#101
Posted: 6/14/06 at 2:49pm
I'd just like to point out that that was Stephen Schwartz's second time seeing Sweeney, he left the first performance early. This has circulated the rumor mill as being him "walking out" on the show; however, he had no intention of staying for the entire performance as he had apparent schedule conflicts.
But that's not important.
I'd like to emphasize that Sondheim has also had a profound influence on other composers; take, for example: Jonathan Larson who worshiped Sondheim.
Otherwise, I pretty much completely agree with sondheim78. If you sit down and analyze the theory behind all of Sondheim's work and then compare it to Schwartz, there is a definite superiority on the former of the composers.
Furthermore, Schwartz success *lately* has been primarily due to his ability to figure out what has been a show stopping formula: loud, belting pop numbers with a focus specifically on a climactic ending. In other words, the songs are pumped full of energy and volume but look at the song on paper and it lacks any musical or lyrical validity.
If we look at Wicked, these songs include: The Wizard and I (and its reprise), Defying Gravity, No Good Deed, Dancing Through Life, and As Long As You're Mine -- That's roughly half the score and pretty much encompasses every popular song in it with the exceptions of Popular and For Good.
If we look at CoE (which I agree is better than Wicked, but certainly no comparison to Into the Woods) we have songs like: The Spark of Creation, A World Without You, Lost in the Wilderness, Stranger to the Rain, In Whatever Time We Have, and Sailor of the Skies.
Pippin, I concur is successful mainly due to the work Bob Fosse did with it.
I'd also like to add that being an intricate composer and witty and intelligent lyricist at the same time is extremely rare. Perhaps this is because music tends to be very mathematical and lyrics tend to be very poetic -- which as another thread is pointing out, requires both sides of the brain.
Schwartz has rarely written a song that doesn't suffer due to his lyrics, his music is nice, it's fun, it's energetic, it's enjoyable. But, when it comes down to it, it's shallow: Sondheim attempts to explore the human condition -- Schwartz tends to only succeed with fairy tales.
I really don't think Schwartz can compare with Sondheim; I think perhaps a better discussion would be between Schwartz, Andrew Lippa and Jason Robert Brown (I think JRB is the superior) or, as is already pointed out, Sondheim, Adam Guettel and LaChiusa.
But that's not important.
I'd like to emphasize that Sondheim has also had a profound influence on other composers; take, for example: Jonathan Larson who worshiped Sondheim.
Otherwise, I pretty much completely agree with sondheim78. If you sit down and analyze the theory behind all of Sondheim's work and then compare it to Schwartz, there is a definite superiority on the former of the composers.
Furthermore, Schwartz success *lately* has been primarily due to his ability to figure out what has been a show stopping formula: loud, belting pop numbers with a focus specifically on a climactic ending. In other words, the songs are pumped full of energy and volume but look at the song on paper and it lacks any musical or lyrical validity.
If we look at Wicked, these songs include: The Wizard and I (and its reprise), Defying Gravity, No Good Deed, Dancing Through Life, and As Long As You're Mine -- That's roughly half the score and pretty much encompasses every popular song in it with the exceptions of Popular and For Good.
If we look at CoE (which I agree is better than Wicked, but certainly no comparison to Into the Woods) we have songs like: The Spark of Creation, A World Without You, Lost in the Wilderness, Stranger to the Rain, In Whatever Time We Have, and Sailor of the Skies.
Pippin, I concur is successful mainly due to the work Bob Fosse did with it.
I'd also like to add that being an intricate composer and witty and intelligent lyricist at the same time is extremely rare. Perhaps this is because music tends to be very mathematical and lyrics tend to be very poetic -- which as another thread is pointing out, requires both sides of the brain.
Schwartz has rarely written a song that doesn't suffer due to his lyrics, his music is nice, it's fun, it's energetic, it's enjoyable. But, when it comes down to it, it's shallow: Sondheim attempts to explore the human condition -- Schwartz tends to only succeed with fairy tales.
I really don't think Schwartz can compare with Sondheim; I think perhaps a better discussion would be between Schwartz, Andrew Lippa and Jason Robert Brown (I think JRB is the superior) or, as is already pointed out, Sondheim, Adam Guettel and LaChiusa.
