Sondheim and Lloyd-Webber: The New Musical [Paperback]

In this third volume of the distinguished The Great Songwriters series, musicologist Stephen Citron takes on two leading contributors to the lyric stage, Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd-Webber. By exploring the works of these two giants of musical theater and those of their contemporaries, Citron also simultaneously guides readers along the winding path of musical theater.

Beginning with Sondheim's lyrics-only worksWest Side Story,Gypsy, andDo I Hear A Waltz? through his scores forA Little Night Music,Sweeney Todd,Merrily We Roll Along,Sunday in the Park, andInto the Woods, among other classic musicals, Citron presents major, milestones of musical theater, exploring the influence of the artist's youthful training and private life upon his creative output. Lloyd-Webber's musical contributions  from his early worksThe Likes of UsandJosephto his smash hitsJesus Christ Superstar,Evita,Cats, andThe Phantom of the Opera, among others  are also thoroughly analyzed.

As in Citron's previous critically acclaimed books in this series, the artists'works are clarified and put into context with their contemporaries. Complete with a quadruple chronology that reveal Sondheim's and Lloyd-Webber's lives within the scope of world events, copious quotations from their works, and many never-before-published illustrations,Sondheim and Lloyd-Webberis a must-read for anyone interested in musical theater.

Stephen Citron(1924-2013) was one of the world's best-known musical theater historians; he also a composer, pianist, lyricist, and lecturer. His bookSongwritingis the standard reference work on the subject. He has also written acclaimed biographies. including in-depth music analysis in such works asNoel and Cole: The Sophisticates,The Wordsmiths: Oscar Hammerstein 2nd and Alan Jay Lerner, andJerry Herman: Poet of the Showtune. Cl£Ü