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Items Interview with Stephen Sondheim, 1971-11-12

Interview with Stephen Sondheim, 1971-11-12

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LIBRARY DIVISION
Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound

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COLLECTION
Interviews for the book "They're playing our song"

This Item

Interview with Stephen Sondheim, 1971-11-12

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Title
Interview with Stephen Sondheim, 1971-11-12
Additional title: They're playing our song
Names
Sondheim, Stephen (Interviewee)
Wilk, Max (Interviewer)
Collection

Interviews for the book "They're playing our song"

Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1971-11-12
Library locations
Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound
Shelf locator: *LDC 53174
Shelf locator: *LT-10 2180
Topics
Sondheim, Stephen
Lyricists -- United States
Composers -- United States
Genres
Interviews
Notes
Source note: Title supplied by cataloger from information on the original container.
Content: Original interview conducted by Max Wilk, playwright, screenwriter and author of fiction and nonfiction books, for the book "They're playing our song" published in 1973.
Venue: Recorded in New York City 1971 November 12.
Additional physical form: Also available on CD (1 audio disc : digital, mono ; 4 3/4 in.) copied from archival original in *LDC 53174.
Physical Description
Audiotape reel
Extent: 1 audiotape reel (approximately 60 min.) : analog, 7 1/2 ips., 1/2 track mono ; 10 in.
Description
Stephen Sondheim, a composer and lyricist, speaks about Oscar Hammerstein's, Burt Shevelove's and Arthur Laurents' influence on his lyric writing and points out the principles he considers the most important: clarity of expression; the importance of thought before expression (that is, more stress on the idea than the rhyme); the notion and significance of the subtext in a play; having staging in mind while composing a song for a musical; and writing songs from a playwriting perspective. He demonstrates these ideas by analyzing his musicals "Gypsy" and "Westside story," and discusses other topics such as why he doesn't want to collaborate with composers anymore and instead writes his own music; his talented associates (J. Robbins, L. Bernstein, J. Styne, A. Laurents); what he doesn't like about Larry Hart's lyrics and how Rodgers and Hart worked when they were a team; writing hit songs versus musicals; and more.
Type of Resource
Sound recording
Languages
English
Identifiers
RLIN/OCLC: 879645072
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b20202445
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 8625bd20-b3f7-0133-d3b5-3c07547a230f
Rights Statement
The copyright and related rights status of this item has been reviewed by The New York Public Library, but we were unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the item. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.

Item timeline of events

  • 1971: Created
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, The New York Public Library. "Interview with Stephen Sondheim, 1971-11-12" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1971. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/8882d6f0-b3f7-0133-91d0-3c07547a230f

Chicago/Turabian Format

Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, The New York Public Library. "Interview with Stephen Sondheim, 1971-11-12" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 26, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/8882d6f0-b3f7-0133-91d0-3c07547a230f

APA Format

Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, The New York Public Library. (1971). Interview with Stephen Sondheim, 1971-11-12 Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/8882d6f0-b3f7-0133-91d0-3c07547a230f

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/8882d6f0-b3f7-0133-91d0-3c07547a230f | title= (sound recording) Interview with Stephen Sondheim, 1971-11-12, (1971)|author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=April 26, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

Interview with Stephen Sondheim, 1971-11-12