I will miss this stranger more than some people I have met. It's like I lost a father and he never even met me, and yet has shaped who I am as a person in such a profound way. I cannot fathom his passing still, not fully, it's not right somehow, I hope he knew his impact. May his memory be a blessing.
I really relate to this comment. My composition teacher often talks about that feeling when you connect so deeply with a piece of music that it feels like the composer is speaking to you, directly to you. I feel that way about so much of Sondheim's music, and after reading his books and watching so many of his interviews it feels like I know him so well. Thank you so, so much, Sondheim, for teaching us how to see. RIP
"I will miss this stranger more than some people I have met." Truer words and very beautifully said. I am neither a musician nor a performer but a lover of musical theater, which he made into a religion for me. Many of his songs have been like sermons about God, love, and life...all the challenges that come with each. "Yesterday is done", "Now you know, life is crummy so now you know". "Move on". Yes, all about "Being alive". My heart sank when I'd heard that he had died, but his memory is indeed a blessing. As for his impact, he's been gone almost 2 years and here in 2023 he's still a hit on Broadway!
@ samanthakerger3273 What a lovely tribute to an obviously shyish, extremely talented artist.He appears to be so thoughtful and kind but also direct and would tolerate nothing fake or superficial, a sharp mind and polite and thoughtful ....a great person .
I'd like to think Steve knew that by leaving so many of these conversations about his process around he will never be missed. It doesn't feel like he's gone. And every one of them can be watched repeatedly to just hear him talk - just like his songs his conversational style of speaking is very musical. What an amazing artist. We are the lucky ones. Thanks for making more. RIP
And, since Steve's passing there is a flood of these interviews where he participated with such animation a sign of how much he cherished his role of teacher. Regardless of interviewer the Sondheim flash occurred at the teachable moments; his soul woke up and he taught this and future generations of viewers. The more I watch the younger he becomes.
1:01:28 (describing Oscar Hammerstein) "My life was saved by teachers, first a Latin teacher.... and then Oscar Hammerstein, who was a teacher, who, just before he died, gave me a portrait of himself, and I asked him to inscribe it, which is weird, when ... it's like asking your father to inscribe something... and he wrote... _for Stevie, my friend and teacher_ ... and that describes Oscar better than any other way I can describe him." "He understood .. in _The King And I_ he said _By your pupils you are taught_ " ... [other teachers] "... Milton Babbit and then my collaborators like Arthur Lawrence taught me a lot... and Burt Shevelov ...and Hal Prince .. so teaching, to me is a necessity. I can't live without it."
Two months ago I commented below how much this wonderful man means to me - and it breaks me heart to have to now talk about him in the past tense. Steve, all I can really say - all I'm sure so many people can say - is THANK YOU. Thank you for teaching me how to express myself through music and lyrics. Thank you for opening my ears, my mind, and my heart. While you may be gone, your music and legacy shall live on until the end of time. I will carry with me, forever, the words that I live by each day: "Anything you do, let it come from you, then it will be new." You gave us more to see Steve, and we are all better for it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Stephen Sondheim’s words are “jaw-dropping”! Once upon a time, he kindly gave me feedback on a few songs during a Workshop. In one magical moment, this playwright embraced being a Songwriter, & a Librettist. He changed my creative life forever....am forever grateful to him. And to the DGA. Forever. Sincerely, Maureen Barnes. ⚓️🦋
This is the best Sondheim interview I've seen, and I've seen a lot. Sondheim is so consistent in what he talks about that if you watch lots of footage, he can get pretty boring. This one however, probably because he's being interviewed by a close family friend / mentee, really explores some new territory, and he lets his guard down a bit.
I think, besides the excellent observations you make, Adam didn't ask (and didn't feel the need to ask) the usual, pardon the swearing, bullshit journalist questions like "What was Ethel Merman really like?" and "You REALLY don't like 'I Feel Pretty?'" I think Steve's interviews depend on the person interviewing him, and not just how comfortable he is with him, but how interested they are in him beyond the usual stuff. As it would be for any artist.
I agree... the very best Sondheim interview ever. He seems so comfortable speaking with Adam Guettel. I suppose because he is the son of a very good friend, Mary Rogers. I found it interesting at times when Sondheim would ask Adam about his approach to writing.... Sondheim is so very candid in this interview. Thanks so much for sharing.
I think a lot of the good stuff in this interview comes from his comfort level with Adam due to familiarity and also they are talking exactly the same language about writing for the theatre. They are working peers so to speak, I'm not referring to talent but work.
His passing brought me back here after a year of not seeing it, the world will never be the same. Stephen, thank you for finishing so many hats for us. Thank you for everything.
I'm in the middle of writing my own show at the moment - and adaptation - and am currently working with a collaborator. And I've come back to this interview almost every week. It is full of knowledge. I'll send my collaborator a quote every other day, and then say "ooo we should try doing it this way". I owe so much of who I am as a writer to Stephen Sondheim, and I know there are thousands of writers who could most definitely say the same thing. Thank you for being such a wonderful teacher Steve.
Sondheims mantra @ 48:35 , three principles for lyric writing : 1. Content dictates form and style 2. Less is more 3. God is in the details Above all, clarity
For the first point, I wonder how much he'd ever considered the reverse. There is this idea in media studies that "The medium IS the message." Maybe he already took the medium for granted I guess, but this idea can help you think about the things that musical theatre highlights over traditional plays or movies. And with that understanding, you can lean into them.
My heart is devestated. There will NEVER ever be another Stephen Sondheim. An unforgettable genius who changed the face on how we see Live Theater today. Thank you for inspiring me to be the artist that I want to be. RIP
This is amazing! It's great to see two professionals discussing these insider topics; these aren't the sort of questions people outside the profession or even novices would think of, but only someone who has had experience and already crafted their own approach to music-writing would know to ask. The answers were also only possible because the question comes from a place of knowledge; often I don't even necessarily know what Guettel was aiming for, but Sondheim knows what he's asking because they're sitting from the same perspective. And the answers aren't to show the right way to do things, just what had worked for Sondheim or what made sense to him. Fascinating!
Stunning. Thank you so much. I was shocked to hear Sondheim say that Richard Rodgers' scores after the King and I are plodding and not up to the standards his earlier work. But it's true because Rodgers' earlier work is so miraculous. I also loved his observation about Hammerstein's lyrics. While not diminishing his genius or legacy in any way, it's true that too many characters in a Hammerstein show are nature lovers to an implausable degree. Pretty lyrics versus character-driven lyrics.
This is so inspiring and wonderful to watch! Two amazing artists at the top of their craft exploring every bit of their processes and how they differ and how they’re similar! Also loved hearing their musical influences and who they look up to, so I can venture into those avenues and get a better sense of these artists as artists and also humans 💖💖
I am so glad I found this. I've done 3 Sondheim shows (Into the Woods, twice). The first, A Little Night Music, in New York, in 1981. It was a great production. Sondheim and Prince came to see it. One of my memories......
It’s fascinating to compare Sondheim with another musical genius and contemporary, Burt Bacharach. Bacharach was about the music, the charts, the celebration of the arrangement. He cared much less about the lyrics. Sondheim was about melody and, most importantly, the libretto and it’s clean articulation. His arrangements and instrumentation were understated and never competed with the vocalist. Tunic was brilliant in supporting the vocals but not competing with them.
I don’t know if I would say Bacharach doesn’t or didn’t care about lyrics; he just wasn’t a lyricist (or at least not until very late in his career, and then just briefly). Sondheim doesn’t arrange at all in the sense of orchestration (using the term “orchestration” broadly to include scoring for ensembles that would never be considered orchestras as well for as more-or-less conventional orchestras.). Bacharach usually does arrange in this sense, and his arrangements are a significant part of his distinctive sound. With very few, not very notable exceptions, Sondheim writes strictly for the theatre, whereas Bacharach has written only once for the theatre. That show, “Promises, Promises”, superficially resembled just one of Sondheim’s musicals, “Company”, which is more just a matter of freak happenstance. What Bacharach and Sondheim have in common is that they’re around the same age; they’re both formally trained as composers; they’re both perfectionists; and they were both less conservative with time signatures, phrase-length, and harmonic structure than most others working in their field in the eras in which they came into prominence.
Thank you, Adam Guettel and the Dramatists Guild, for this amazing interview! It is probably the most complete, encompassing interview I've ever seen with the legendary Stephen Sondheim. Well done! 👏💗
It's odd that there is no indication of when this interview took place, not even a copyright date. The only clue I found was at 40:25 Sondheim points to a drawing on the wall and says it was drawn by Larry Gelbart "who just died last week." That would make it September 2009.
I am delighted that a number of you watched and enjoyed this "Master Class," interview with Stephen Sondheim by Adam Guettel (Richard Rodgers' grandson and a songwriter in his own right). !!!
This was such a wonderful, inspiring and insightful interview! Mr. Sondheim was very candidly forthcoming with information and Adam Guettel asked intelligent and useful questions.
It’s so odd to see people badmouthing Guettel’s attitude toward Sondheim in this (brilliant) interview. Mary Rodgers, Guettel’s mother, was one of Sondheim’s closest friends. Guettel grew up having Sondheim as essentially a member of the family. He’s not casual with Sondheim because he’s rude-it’s because Sondheim is his mentor and practically his uncle. If you were interviewing a relative you were close to, I doubt you’d treat them with the kind of distant deference that these commenters seem to expect of Guettel.
Been on a Sondheim bender this week, may he rest in peace, and this is the motherlode. Great, relaxed conversation, but solid gold content. Thanks for posting it.
What a wonderful hour. Significantly we might note Mr. Sondheim teared up more speaking of those who taught him than when Adam thanked him or in speaking about his own teaching. Showing appreciation clearly was important to both of these creative men. And, Adam, if you're reading this: excellent job and I'm so grateful to have been a the fly on the wall during your visit.
In 1973 I was told I would play controller shoe and anyone can whistle as part of the second generation teen theater group at the now long dead Washington theater club once a major independent theater in Washington DC having performed it two further times playing Dr detmold and treasurer Cooley I became inoculated with Sondheim from the first... My girlfriend was a friend of Herbert's in the '60s and met Steven more than once to her recollection recollection and I have to give you the highest praise for an important piece of the puzzle that is America's Beethoven Steven Sondheim Sondheim!!
This was a simply brilliant conversation between two geniuses of the theatre - and all-time theatre hall-of-famer in Sondheim, and in my estimation, a future hall-of-famer in Adam Guettel. We have lost a giant, and oh my God that comes through so clearly in this fascinating, deeply absorbing conversation. I agree with others who note Sondheim’s comfort level with not just a fellow composer, but with this particular fellow composer, who connects Sondheim back to his roots and the most important influence in his life. It is so utterly sad that this brilliant voice has been silenced, but his immense contribution to musical theatre is something to be cherished forever.
Reflecting on what Stephen said about composer over 50 not writing much anymore, I have begun in my 50s (after many years of book writing previously) and hope it's just a matter of how much musical theatre you have written, rather than being over a certain age, that might slow you down.
My understanding is the pressure he was talking about was coming from his perceived expectations of other people. Good luck with your composing, I'm sure it will be awesome and you'll have years of experience to draw on to enhance your work
There's a great quote from the film Steve Jobs: "It's not binary. You can be decent and gifted at the same time." Sondheim, as well as so many of the guys and gals filmed for this series are perfect examples of this, and I think it's a wonderful lesson to aspiring dramatists and, really, anyone who wants to be successful in any industry. That's why they appeal to me more than famous people in other fields. I hope one day I get to meet them in person. Thanks DGA
@@reasonrestored9116 It's not a Steve Jobs quote, it's a quote in the film "Steve Jobs" written by Aaron Sorkin. The line is delivered to Jobs by Steve Wozniak.
48:34 "I have a mantra (which consists of three principles) which is: content dictates form and style; less is more; and God is in the details ... and I think if you pay attention to those three, you can't write bad." ... "Just stick to those principles ... they're just hard to stick to, that's all." "That's all you need to know..." "...and economy is... CLARITY is above all CLARITY is what it's about as you know" ... "clarity of diction ... the words have got to sit on the music in such a way" ... and clarity of thought make very clear to the audience... can have mystery to it... make very clear to the audience what you mean.... and be sure that the character... the performer ... particularly when the strait-jacket of my music... can get the words out.... so that .. only need one listening and you get exactly what... that's very hard to do... but if you do it ... you can't write bad."
This is possibly the best Sondheim conversation/interview I've ever heard!! To listen to these two geniuses discuss is elating, moving, and profoundly educational Thank you DGF for doing it and sharing it.
"Music by David Shire" [!!] For anyone wondering why that's interesting, David Shire wrote the dance arrangements for Company, back in 1970. Another fun tidbit from Company! Adam Guettel's parents are offstage characters in it: _"Hank and Mary get into town tomorrow!"_
I wholeheartedly agree with the other commentators here. This hour spent with gifted composer Adam Guettel interviewing Broadway titan Stephen Sondheim is priceless. The content is educational and inspiring. Not only was Sondheim an innovative genius as a composer, but he is obviously a brilliant and compassionate teacher. Despite his magnificent career and richly deserved success, he retains his humility and perspective. He's a good man.
Sondheim comes off as a very decent fellow, a human being, just as I saw in his master classes. His music doesn't really interest me too much, though I've gotten used to Night Music. But he was trying to separate himself from the music-oriented heritage of Rodgers and Hammerstein. He knows so much about creating a musical - the element of surprise for example. His goal is to give the audience a wonderful experience, and that is a noble ideal.
This is more precious than gold. More insights in a brief hour than in years of study. Reminds us how lucky we were to have this brilliant man share his work with us, to have lived in the same era with him.
I am so touched by this interview. Seeing it will change the way I see my next musical! I intend to see as many of his plays as I can and I will see them with more enjoyment because of knowing what he was trying to do with the music. I'll watch this video again. It's a great lesson. I'm coming back, in my next life, with a music talent.
Thank you for this interview. I've just watched it after Sondheim's passing. Mourning and being sad that I'll never get to meet him in person. But also happy that we have his legacy, this conversation included, to guide us through and further.
This is just a fantastic interview. "Miss me but let me go" truly applies here. A fantastic life that left great foot prints. Informative, and especially for those who followed theater music.