The New York Philharmonic will present SONDHEIM: The Birthday Concert on March 15 and Tuesday, March 16, 2010, at 7:30 p.m. This celebration of the 80th birthday of the great Broadway and film composer/lyricist will include his most enduring orchestral music and songs - performed, in some cases, by the stars of the original Broadway cast productions - in addition to rarely-heard material. Joining the celebration will be (in alphabetical order) Michael Cerveris, Victoria Clark, Jason Danieley, Nathan Gunn, George Hearn, Patti LuPone, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, Donna Murphy, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, and others to be announced, including surprise guests. Paul Gemignani, Mr. Sondheim's longtime collaborator, will conduct the New York Philharmonic; Lonny Price is the director; and Mr. Price and Matt Cowart are the producers.
The evenings will include songs and orchestral pieces from Sondheim musical theater favorites such as Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Passion, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Anyone Can Whistle, along with a suite from music he wrote for the film Reds, which has never before been performed live.
On Monday, March 15, 2010, the New York Philharmonic will celebrate Stephen Sondheim with its Spring Gala. The Gala Chairmen are Leni and Peter May and Donna and Benjamin M. Rosen. BNY Mellon is the presenting sponsor. For information about the Gala, which includes a pre-concert reception, concert, and post-concert birthday dinner with the artists, please contact Georgia Petritsis at (212) 875-5757 or e-mail her at petritsisg@nyphil.org.
Considered by many to be the greatest Broadway composer/lyricist of his time, Stephen Sondheim (b. March 22, 1930) wrote the music and lyrics for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962); Anyone Can Whistle (1964); Company (1970); Follies (1971); A Little Night Music (1973); The Frogs (1974); Pacific Overtures (1976); Sweeney Todd (1979); Merrily We Roll Along (1981); Sunday in the Park with George (1984; winner of the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama); Into the Woods (1987); Assassins (1991); Passion (1994); and Road Show (2008). He wrote the lyrics for West Side Story (1957); Gypsy (1959) and Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965); and additional lyrics for Candide (1973). Side by Side by Sondheim (1976), Marry Me a Little (1981), You're Gonna Love Tomorrow (1983), and Putting It Together (1993) are anthologies of his work as composer and lyricist.
For film, Stephen Sondheim composed the score for Stavisky (1974), and co-composed the music for Reds (1981), as well as songs for Dick Tracy (1990). He also wrote the songs for the television production Evening Primrose (1966), and co-authored the film The Last of Sheila (1973) and the play Getting Away with Murder (1996). He provided incidental music for the plays The Girls of Summer (1956), Invitation to a March (1961), Twigs (1971), and The Enclave (1973). His first professional musical, Saturday Night (1954), finally had its New York premiere in 1999. Mr. Sondheim is on the council of the Dramatists Guild - the national association of playwrights, composers, and lyricists - and served as its president from 1973 to 1981, when he founded Young Playwrights Inc. to develop and promote the work of American Playwrights ages 18 years and younger.
