What's good about Andrew Lloyd Webber?- Page 2

[brdwaybaby17]

Posted: 1/5/05 at 6:06pm

That was kind of the point... lol

[jackson992]

Posted: 1/5/05 at 6:11pm

Sarah Brightman is too operatic for my tastes

[operadiva1979]

Posted: 1/5/05 at 6:24pm

Jackson 992 I agree and disagree about your compare/contrast with Sondheim and ALW

First of all I appreciate Sondheim musically, but I don't enjoy it as much as ALW's work.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals all have wonderful songs and themes we take home from the theater.

Sondheim, is more complex musically, utlizes more devices such as dissonance and counterpoint, which makes it harder to listen to, but easier to appreciate for it's effort.

I have acted in both, and didn't have problems with either, but I did enjoy ALW's songs more.

[CatieElphie1]

Posted: 1/5/05 at 7:51pm

I'm 17 and I grew up listening to ALW. I even did a report on him in 5th grade..and my first paid acting gig was for Joseph. (I was in the Children's choir..rock on) I have a sentimental attachment to him, although I don't really like alot of his stuff.

[cathywellerstein]

Posted: 1/5/05 at 9:54pm

andrew lloyd webber contributed the beautifully amazing show, phantom of the opera...enough said.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 1/5/05 at 10:03pm

I just love how people say they like Webber but then say they are a huge Sondheim fan as if to get credibility back to their name. Makes me so mad. Just because you do not like Sondheim does not mean that you are not intellectual and do not have an ear for music. I like Sondheim but I don't think he is the greatest ever, just like I don't think Webber is the greatest ever. But, that just ticks me off beyond reason. Reading ignorant posts just makes me WANT to hate Sondheim (which I don't). I just want to scream, so I am leaving this thread before I wake up everyone in my house.

Updated On: 1/5/05 at 10:03 PM

[HWT]

Posted: 1/7/05 at 1:21am

I was trying to sleep a few nights ago, and instead did a little thinking about something like this.

I imagined a spectrum in my head. At one end of the spectrum, you have a concert. On the other, you have a (non-musical) play. The points along the spectrum denote different mixtures of the two.

Webber-style works fall closer to the concert side of the spectrum. Shows in these areas concentrate more on having the songs that people will enjoy and remember, and the plot is predominantly a structure to bring out the songs. This comes out clearly with Webber's more popular music influences and use of repetition and motif.

Sondheim-style works fall closer to the play side of the spectrum. These works focus more on the story and plot, and use the music as an assistant to provide plot insight and added entertainment. This comes out clearly with Sondheim's affinity for lyric and more subtle, complex melodies.

A relative judgment of artistic merit will likely be tied to a person's preferred range on the spectrum. Personally, I'm willing to grant both their roles.

[jo]

Posted: 1/7/05 at 2:10am

Quite an excellent perspective of the theatre continuum in our minds, HWT

Updated On: 1/7/05 at 02:10 AM