Hits and Misses
Donald Macleod reflects back on the life and work of Titan of Musical Theatre Stephen Sondheim.
All this week, Donald Macleod is reflecting back on an interview he did with Stephen Sondheim in 2010 and updating the story of how Sondheim revolutionised the world of Musical Theatre.
Sondheim wrote 16 musicals over the course of his 91 years. Some were immediate hits, but others were slow burners. His range of subject matter was surely unparalleled, with musicals about a serial-killing barber, the westernisation of Japan, frogs, and a French pointillist painting.
The Demon Barber
Composer Stephen Sondheim (Arranged By Kenji Bunch)
Pianist Anthony De Mare
Pacific Overtures : Someone in a Tree
James Dybas, Gedde Watanabe, Mark Hsu Syers,
Original Broadway Cast and Orchestra of Pacific Overtures.
Conductor, Paul Gemignani
Pacific Overtures: Next
James Dybas
Original Broadway Cast and Orchestra of Pacific Overtures.
Conductor, Paul Gemignani
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street: The Ballad of Sweeney Todd
Josh Groban, Paul-Jordan Jansen, Daniel Torres, Jordan Fisher, Maria Bilbao, Nicholas Christopher, Gaten Matarazzo, John Rapson, Jamie Jackson, Ruthie Ann Miles
Sweeney Todd 2023 Broadway Company
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - The Worst Pies in London
Annaleigh Ashford
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street -Johanna
Jordan Fisher
Merrily We Roll Along: Franklin Shepherd Inc
Daniel Radcliffe
New Broadway Cast of Merrily We Roll Along. Conductor, Joel Fram
Merrily We Roll Along: Opening Doors
Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, Lindsay Mendez, Reg Rogers, Katie Rose Clarke,
New Broadway Cast of Merrily We Roll Along. Conductor, Joel Fram
Merrily We Roll Along: Our Time
Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe, Lindsay Mendez
New Broadway Cast of Merrily We Roll Along. Conductor, Joel Fram
No One Is Alone
Stephen Sondheim (Arranged By Fred Hersch)
Anthony De Mare, pianist
Producer: Rosie Boulton
On radio
Broadcast
- Wed 9 Sep 202616:00BBC Radio 3
Beethoven Unleashed – the box set
The complete set of Radio 3 Beethoven Unleashed podcasts, with Donald Macleod.
What was really wrong with Beethoven?
Georgia Mann and neurosurgeon Henry Marsh examine the composer's numerous health problems
Composers A to Z
Visit the extensive audio archive of Radio 3 programmes about Composers and their works.
Who knew? Five eye-opening stories from Composer of the Week
The production team reflects on 5 of Donald Macleod’s best stories from the last 20 years
Five reasons why we love Parry's Jerusalem
What is the strange power of Jerusalem which makes strong men weep?
A man out of time – why Parry's music and ideas were at odds with his image...
The composer of Jerusalem was very far from the conservative figure his image suggests.
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