Remembering Stephen Sondheim | NYT News

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ย. 2021
  • In a never-before-seen interview, Stephen Sondheim sat down with The New York Times in June 2008 to talk about his life, career and accomplishments.
    Read the story here: nyti.ms/3cUFrRn
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ความคิดเห็น • 102

  • @9455paul
    @9455paul 2 ปีที่แล้ว +282

    "Sometimes people leave you halfway through the wood. Do not let it grieve you, no one leaves for good."
    May his memory be a blessing

    • @Kristine_202
      @Kristine_202 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Sutton Foster wrote, "There are giants...In the sky." Stephen certainly was a giant. I'd love to think that he's up in heaven right now writing another musical, and someday we'll join him and get to hear it.

  • @rollothecat2010
    @rollothecat2010 2 ปีที่แล้ว +91

    I am grateful we had Stephen Sondheim for as long as we did.
    I have always loved "Send in the Clowns", it is bittersweet like life itself.

    • @ThePlutarch44
      @ThePlutarch44 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      I remember the original cast production. I was living in Montreal and decided to go to New York (by bus!) with a friend -- an overnight bus. I had received the tickets by mail, so we ventured down to see the show. I will always remember Glynis Johns who couldn't "sing" but could put across a song like "Send in the Clowns with great feeling. Sondheim wrote the song for her. The song and the show were (are still) great.

  • @DMaggieMagee
    @DMaggieMagee 2 ปีที่แล้ว +34

    I walked out of the Broadway matinee of Company on Friday, basking in the glow of Sondheim's brilliance and the stunning cast who'd realized his vision and turned on my phone to learn that Sondheim had passed...a stunning feeling of loss. You can rest easy, Stephen, knowing you've made many things that count.😌

  • @JulienNeel
    @JulienNeel 2 ปีที่แล้ว +100

    Thank you Mr Sondheim for your work.
    You've been a major inspiration in my life.
    Rest in peace.

  • @NevermoreMadGirl
    @NevermoreMadGirl 2 ปีที่แล้ว +113

    I was devastated by the loss of this brilliant artist. Stephen Sondheim was and always will be an inspiration to me and countless others. This certainly was a hard pill to swallow, but may this creative genius forever rip and never be forgotten.

    • @joshuakohlmann9731
      @joshuakohlmann9731 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      I personally believe that familiarity with, and appreciation of, Sondheim's work will grow rather than diminish in the years to come. I remember discovering Into The Woods at a time when no-one else here in England had ever heard of Sondheim and I have never looked back.

  • @annienoelle4964
    @annienoelle4964 2 ปีที่แล้ว +73

    “Thanks for everything we did, everything that's past, everything's that's over too fast. None of it was wasted, All of it will last.”
    Thank you Steve. You changed my life. You changed the world. We lost a true genius with a heart of gold. Nobody will ever compare. The world will miss you forever.

  • @johnkling6657
    @johnkling6657 2 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    SWEENEY TODD is a masterpiece. When I first saw it, the last weekend of the original cast, I kept thinking "How could anything this gruesome be so funny?" It was fabulous! Thank you, Mr. Sondheim.

  • @jackbarbey
    @jackbarbey 2 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    He considered "Somewhere" to be deeply embarrassing?? I think that's probably the best song in one of my favorite musicals.

    • @virghammer1
      @virghammer1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I know; right ?!
      😏😟🤨❤️❤️❤️❤️

  • @MacDinoland
    @MacDinoland 2 ปีที่แล้ว +26

    He had taken us on quite a ride, to places in musical theater we had not known were possible before. It was simply time for him to get off the ride. But for us, we will be riding on his musical journeys till the end of time. For me, his works will always be encouraging creativity, always be thought-provoking, and will always be pulling on our heart-strings. He makes us utilize all our senses. His creative mind seemed to have no boundaries. I think the very last line spoken in Sunday In The Park With George not only summed up what Georges Seurat believed, but was also Stephen's mantra as well... "White. A blank page or canvas. So many possibilities."

  • @willec7105
    @willec7105 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    One of those rare, special, one-of-a-kind people from whom the human community can't get enough so every minute with him or his music is deliciously savored and valued like gold. People like Stephen are "sent" to us from another place to channel what we need to hear, see, feel and learn and that's called "talent" or a "gift." Thank you, Stephen for accepting your mission and agreeing to act as the human conduit for all that flowed from and through you.

  • @muffinamy83
    @muffinamy83 2 ปีที่แล้ว +30

    Pacific Overtures has the most glorious songs. Just gorgeous writing. If you're unfamiliar with it, do check it out.

    • @mervyngreene6687
      @mervyngreene6687 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I agree 100%!

    • @SRLovesPandas1
      @SRLovesPandas1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      "Somewhere in a Tree" is an underrated song of all his works

    • @katherinehughes7234
      @katherinehughes7234 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      One of my favorites. Underrated!

    • @virghammer1
      @virghammer1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      “Someone in a Tree” he always, apparently - You can go to TH-cam and watch him saying that - said was his favorite song he wrote, also. 🙏🏼❤️❤️❤️❤️

  • @jauipop
    @jauipop 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I have lived and grown up with Sondheim's work. There are songs that have dotted different parts of my life... Will be forever grateful to him. Rest in Power... What a legacy.

  • @tremainejotham297
    @tremainejotham297 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Absolutely devastated that he's no longer here. Company and A Little Night Music were just two of my favourites from him. To be honest, always had a deep fondness for anything he did.

  • @Aitvo
    @Aitvo 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    You'll always be crowded with love and you'll always be there! Tears for you comes easy, R.I.P. Stephen Sondheim

  • @Dengee
    @Dengee 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Watching this made me cry and realize his music has been a wonderful part of my life for so long. Thank you Stephen. ✨💕🙏🏽💌❤️

  • @LC-le9ew
    @LC-le9ew 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    This man can inspire anyone anywhere to try just a little bit harder everyday. And to know that he did a lot of work from his bed is somehow inspiring to me as well.

    • @virghammer1
      @virghammer1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      YES! Perfectly said. ❤️❤️❤️❤️. Thank you FOREVERMORE for your GENEROUS, POWERFUL, ULTRA-TRANSCENDING WORK ETHIC, rapturously wonderful Stephen Sondheim!

  • @13blackcatzzz
    @13blackcatzzz 2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    Not a day goes by..........thank you S.

  • @cabrown308
    @cabrown308 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    He was brilliant! Saw Follies in NYC in early ‘70s and was transformed forever!!

  • @menassies3224
    @menassies3224 2 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    I hope his family is holding up okay

  • @Kristine_202
    @Kristine_202 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    "Songs like 'Somewhere,' that's deeply embarrassing."
    The world didn't deserve this man.

  • @thejoanamendes
    @thejoanamendes 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    His work has inspired so many generations and it will continue to do it so 🍀 Sondheim will always be missed 🍀

  • @kpire6066
    @kpire6066 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Thanks for putting this together. Very well done. Great to see this so well put together. My friend Ricky Castillo introduced me to Sondheim's work. Such rich work but it's rare to be able to catch a Sondheim production in person. Catch one if and when you ever have a chance! So fun, so moving. Bye Steve! 😢

  • @MissMiffed
    @MissMiffed 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I miss him already 😞

  • @mensabs
    @mensabs 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    A genuinely talented composer and lyricist!

  • @matthewschwartz6607
    @matthewschwartz6607 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    He was so talented . Rest In Peace.

  • @Anna.Lippert
    @Anna.Lippert 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Infinite gratitude for so many wonderful creations...

  • @yellolab09
    @yellolab09 2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    I'm struck with the impact that profound surrogate father relationship had on Sondheim.

    • @Chrisyt272
      @Chrisyt272 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Me too. It was truly a gift.

    • @john.premose
      @john.premose 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      I always did think Oscar Hammerstein must have been a really good and wholesome guy because his lyrics show it.

  • @XevLexa
    @XevLexa 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    I remember watching the musical comedy AbFunny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in New York City starring Nathan Lane & Whoopi Goldberg. Had such a wonderful time!

    • @jessicaross7288
      @jessicaross7288 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      You should research your lies better before you tell them. Whoopi Goldberg took over the role of Pseudolus from Nathan Lane, so you wouldn't ever have seen them on stage together in Forum. Nice try though!

    • @XevLexa
      @XevLexa 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@jessicaross7288 Do my research? I was there watching the show you silly

    • @bdub1863
      @bdub1863 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I saw Ethel Merman and Bernadette Peters in Gypsy. Great show too! 🤥

  • @briankatona
    @briankatona 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Thank you for sharing this! He will be greatly missed!

  • @kpire6066
    @kpire6066 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I loved that interview. Thank you for putting that together. At this point, it's legacy. Well done. I'll have to check out Allegro and Saturday Night. He walked on the shoulders of giants and did well by them. I agree with his closing remarks. Gosh, if I have any chance of seeing a pro or local production, I will be there, pure joy. ❤

  • @mister_vegas
    @mister_vegas ปีที่แล้ว +2

    It's important to remember that the phrase "everything's coming up roses" was Sondheim's creation. It wasn't like he took a popular phrase from the American lexicon and wrote a song around it. He made up that phrase, and NOW it's part of the lexicon.

  • @johncrawfordpiano
    @johncrawfordpiano 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Oscar Hammerstein's: "My advice would be to take the job" when Sondheim wasn't sure whether to get involved in the West Side Story project.... I suppose that this is advice that changed the course of music history, and of course assured Sondheim immortality, no matter what he did next.

  • @erichondzinski7120
    @erichondzinski7120 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Anyone else intrigued by what an amazing "radio voice" Sondheim possessed? Imagine if the technological revolution began a few decades earlier. Just think of the amazing podcasts that would have resulted from this great conversationalist (among other things obviously!).

    • @john.premose
      @john.premose 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Yes and he is still remarkably handsome for 78 years old. He looks better in this interview than he did at 25 in my opinion.

  • @kevinhogan7814
    @kevinhogan7814 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    I'd be curious to understand how this became "never-before-seen" for 13 years.

    • @Theresawesome42
      @Theresawesome42 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      The Last Word series was to act as a sort of video obituary. The Times has interviewed numerous prominent people on the condition the footage would not be released until after their passing.

  • @rosiequartzie2230
    @rosiequartzie2230 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Te adoro, Anton...

  • @deerheart87
    @deerheart87 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    He was a great x

  • @nicolewrytr
    @nicolewrytr 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Brillant talent!

  • @PhimbleG-d
    @PhimbleG-d 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    People thought SWEENEY TODD was serious?
    I don’t belong on this planet.

  • @madeleinemcgregor2855
    @madeleinemcgregor2855 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    What Hogwarts house would Stephen Soundheim be put in?
    I think it’s RavenClaw.

  • @katherinehughes7234
    @katherinehughes7234 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Our Shakespeare has died.

  • @virghammer1
    @virghammer1 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank you for creating and posting this!
    I learned a few fascinating things. 💗
    We will miss you forever. until the end of human creation, brilliant and ASTOUNDINGLY GENEROUS Stephen Sondheim! ⭐️ 🎵 ❤️💙💚 ♥️
    THANK YOU for showing us the way and helping us feel -- SO MUCH - & Learn about Ourselves and Life. 🦅 🌲
    - .. and Death.
    Beauty!
    & Truth.
    Ahhhhhhhh …
    Your Irreplaceably ravishing Music ! ❤️❤️❤️🙏🏼 ⭐️
    Xo, VCH & Midlantic Theatre Co., Newark, NJ, USA

  • @jgrab1
    @jgrab1 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The description says this was recorded in 2008 but in the piece itself they mention an award he got in 2010.

  • @javirios3107
    @javirios3107 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I want to look exactly like him when I’m 80

  • @alcat2000c
    @alcat2000c 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    A genius and a great American.

  • @SuperRegency
    @SuperRegency 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Sondheim had a hit with Small World from Gypsy. Sung by Johnny Mathis, it rose to second place in the 1960 hit parade.

  • @dustinthepatriotjolley3332
    @dustinthepatriotjolley3332 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    RIP.

  • @jacobbeck5384
    @jacobbeck5384 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Sharp as a tack

  • @RickMartinYouTube
    @RickMartinYouTube 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    national treasure - great life

  • @independentfilmchannel1476
    @independentfilmchannel1476 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    I loved him just as any sensible musical theater enthusiast should. However, I never liked the way he repeatedly dismissed his extraordinary contribution to West Side Story, which I still consider the greatest musical on both stage and screen in theatrical history. (And I'm far from alone.) Unfortunately, Mr Sondheim was too much the perfectionist to recognize the power of this early achievement. In point of fact, its more blistering lyrics prefigured his revolutionary approach to the later innovative work for which he is now revered.

    • @m.c.master4622
      @m.c.master4622 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      "...its more blistering lyrics..." I know Stephen does not agree with you here. I defer to his assessment. How can we revere him and dismiss his judgement??

    • @independentfilmchannel1476
      @independentfilmchannel1476 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@m.c.master4622 Two things can be true at the same time and I am certainly not dismissing his judgment. Even Sondheim did not reject the entirety of his work on West Side Story. "Something's Coming" e.g. he counted among his favorites. Listen to "Gee Officer Krupke" and "America" and you will hear early evidence of his intricately witty facility with words. That musical remains a classic; its continual revivals speak for themselves. Nothing anyone says, including the retrospective self-critique of Sondheim himself, can diminish that truth. It's not going to suddenly sound different to me because one of the men who wrote doesn't like it anymore. He was 26 at the time for crying out loud. That he managed to do it at all boggles the mind. I hope you can understand that all this is meant as the sincerest of compliments. What a freakin' genius. No one else will ever come close.

  • @j-art1207
    @j-art1207 ปีที่แล้ว

    He helped with Allegro?? That's my favorite Roger's and hammerstein musical now I know why 😂😂 4:51

  • @sushicourier
    @sushicourier 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    "...then it's so easy to write!" Ha!! If you're a genius!!!😇🥰

  • @ClueSign
    @ClueSign 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    He was just getting started.😓

  • @sushicourier
    @sushicourier 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Why are there all these interviews that are never seen publicly?

  • @rayfridley6649
    @rayfridley6649 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Was Sondheim also involved in West Side Story's film version?

    • @chineseviruszombie773
      @chineseviruszombie773 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yes

    • @alextirrellRI
      @alextirrellRI 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      He had been an active collaborator in pretty much every major production or film of his work, including revivals, and the just released new movie version of West Side Story. Steven Spielberg said Sondheim was at every recording session for the new movie and they became great friends.

  • @zachhoran
    @zachhoran 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Stephen Sondheim was a contestant on the November 26, 2021 episode of Celebrity Bucket Kickers.

  • @BaronBlackriver
    @BaronBlackriver 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    And that's all, folks.

  • @ltkwok
    @ltkwok 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Sweeney Todd can live on for a long time…. Maybe even like Shakespeare.

  • @2Uglukraid
    @2Uglukraid 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Done and done and done.

  • @GingerSnape46
    @GingerSnape46 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I love Sweeney Todd.

  • @user-si9sb1lf9y
    @user-si9sb1lf9y 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    At USSR, workers have proven that they can live without the rich.
    But mind you, not a single rich man has proved that he can live without workers...

  • @LorasTyrell354
    @LorasTyrell354 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Whose narrating this?

  • @johnnyc.3261
    @johnnyc.3261 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Those eyebrows 🌾

  • @SolaceEasy
    @SolaceEasy 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Doesn't play in Peoria these days.

  • @happyperformers8736
    @happyperformers8736 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    HOW Stephen Sondheim CHANGED MUSICAL THEATRE FOREVER
    th-cam.com/video/LjMCNxhRna8/w-d-xo.html

  • @ziziroberts8041
    @ziziroberts8041 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    The clowns are crying 💔

  • @robertroberts7958
    @robertroberts7958 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Wow this is the times lol

    • @robertroberts7958
      @robertroberts7958 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      m.th-cam.com/video/0JvZLIZJG3U/w-d-xo.html

  • @dekelpolak4190
    @dekelpolak4190 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    There Is No Shortage of Energy; There Is Shortage of Normalcy
    Despite increased production of energy from renewable sources, and despite the slowdown in car manufacturing, oil prices are skyrocketing. Even though fewer power plants still burn coal, coal prices are skyrocketing, as well. Natural gas prices, too, are going through the roof, and energy demand seems to outpace supply in every country and in every form of energy. Have Earth’s energy sources dwindled so drastically in a matter of months? The answer is a resounding “No!” There is no shortage of energy; there is a serious shortage of normalcy in human relations. I hope the current crisis will put some sense into humanity’s insane consumption.
    The energy crunch indicates that we are over consuming. We are producing too much, throwing the excess production to the trash, polluting the ground, the air, and the water, and then we are complaining that we do not have enough. It is about as sane as killing one’s parents and then pleading for the court’s mercy because I’ve recently been orphaned.
    It is time we reconsider everything we produce-how we divide production, profits, and goods, which services are necessary and which are redundant, and most importantly, how we treat one another. The goal of this process should be clear to everyone: survival.
    There is no ulterior motive, no attempt to dominate or deprive anyone of power or wealth. It is simply that reality is forcing us to take all of humanity and the entire planet into consideration. If we don’t, our entire civilization will collapse like a deck of cards.
    Since we still do not understand it and insist on running things the way we have always been running them-through power games-I anticipate a very cold and gloomy winter for the northern hemisphere. The energy crunch will leave many in dark and cold houses; there will be no gas for cars, and renewable energy will not replace traditional sources since there will be little sun during the winter. I hope that at least, it will make us rethink our values. If it doesn’t, next summer will be even worse than the awful summer that just ended.
    I know that many people are counting on the promise of renewable energy to solve the energy problems of humanity. I think they are mistaken. There is plenty of energy, far more than we really need. We could cut emissions by at least half tomorrow. But the more we have, the hungrier we become, so our thirst for energy will never be satiated, and we will never stop exploiting the planet or each other until we reeducate ourselves and start being humane toward each other.
    We have been behaving like spoiled brats whose parents buy them whatever they want. Now, our parents have run out of money and our childhood is over. It is time for us to mature and conduct ourselves like responsible adults, caring for all of humanity the way a mother cares for her entire family. If we think like a family, we will achieve normalcy.

  • @susanalatorre3373
    @susanalatorre3373 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Kindness of strangets

  • @robertrostad3930
    @robertrostad3930 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    No more wisdom from our friend and teacher.

  • @cudad7443
    @cudad7443 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Jesus Christ called people everywhere to repent, therefore, if you confess with your lips the Lord Jesus and believe with all your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved and inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life. told other people how good he is, how he saves, heals and liberates and gives eternal life5456

  • @nardo218
    @nardo218 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    you remembered him but not his past partner or current widower? so you remembered a censored version of him. nice.

  • @dsilverleaf4668
    @dsilverleaf4668 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Who?

    • @joshuakohlmann9731
      @joshuakohlmann9731 2 ปีที่แล้ว +29

      Why say that? Look him up if you don't know who he is.

    • @sarahthompson8098
      @sarahthompson8098 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      This entire video is here to educate you, fortunately.