Product Description

Sondheim on Music is primarily a transcript of a series of interviews with Stephen Sondheim, focusing on his work as a composer. During the interviews, he and the author look through Sondheim's manuscripts and sketches and discuss the creative process. The discussions focus on six shows: Passion, Assassins, Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, Sweeney Todd, and Pacific Overtures, but every Sondheim score comes up in conversation. Among the topics discussed, are how Sondheim approaches musicalizing characters and dramatic moments, how motifs and thematic material are created and used, how harmony, melody, and rhythm reflect character, the structuring of a score, the use of pastiche, and the practical aspects of collaboration.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #151347 in Books
• Published on: 2003-01-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 416 pages

About the Author
"Mark Eden Horowitz is Senior Music Specialist at the Library of Congress where he has worked as archivist or co-archivist for the Library's collections of the manuscrips and papers of: Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Vernon Duke, Jascha Heifetz, Jerome Kern, Frederick Loewe, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, and Vincent Youmans."

Customer Reviews

Into The Goods
This is a great collection of transcripts of a long form interview with Stephen Sondheim. It starts with "Passion" his most recent work at the time of writing, and works backward chronologically. While quite musically deep, there is still something for everyone...not just the musicologist. Well worth the read!

A treasure trove of knowledge if you have music theory background
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.

My sole gripe with this book comes from the fact that it is a 401 page book and only 168 of these pages are devoted to the interview. The rest are filled with a list of songs that Sondheim wishes he had written (and the reply from the composers chosen) and a full discography. When I saw the size of the book initially I was overjoyed to think that every one of the pages was slathered with musical knowledge. When I read the interviews and found them stopping half way through the book I was crushed. With this I felt the need to shave a star off the rating of this book.

Whether you are an avid fan, an aspiring writer or someone who is interested in learning something new about music I would suggest investing in this book. It sheds a light on how this amazing writer brings order to his musical universe.

Excellent insight, but couldn't there have been more?
This is a great book for the Sondheim aficionado. I learned a lot about the technical aspects of his style. My only complaint is that Merrily We Roll Along is mentioned only briefly in the book. I consider Merrily to be one of Sondheim's three best scores, and its absence made very little sense. Further, all Sondheim musicals pre-Overtures are also absent (perhaps more understandable because I suppose Sondheim remembers those less and there was little time in the interviews). Nevertheless, for the hefty price I would have expected more info. Perhaps a second volume?