How Sondheim Found His Sound

Author/creator Swayne, Steve Author
Format Electronic
Publication InfoAnn Arbor : University of Michigan Press
Description336 p. ill 09.250 x 06.130 in.
Supplemental ContentFull text available from Ebook Central - Academic Complete
Subjects

Summary Annotation <div><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">&ldquo;Steve Swayne&#8217;s<i>How Sondheim Found His Sound</i>is a fascinating treatment and remarkable analysis of America&#8217;s greatest playwright in song. His marvelous text goes a long way toward placing Stephen Sondheim among the towering artists of the late twentieth century!&#8221;</p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">&mdash;Cornel West, Princeton University</p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">&#160;</p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">&ldquo;Sondheim&#8217;s career and<i>music</i>have never been so skillfully dissected, examined, and put in context. With its focus on his work as composer, this book is surprising and welcome.&#8221;</p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">&mdash;Theodore S. Chapin, President and Executive Director, The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization</p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">&#160;</p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">&ldquo;. . . an intriguing &lsquo;biography&#8217; of the songwriter&#8217;s style. . . . Swayne is to be congratulated for taking the study of this unique composer/lyricist into hitherto unnavigated waters.&#8221;</p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">&mdash;<i>Stage Directions</i></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">&#160;</p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">&ldquo;The research is voluminous, as are the artistry and perceptiveness. Swayne has lived richly within the world of Sondheim&#8217;s music.&#8221;</p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">&mdash;Richard Crawford, author of<i>America&#8217;s Musical Life: A History</i></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">&#160;</p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">&ldquo;Amid the ever-more-crowded bookshelf of writings on Sondheim, Swayne&#8217;s analysis of Sondheim&#8217;s development as a composer stands up as a unique and worthy study. . . . For the Sondheim aficionados, there are new ideas and new information, and for others, Swayne&#8217;s<i>How Sondheim Found His Sound</i>will provide an intriguing introduction into the mind of arguably the greatest and most influential living Broadway composer.&#8221;</p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">&mdash;<i>talkinbroadway.com</i></p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">&#160;</p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">&ldquo;What a fascinating book, full of insights large and small. An impressive analysis and summary of Sondheim&#8217;s many sources of inspiration. All fans of the composer and lovers of Broadway in general will treasure and frequently refer to Swayne&#8217;s work.&#8221;</p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">&mdash;Tom Riis, Joseph Negler Professor of Musicology and Director of the American Music Research Center, University of Colorado</p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">&#160;</p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">Stephen Sondheim has made it clear that he considers himself a &ldquo;playwright in song.&#8221; How he arrived at this unique appellation is the subject of<i>How Sondheim Found His Sound</i>&mdash;an absorbing study of the multitudinous influences on Sondheim&#8217;s work.</p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">&#160;</p><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%">Taking Sondheim&#8217;s own comments and music as a starting point, author Steve Swayne offers a biography of the artist&#8217;s style, pulling aside the curtain on Sondheim&#8217;s creative universe to reveal the many influences&mdash;from classical music to theater to film&mdash;that have established Sondheim as one of the greatest dramatic composers of the twentieth century.</p></div>
Access restrictionAvailable only to authorized users.
Technical detailsMode of access: World Wide Web
Genre/formElectronic books.
ISBN9780472032297
ISBN0472032291 (Perfect) Active Record
Standard identifier# 9780472032297
Stock number00027280