American involvement in ww2
Matthew Stubblefield
Ms. Powell
English 3 —Period 5
20 May 2014
Stephen Sondheim and American Music Since its early roots in vaudeville, Broadway music has infused popular culture. Composers like Cole Porter and Irving Berlin not only scored the music of hit shows of the early part of the decade, but also provided the soundtrack for American life. As the face of American music changed from jazz to hip hop, Broadway’s role in popular culture began to shift. One composer, however, has continued to make his mark on both the Great White Way and the national consciousness. Stephen Sondheim, who began his career as a composer and lyricist in 1954 (Sondheim 5), is the greatest composer of the 20th century. His influence on his peers and popular culture separate him from his contemporaries and distinguish him as the preeminent American composer of his time. Sondheim began his career under the tutelage of Oscar Hammerstein III, father of American musical theatre (PBS). Although originally only a lyricist (providing the lyrics for the songs Hammerstein wrote), Sondheim was encouraged to try his hand at musical composition as well (Swain 641). Sondheim’s big break, however, came in 1957 when he teamed up with Jerome Robbins, Arthur Laurents and Leonard Bernstein to provide lyrics for West Side Story. Running nearly 800 performances in its original run, West Side Story was a bona fide hit and immediately thrust Sondheim to the front of the American stage (Sondheim 7). Over the course of the next 50 years, Sondheim would compose music and write lyrics for over 20 shows, including Gypsy, Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods. In that time, he’s won more Tony awards than any other Broadway composer (Theatre Wing), received a Pulitzer Prize for Sunday in the Park with George, was honored with the Kennedy Center’s Lifetime Achievement Award and even an Oscar for Best Song (NPR). However, it is not Sondheim’s accolades that distinguish him from his
Ms. Powell
English 3 —Period 5
20 May 2014
Stephen Sondheim and American Music Since its early roots in vaudeville, Broadway music has infused popular culture. Composers like Cole Porter and Irving Berlin not only scored the music of hit shows of the early part of the decade, but also provided the soundtrack for American life. As the face of American music changed from jazz to hip hop, Broadway’s role in popular culture began to shift. One composer, however, has continued to make his mark on both the Great White Way and the national consciousness. Stephen Sondheim, who began his career as a composer and lyricist in 1954 (Sondheim 5), is the greatest composer of the 20th century. His influence on his peers and popular culture separate him from his contemporaries and distinguish him as the preeminent American composer of his time. Sondheim began his career under the tutelage of Oscar Hammerstein III, father of American musical theatre (PBS). Although originally only a lyricist (providing the lyrics for the songs Hammerstein wrote), Sondheim was encouraged to try his hand at musical composition as well (Swain 641). Sondheim’s big break, however, came in 1957 when he teamed up with Jerome Robbins, Arthur Laurents and Leonard Bernstein to provide lyrics for West Side Story. Running nearly 800 performances in its original run, West Side Story was a bona fide hit and immediately thrust Sondheim to the front of the American stage (Sondheim 7). Over the course of the next 50 years, Sondheim would compose music and write lyrics for over 20 shows, including Gypsy, Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods. In that time, he’s won more Tony awards than any other Broadway composer (Theatre Wing), received a Pulitzer Prize for Sunday in the Park with George, was honored with the Kennedy Center’s Lifetime Achievement Award and even an Oscar for Best Song (NPR). However, it is not Sondheim’s accolades that distinguish him from his