Back ستيفن سونديم Arabic ستيفن سونديم ARZ استیون سوندهایم AZB Stephen Sondheim Catalan Stephen Sondheim Czech Stephen Sondheim Welsh Stephen Sondheim Danish Stephen Sondheim German Στίβεν Σόντχαϊμ Greek Stephen Sondheim Esperanto
Stephen Sondheim | |
|---|---|
 Sondheim, c. 1976 | |
| Born | March 22, 1930 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | November 26, 2021 (aged 91) Roxbury, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Education | Williams College (BA) |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, lyricist |
| Years active | 1952–2021 |
| Spouse |
Jeffrey Romley (m. 2017) |
| Awards | See Full list |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Musical theater |
Stephen Joshua Sondheim (/ˈsɒndhaɪm/; March 22, 1930 – November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical.[1] He received numerous accolades including eight Tony Awards, an Academy Award, eight Grammy Awards, an Olivier Award, and the Pulitzer Prize. He was inducted in the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1982, and awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 1993 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.[2]
Sondheim was mentored at an early age by Oscar Hammerstein II and later frequently collaborated with Harold Prince and James Lapine. Sondheim's Broadway musicals tackled unexpected themes that ranged beyond the genre's traditional subjects, while addressing darker elements of the human experience.[3][4] His music and lyrics are tinged with complexity, sophistication, and ambivalence about various aspects of life.[5][6]
He began his career by writing the lyrics for both West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959). He transitioned to writing both music and lyrics, including for five works that earned Tony Awards for Best Musical: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), Company (1970), A Little Night Music (1973), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979), and Passion (1994). He is also known for Follies (1971), Pacific Overtures (1976), Merrily We Roll Along (1981), Sunday in the Park with George (1984), Into the Woods (1987), and Assassins (1990).
A theater is named after him both on Broadway and in the West End of London. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Sooner or Later" from Dick Tracy (1990). Numerous projects of his have been adapted for film including West Side Story (1961), Gypsy (1962), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966), A Little Night Music (1977), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Into the Woods (2014), and West Side Story (2021). He published three books including two involving his collected lyrics.
- ^ "Remarks by the President at Medal of Freedom Ceremony". White House. November 24, 2015. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2019 – via National Archives.
- ^ "Winners". tonyawards.com. Archived from the original on October 3, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
- ^ "About Stephen Sondheim". Everything Sondheim. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
- ^ Weber, Bruce (July 31, 2019). "Hal Prince, Giant of Broadway and Reaper of Tonys, Dies at 91". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 1, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
ReferenceAwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "The Bard of Ambivalence". Jewish Currents. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search