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Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim Quotes

Composer

Stephen Sondheim, an American composer, was born on March 22, 1930. Renowned for his exceptional contributions to the musical theater genre, Sondheim's works are characterized by complex melodies, profound lyrics, and innovative narrative structures. His musicals, including 'West Side Story,' 'Company,' 'Follies,' and 'Sweeney Todd,' have had a profound impact not only in the United States but also globally.

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All Writing Song Ifs Stories Knows People Way Audience Musical Shows Want Art Casts World Children May Moments Pieces Play Sometimes

Famous Stephen Sondheim Quotes

“A folktale without a moral is merely a whimsy.”

Writing Morals Fairytales

Book:Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics, 1981-2011, With Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes, and Miscellany

Source: Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics, 1981-2011, With Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes, and Miscellany

“Writing is a form of mischief.”

Writing Form Mischief

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“If you told me to write a love song tonight, I'd have a lot of trouble. But if you tell me to write a love song about a girl with a red dress who goes into a bar and is on her fifth martini and is falling off her chair, that's a lot easier, and it makes me free to say anything I want.”

Ifs Want Writing Song Fall Girl Trouble Easier Red Dresses Bars Chairs Tonight Say Anything Fifth Martini Falling Off

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“I love computers. I love writing on them. I love gadgetry. The thing is: I am a slow reader. So, if I am going to get my work done, I read, like, a newspaper and that's it. If I got into websites and the internet, I wouldn't get any work done.”

Ifs Writing Done Reader Internet Computer Newspapers Website Work Done

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“I don't write songs apart from theatrical pieces. I'm not interested in writing songs qua songs.”

Writing Song Pieces Not Interested Theatrical Writing Songs

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“By the time I get through writing a score, I know the book better than the book writer does, because I've examined every word, and questioned the book writer on every word.”

Knows Writing Doe Book Score

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“Everyone would like to be on Broadway, cause if a show works, you make a great deal of money and it allows you to write other shows.”

Ifs Writing Shows Causes Deals Broadway

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“I didn't really want to write just lyrics, but I wanted to meet Leonard Bernstein. Music was always the first reason I was writing songs.”

Want Writing Firsts Reason Wanted Song Writing Songs

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“One of the hardest things about writing lyrics is to make the lyrics sit on the music in such a way that you're not aware there was a writer there.”

Way Writing Hardest Hardest Thing

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“Sometimes I'll ask the book writer to write a monologue, not to be performed, just as if they were notes for the character.”

Ifs Writing Book Sometimes Character Asks Notes Monologues

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“When you know your cast well and their strengths and weaknesses, you can start writing for them, just the way Shakespeare wrote for his actors.”

Knows Way Writing Wells Actors Weakness Casts Strength And Weakness

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“You get used to the exact amount of space between lines. You write a word and then you write an alternate word over it. You want enough room so you can read it, so the lines can't be too close.”

Want Writing Enough Used Lines Space Rooms Amount Over It Space Between Between The Lines

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“Deciding what is to be sung and what is not to be sung is really what writing a musical is about.”

Writing Musical

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“Every writer I've ever spoken to feels fraudulent in some way or other.”

Way Feels Writing

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“I fell into lyric writing because of music. I backed into it.”

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“I really don't want to write a score until the whole show is cast and staged.”

Want Writing Whole Shows Casts Score

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“The more restrictions you have, the easier anything is to write.”

Writing Easier Restriction

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“The worst thing you can do is censor yourself as the pencil hits the paper. You must not edit until you get it all on paper. If you can put everything down, stream-of-consciousness, you'll do yourself a service.”

Ifs Writing Can Do Consciousness Worst Paper Streams Worst Things Pencils Edits Stream Of Consciousness

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“A song is such a short form ... that 'the slightest flaw seems like a mountain.' And so every song needs to be revised 'til it's close to perfection... But achieving perfection takes a lot of energy.”

Needs Writing Seems Form Song Energy Achieve Mountain Perfection Flaws Songwriting

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“Art is craft, not inspiration.”

Writing Art Inspiration Art Is Crafts

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“The only reason to write is from love.”

Writing Reason Inspirational Love

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“Friendship, obligation and greed are not good enough reasons to write anything.”

Writing Reason Enough Greed Obligation Good Enough Not Good Enough

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“The last collaborator is your audience ... when the audience comes in, it changes the temperature of what you've written. Things that seem to work well -- work in a sense of carry the story forward and be integral to the piece -- suddenly become a little less relevant or a little less functional or a little overlong or a little overweight or a little whatever. And so you start reshaping from an audience.”

Writing Wells Littles Stories Seems Lasts Audience Pieces Written Relevant Temperature Overweight Collaborators

Author:Stephen Sondheim

“I'm a lazy writer. My idea of heaven is not writing. On the other hand, I'm obviously compulsive about it.”

Writing Ideas Hands Heaven Lazy

Author:Stephen Sondheim