Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim is one of the greatest composers and lyricists of the twentieth century. He has created some of Broadway's most beloved musicals and won multiple awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award, and Academy Award.

Stephen Joshua Sondheim was born to a Jewish family in 1930 in New York City. His parents divorced when he was a young child, so he was sent to music lessons in order to express himself. Sondheim's early musical influences include Gershwin, Kern, and Rodgers. In 1950, after graduating from Williams College, Sondheim interned with Oscar Hammerstein II. Hammerstein became his mentor and encouraged Sondheim to cultivate his own style and approach to songwriting.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Sondheim collaborated with a number of authors and librettists, including Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins for West Side Story, which opened in 1957 and won him his first Tony Award for Best Score. He followed West Side Story with a series of musicals, including Gypsy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, and Sweeney Todd.

Sondheim's works explore a range of themes, from the human condition and relationships to the passing of time and death. His best-known songs include "Send In the Clowns," "Losing My Mind," and "Being Alive." He has composed some of the most complex and sophisticated musical expression ever heard on the stage, and his lyrics often contain wit and wordplay.

In addition to writing for the stage, Sondheim has composed for the big screen, most notably with the 1993 film Revisionist by filmmaker Cidney Schwalm. Sondheim was awarded his first Academy Award in 1979 for his work on the film All That Jazz.

Throughout his career, Sondheim has been celebrated for his work. He was awarded the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1970, the Pulitzer Prize for Sunday in the Park with George in 1985, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 1993. Sondheim's influence can be heard in the works of contemporary composers and lyricists, such as Lin-Manuel Miranda, who cited Sondheim as an inspiration for his musical Hamilton.

Even in his eighties, Sondheim continues to compose and be an icon for both the theatre world and popular culture. In 2019, the film The Last Thing He Wanted, based on a novel by Joan Didion, featured the Sondheim song “Losing My Mind”. His works will continue to inspire audience and community members alike for generations to come.