Stephen Sondheim Talks Character, Composition, and Chord Progressions

In a brand-new interview with The New York Times, legendary musical theatre composer, Stephen Sondheim sits down with Anthony Tommasini to discuss the ins and outs of musical composition and why we will likely never hear a Sondheim concerto.

In the feature, Sondheim and Tommasini delve into everything from the composer's aversion to writing instrumentals to the meaning of the signature chord progression from Sunday in the Park with George. As we learn about the fundamental influence of Oskar Hammerstein II throughout his life, his love of lyrics, and the meaning the characters bring to his works, the feature proves a thorough and illuminating look at the process and motivations of musical theatre's most highly regarded composer.

He tells Tommasini: "I express the character. Let's see what happens to him. I express it musically. The reason I love Puccini so much is because he understands how music expresses character, which I'm not sure very many opera composers do. They write beautiful tunes. That's different."

Read the full story at The New York Times.