on his offer to collaborate on a project. That project turned out to be the successful musical Oklahoma!
In an interview, Oscar Hammerstein II stated, “at the time I wrote the song, I was perfectly conscious of the risks, but if you know the deal about the technique of songs, one of the pleasures of working is breaking those rules every once in a while”. Rodgers and Hammerstein had many achievements with their shows and songs that resulted in fifteen Academy Awards, thirty-four Tony Awards, two Grammys, and the Pulitzer Prize through their compositions. Musical productions from this pair sparked controversy and interest making them to find it difficult in communicating their perspectives. In an interview, when asked about viewers’ conformity in reference to the musicals, Rogers explained that “the best way to project these things and to get a response from an audience is to do them in a way they were done originally after we got finished correcting them ourselves”. Rodgers and Hammerstein became the most successful partnership of the 20th century through this type of defiance and their
Nearly a century’s worth of compositions has earned Aaron Copland extensive recognition as the foremost American composer of his time. Ironically, Copland was raised the son of Russian Jewish immigrants and inhabitant of a colorless city environment, yet would become known for producing the music of “rugged-souled Americans” (Mellers 4). Unbounded by historical musical constraints such as those present in the culture of France, where Copland studied for many years, Copland found himself free to explore and experiment in pursuit of a unique, undoubtedly American sound.
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,
Israel Isidore Baline was born in the Russian village of Tyumen on May 11th, 1888. His family left in the mid 1890s to escape the persecution of the Jewish community and settled in New York City (biography.com). Israel dropped out of school at age thirteen (Kenrick 143). Baline was a street singer as a teen and in 1906 he got a job as a singing waiter in Chinatown (biography.com). The first song he ever had published was called “Marie From Sunny Italy” (biography.com). He wrote it in 1907 with Nick Nicholson writing the music. Baline’s name was misspelled on the sheet music as “I. Berlin” (biography.com). He decided to keep it and changed his name to Irving Berlin (biography.com) . It was in this way that the legend was born.
Her lasting career was not given to her easily, therefore, creating an inspiring story full of hardships and success. Ever since she was a little girl, her dream was to become a successful and famous dancer. In New York City, when she was trying to fulfill her dream, she was unable to find a job in the theatre department. Instead of being discouraged, she decided to make something good come from it. She choreographed her own routines, created her own costumes, and organized solo recitals for audiences to enjoy. This event led her to the biggest adventure in her life that would later impact the world. She was invited to return back to London to pursue her education in the performing arts, so that she could further improve her talents that would make up her entire career.
Based on a series of Brothers Grimm fairy tales, Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods (1987) focuses on fairy tale characters such as Cinderella, Jack and Little Red Riding Hood’s wish of life fulfillment. Numerous fairy tales are intertwined with one new tale in attempt to carry the childhood stories into an adult realm without ridding of their child-based sensibilities. (Knapp, 2009.) Little Red’s song, “I know things now” is performed after she escapes the wolf’s belly. It is a reflection song on what she has learnt from the experience of speaking to strangers. Sondheim cleverly integrates musical devises such as key, modulation, pitch, accompaniment, dynamics, motif and rhythm alongside language and literary devices to contribute to the development and growth of the character and story.
The period between early 1940s to mid-1960s or so, alternatively, the period between when the musical Oklahoma! (1943) was produced till the time when Hair (1968) was produced, is usually referred to as the Golden Age of the American musical (Kantor, 2010). It is during this period, that most of the noted titles such as “Carousel”, “South Pacific” etc. were produced. 1940s and early 1950s were dominated thoroughly by MGM musicals, while the late 1950s and 1960s belonged to Broadway. Initially, the musicals of this era had simple plots, unchallenging themes, with romantic or comedic characters and lots of singing and dancing. But towards the end of it, the plots were sophisticated, serious with singing, dancing as well as dialogue. In this paper, I choose to elaborate more on the musical – Arthur Laurents’s West Side Story. In the first part of this paper, I discuss the plot, songs and other aspects of the musical such as the awards etc. Later on, I explain how this musical revolutionized the theatre and the cultural effects it had on Americans. Finally, I conclude in the end the historical importance of this musical piece.
The musical Hamilton, by Lin-Manuel Miranda tells of Alexander Hamilton’s impressive journey from an all but irrelevant street child, to one of the most important men in American politics. It is based off of a true story of growth, heroism, and determination. In writing this musical, Miranda takes a dry, historic story, and turns it into a captivating performance. His project to take the story of Alexander Hamilton and make it relatable to the average American is extraordinarily successful, mostly because the methods by which he does this are unprecedented. His unique methods and practices have resulted in Hamilton being so popular that it was awarded a record breaking sixteen Tony nominations (Paulson). The musical tells how Hamilton doesn’t
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
Since both Prince’s mother and father were in the same jazz band, Prince’s journey to music had begun (Warren,2001). Prince had taught himself how to play the piano, guitar, and drums all by the mere age of only 14.
Musical theatre is a type of theatrical performance combining music, dance, acting and spoken dialogue. Written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, ‘West Side Story’ is a classic American musical based on William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The through-composed score and lyrics are used to portray different characters and their cultures, the rivalry between the Jets and Sharks, and the emotions felt as the story progresses. This essay will be exploring the music and how effective the score is in realising the world and characters of the musical. Furthermore, it will discuss how Bernstein and Sondheim relate characters’ diverse ethnicities to particular musical ideas and motifs.