Sondheim's Broadway Musicals

Rating:
Summary: An essential book for students of musical theater.
Review: An important and seminal work for students of musical theater and/or Sondheim. Like Joseph Swain's "The Broadway Musical," this book applies serious compostional analysis to an area that has not traditionally been considered worthy of consideration from that point of view. Even if you are not able to completely comprehend everything in this book, it is a fascinating and rewarding read. Banfield has a lot of insight not only into Sondheim's compostional processes, but also into the dramatic stucture of his musicals. The biographical details included are sufficient but not excessive for a book with this focus. I may disagree with Banfield here and there, and there is an occasional factual error, but his overall grasp of Sondheim's work and why it is important makes any quibbles ultimately trivial. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: For musicians and Sondheim enthusiasts only
Review: As a musical theatre composer myself, this book was dead on as far as its intricate dissecting of Sondheim's scores. However, non-musicians take note: This book may not be for you. Banfield employs deep theortical analasys of Sondheim's work, and most readers without a background in music theory will find some of this book difficult to understand. As far as Banfield's analasys goes, it is right on target. He explains the various schemes and tecniques Sondheim uses in his music to make it sound exactly like what is being expressed. Banfield also does an excellent job in explaning the various actions that drove Sondheim to write his shows and the reactions that came from the critics. All in all, this is a wonderfully written book.

Rating:
Summary: Impressive, arrogant, unclear...
Review: As a Sondheim afficionado and serious music student, I adored this book and the insights it gave into the techincal aspects of Sondheim's compositions. As Banfield says in the introduction, too often the music isn't given the serious consideration compositionally that it deserves. Just a warning though, the book is really just about the music, there is fairly little discussion of the dramatic or theatrical aspects of Sondheim's work. That being said, this is an amazingly intelligent, in depth, and scholarly treatment of Sondheim purely as a composer.

Rating:
Summary: Dense material, but worth the work
Review: As a Sondheim afficionado and serious music student, I adored this book and the insights it gave into the techincal aspects of Sondheim's compositions. As Banfield says in the introduction, too often the music isn't given the serious consideration compositionally that it deserves. Just a warning though, the book is really just about the music, there is fairly little discussion of the dramatic or theatrical aspects of Sondheim's work. That being said, this is an amazingly intelligent, in depth, and scholarly treatment of Sondheim purely as a composer.

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly detailed analysis of Sondheim's work.
Review: Banfield's text offers practically an autopsy of each of Sondheim's musicals. Very detailed and insightful. Helps if you know music and music theory. A must for any serious students of Sondheim's work

Rating:
Summary: Impressive, arrogant, unclear...
Review: Despite the wealth of information which is hidden in this book, the professorial writing style makes it very difficult to unearth. The average sentence runs on for 7 full-length lines, and is annoyingly interrupted by literary name-dropping (Sondheim 1980) disguised as references and countless "the former" and "the latter"s. Many opinions are arrogantly offered with no clear examples, which is sadly typical of the "professor" mentality. I'm ashamed that my own college music lit professor is the editor of the series, and didn't ask the author to rewrite the book in a style meant to communicate rather than pontificate.

Rating:
Summary: Great, Wonderful, Fabulous *but* .....
Review: Immediately before beginning this book, I read Stephen Sondheim : A Life by Meryle Secrest. (I highly recommend Secrest's biography). The two books together, read in the order I read them, is *powerful*. I do have a strong warning, however. You are well advised to own and have listened to every recording Sondheim ever made, prior to beginning to read "Sondheim's Broadway Musicals". I have, and it really, really helps. Also, it is very, very useful to have a deep interest and knowledge of musical harmony and piano, as I myself happen to have. It probably wouldn't hurt to have played piano for about six musical comedies. (Playing for theatre camps is okay, it need not be Broadway). If you fit this kind of profile, as I do, and are deeply interested in Musical Comedy, then this book is for you. Reading this book may well be as close as most of us will ever come to what it must have been like for Sondheim, when he was 16, to spend an afternoon with Hammerstein being taught the essentials of writing a musical comedy. Sondheim has always been generous with his time and energy to help up and coming musical comedy composers...Sondheim helped this book's author by providing comments and insites concerning the manuscript. Sondheim has never forgotten how greatful he was, when he was starting out, to be helped by many other people who helped him for unselfish reasons.

Rating:
Summary: A TRUE GEM!
Review: The author wrote this book with the Great One's blessing. Much insight to the great works are revealed. In short, this is a keeper!