Veteran biographer Secrest moves, logically, from Leonard Bernstein (1994) to one of his collaborators and friends—and one of the undoubted giants of the American theater—Stephen Sondheim. The decline of liberal-arts teaching in schools and colleges meant that the new audience was less cultured and intellectually oriented; wedded to television and movies, it wanted to be entertained rather than challenged.”, 42 New and Upcoming Historical Fiction Novels. Buy Stephen Sondheim: A Life First Edition by Secrest, Meryle (ISBN: 9780679448174) from Amazon's Book Store. His frequent collaborators – Arthur Laurents, Jerome Robbins, Hal Prince, and his leading ladies, Elaine Stritch, Bernadette Peters, Angela Lansbury – formed a stable, critical environment in which he could pursue his aims. ", In most respects Sondheim has done precisely what he wanted, which is a great part of his appeal; professionally, it gives rise to an integrity you don't get from focus-grouped, market-tested Broadway musicals that "draw in patrons mostly on the grounds of spectacle". Additionally his relationship with his mother Foxie is quite unusual. I would love to have had children; and if I'd been one generation later, I would have. Why would you think I would be?". A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler.Inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples.Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade No. Stephen Joshua Sondheim was born on March 22, 1930, in New York City. As for opera: "I've rarely seen an opera that I didn't think could be shorter. Buy Stephen Sondheim: A Life New edition by Secrest, Meryle (ISBN: 9780747544166) from Amazon's Book Store. The balance between personal narrative and deconstruction of Sondheim's work is perfectly kept throughout. More ", There is an assumption that Sondheim has devoted himself monk-like to art, but that's not true, he says. His new book, Finishing the Hat: The Collected Lyrics of Stephen Sondheim, with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes, sounds like a nerdy exercise only Sondheim fanatics might go for, an exposition of his work from 1954 (Saturday Night) to '81 (Merrily We Roll Along). This fellow had lived with somebody before and he knew more about it than I did. It lacked heart. The advantage of Sondheim's subject matter over that of the oyster farmer, of course, is the frisson of celebrity. "'Oh what a beautiful morning / oh what a beautiful day.' (Limit Time Offer) In the first full-scale life of the most important composer-lyricist at work in musical theatre today, Meryle Secrest, the biographer of Frank Lloyd Wright and Leonard Bernstein, draws on her extended conversations with Stephen Sondheim as well as on her interviews with his friends, … A composer-lyricist, Sondheim, who turns 85 in March, writes his songs within a context at once dramatic and musical. From what I remember, this was a really well-balanced book with the right amounts of celebrity anecdotes (e.g. Stephen Sondheim was the Turner Classic Movies programmer for March 22, 2005, the cable network's way of honoring him on his 75th birthday. May 19, 1999 The American Premiere of Saturday Night is produced by Chicago's Pegasus Players. Stephen Sondheim is a legend in the theatre world. Yes, Freud is here but, as in signature works like "Company," he is just one of the many voices buzzing around the central subject. The music teacher in question changed his life. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Hardcover. Into the woods to find there’s hope of getting through the journey.” ― Into The Woods “ Now his name is in lights as never before. Stephen Sondheim A Life|hysmyeongjostdmedium font size 12 format Thank you totally much for downloading stephen sondheim a life.Most likely you have knowledge that, people have see numerous times for their favorite books like this stephen sondheim a life, but end occurring in harmful downloads. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published I was so excited to read this but found the author’s style annoying and gave up. Secrest trudges from birth to the present moment (aka 1998) yet engages in just enough minor temporal toggling and tumbling to confuse; you'll realize all of a sudden that the event she is describing takes place three or four years later than the point in Sondheim's life where you. The Glamorous Life Stephen Sondheim. "Every single one of them was a failure. Clearly, I got through about 400 pages in a day. "He was very spit-spot Mary Poppins – he took all the romance out of music – and that appealed to me. A lengthy journey encompassing the intricacies of a complex human and figurehead of the American musical theatre, Secrest has summed up the insurmountable task perfectly: to document an artist's life through the perspective of his own artistic pursuits. The six films he picked for his birthday tribute were The Mind Reader (1933), starring the under-appreciated Warren William as a con-man posing as a clairvoyant; The Clock (1945), Vincente Minnelli's classic film of war-time love, starring … The point, he says, is that you can't second guess what will be popular. If anything, I was the kid. Stephen Sondheim says one of his cardinal rules is that form should follow function, and in that regard this biography falls far short of its subject: it's a clunky, uninteresting look at a sleek and fascinating life. Early Life and Musical Interests. The reviews on this are all over the place, some saying it has too many references to his work, some saying there aren't enough, some thinking it tries too hard to psychoanalyze the man, others feeling that personal details are still lacking. Lyrics are scrutinized for what they reveal about Sondheim's unresolved feelings about his mother, or for how they reflect changes in his personal life. During the first lecture, the students were played Debussy's La Mer, and the lecturer asked: "what does it sound like to you? He must've been a nightmare, by then, I imagine. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Sondheim, by many admissions (including his own) is a hard-working sad sack, whose deceivingly complex music and analytical lyrics come out of the poisoned privilege of his upbringing. Yes, Freud is here but, as in signature works like "Company," he is just one of the many voices buzzing around the central subject. He grew up the only child of a wealthy Manhattan couple who divorced when he was 10. And on the front it said, "off to the gym, then to a fitting". The problem with this biography, is that it tells you absolutely nothing about Stephen Sondheim, except that his mother was terrible to him, which I already knew. "Stephen Sondheim: A Life" by Meryle Secrest, a biography of one of my heroes. Secrest trudges from birth to the present moment (aka 1998) yet engages in just enough minor temporal toggling and tumbling to confuse; you'll realize all of a sudden that the event she is describing takes place three or four years later than the point in Sondheim's life where you are in the book. He wanted to be Poetic with a capital P. That's my idea of wrong. June 8th 1999 These were some of the wrangles he had with Bernstein while writing West Side Story, a job he won, at the age of 27, after a successful audition. It contributes to a regrettable "wetness", he writes, that persists "throughout all the romantic lyrics in the show", but which, he admits, "may very well have contributed to the score's popularity". It is a line from "The Ladies Who Lunch", from Company, which "became a sort of catchphrase among show queens". Free shipping for many products! Very Good in Very Good- unclipped dust jacket. The biggest misapprehension about Sondheim – that he puts intellect above feeling, as if the two aren't connected – rests, as he sees it, on a wrong-headed understanding of art; that it is driven by something imprecise and mystical, rather than hard, fast rules. I've been a fan of musicals for a long time. "I'm a great audience," he says. His father was a dress manufacturer and his mother was a fashion designer and interior decorator. Something in Sondheim rose up and responded, both to the down-to-earth approach and to the understanding that "music has that remarkable quality of suggesting things without being specific. Because the desire to make form out of chaos is why we write.". ", "It didn't annoy me, but it was difficult at times. Secrest traces Sondheim's early life in New York and his childhood friendship with another standout composer, Oscar Hammerstein. Prueba A missed opportunity, but I love his work so much I found it a compelling read. "I have not," he says drily, "been asked out of town, or for advice, for 40 years.". There were many many things I learned about him; most books i've read have only focused on his artistic process, so I appreciated getting a much more rounded picture of the life of a man I admire so deeply. Loved this book -- it was exactly what I was hoping for: a volume that would take all the well-known Sondheim facts and anecdotes and put them in a richly detailed comprehensive context. I loved the description of a scavenger hunt he devised with Tony Perkins that took four groups of friends all over Manhattan. There aren't that many biographies of Sondheim, a private man, so this is an important book. A composer-lyricist, Sondheim, who turns 85 in March, writes his songs within a context at once dramatic and musical. I want to know exactly how you raise oysters.". We’d love your help. Secrest alternates between making sweeping, facile, Freudian conclusions about Sondheim and then glossing over what seem to be really important aspects of his life (Sondheim's later-in-life on-again-off-again relationship with the much younger "P.J." One of the only biographies available on Stephen Sondheim. Stephen SONDHEIM (naskiĝis la 22-an de marto 1930 en Novjorko) estas usona muzikala komponisto kaj -tekstverkisto. The point was, I knew he was proud of me.". That's what art is about. Stephen Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist that has been active in musical theatre since 1954.With a catalogue including West Side Story, Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd, Sondheim was once named one of the greatest lyricists ever by Cameron Mackintosh. Meryle Secrest has written a definitive biography of Stephen Sondheim, tracing his life through the late 1990s. Parts were interesting -- especially the overviews of those less-famous shows I knew little about -- but overall I found this a very dull read. That said the man inspires those who do not normally enjoy musicals. Getting to tag along to one of these amateur productions was a highlight of my nerdy-kid life. Refresh and try again. . Forum was a success, although his pride was hurt when it swept the 1962 Tonys in almost every category except Best Score. No Broadway scores have been analyzed more exhaustively than Sondheim's, but … He cried so hard, he later told the New York Times, that he stained Dorothy Hammerstein's fur stole. Buy Cheap Stephen Sondheim: A Life . In the first full-scale life of the most important composer-lyricist at work in musical theatre today, Meryle Secrest, the biographer of Frank Lloyd Wright and Leonard Bernstein, draws on her extended conversations with Stephen Sondheim as well as on her interviews with his friends, family, collaborators, and lovers to bring us not only the artist--as a master of Meryle Secrest was born and educated in Bath, England, and lives in Washington, DC. W hen Stephen Sondheim was in his 30s, he would get approached, occasionally, by out-of-town theatre companies, struggling with a production. "In the case of Seurat, the whole idea is that concentration gets in the way of his personal life. . Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Stephen Sondheim : A Life by Meryle Secrest (1999, Trade Paperback) at the best online prices at eBay! I'm sure that no one will be at all surprised to learn that as soon as this book was added to the BARD (Braille and audio reading download) collection, it went right to the top of my "to read" list. Too many snarky side comments for me. ", Sondheim has often said that his career has been an exercise in figuring out what went wrong with the second half of Allegro, the Rodgers and Hammerstein flop that mystified audiences, in the middle of their run of huge successes. He supposes he worked 12-hour days on Gypsy, but only rarely has he felt too exhausted by work. Of all the tributes bestowed on Stephen Sondheim, the most revealing is the birthday concert. GET SPECIAL PRICES NOW! If you write it and it's clear and they don't like it, that's not your fault. In honor of his birthday, here are some of Stephen's most important life lessons. From the age of 61 he cohabited for some years with Peter Jones, a dramatist. by Delta. The stuff about Harold Prince ,Leonard Bernstein, and Lee Remick is fascinating. It's all been work, work, work. You only have to look at that body of work to realise what a contribution he's made to the theatre. Her won the Hutchinson prize to study music composition … He was tickled, once, while walking through Greenwich Village, to see "a guy came along the street wearing a muscle T-shirt, very tight. He is always concentrating on this fucking painting. You only have to look at that body of work to realise what a contribution he's made to the theatre. The Hammersteins, friends of his parents, had more or less adopted him, and that night at the theatre he was utterly transported.
Circulator Pump Constantly Running, Arma 3 Italian Army Ww2, Working At Beca, Angels And Outlaws Bail Bonds, Ruger 270 Extended Magazine, Se Fl Fishing Reports, Yang Xiao Linkedin, What Is A Owl Worth In Adopt Me 2021, Acetaminophen Ir Spectrum Labeled Chegg, Bias Fx Pedal Models, Brazil Meteor October 2020, Sea Of Thieves Item Storage, Dream Of Someone Protecting Me,