Stephen Sondheim had a reputation for being prickly and even reclusive.
This Omnibus documentary made for the BBC in 1990 follows Sondheim as he gives students at Oxford University a masterclass on the creative process of writing a musical.
In the audience were art critics and other broadcasters that included Melvyn Bragg from the rival The South Bank Show.
It also includes rehearsals for the British stage debut of Sunday in the Park with George.
This has a different Stephen Sondheim. Charming, thoughtful and gregarious. He might have been playing up to the cameras.
Sondheim is upfront to his audience. Writing a musical is hard. The creative process is hard work.
When it comes to the rehearsals of his new musical. You see him talking to his stars. They are told that the word rubato will be used a lot.
There was a lot of things I learned in this documentary. The button, the beat at the end of a song that rouses the audience to applaud and keep them on a high for the next bit. The forgotten German composer Louis Spohr who in his day was more famous than Beethoven.
You might not get to know everything about Sondheim in this documentary. You do get an idea as to how his creative process worked.
This Omnibus documentary made for the BBC in 1990 follows Sondheim as he gives students at Oxford University a masterclass on the creative process of writing a musical.
In the audience were art critics and other broadcasters that included Melvyn Bragg from the rival The South Bank Show.
It also includes rehearsals for the British stage debut of Sunday in the Park with George.
This has a different Stephen Sondheim. Charming, thoughtful and gregarious. He might have been playing up to the cameras.
Sondheim is upfront to his audience. Writing a musical is hard. The creative process is hard work.
When it comes to the rehearsals of his new musical. You see him talking to his stars. They are told that the word rubato will be used a lot.
There was a lot of things I learned in this documentary. The button, the beat at the end of a song that rouses the audience to applaud and keep them on a high for the next bit. The forgotten German composer Louis Spohr who in his day was more famous than Beethoven.
You might not get to know everything about Sondheim in this documentary. You do get an idea as to how his creative process worked.
