Meet a Composer: Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Sondheim
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Years Lived: b. 1948
Period: Modern (Musicals)
Country: England
Andrew Lloyd Webber is an English composer famous for writing the musicals Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Evita, and many others.
Andrew Lloyd Webber was born in London, England to musical parents. His father was a noted organist, and his mother was a pianist. He started composing when he was just 9 years old and put on small productions for his family with his brother and aunt. He ultimately earned his degree from Royal College of Music in London.
Lloyd Webber has written 21 musicals and he also started and owns the company The Really Useful Group, which is involved in theatre productions, magazine publishing, concerts, and more.
Andrew Lloyd Webber has won an Oscar, a Golden Globe, eight Tony Awards, four Grammy Awards, and many other awards over his prolific (and still active!) career. He even received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.
This Kiddle article about Lloyd Webber includes a picture of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Watch clips from some of Lloyd Webber's shows on The Shows Must Go On Youtube channel.
Here is a short interview with Andrew Lloyd Webber on the NBC Nightly News YouTube channel.
Here is a top 10 list of Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals on the Ms. Mojo YouTube channel.
Did You Know?
Lloyd Webber's brother is a world-renowned solo cellist.
Lloyd Webber was playing piano and violin at three years old and French horn at six.
In 1991 Lloyd Webber had six productions running simultaneously in the West End and in 2017 he had four productions running simultaneously on Broadway.
Stephen Sondheim
Years Lived: b. 1930
Period: Modern (Musicals)
Country: United States
Stephen Sondheim is an American composer most famous for his works in Musical productions. He was instrumental in modernizing the American musical and helping musicals become about more serious themes relating to life and the human experience.
Sondheim was born in New York City to parents who worked in the garment industry. His father manufactured dresses that were designed by his mother. An only child, he is described as being isolated and neglected as a child growing up. He did not have a good relationship with either of his parents. They divorced when he was just 10 years old. In an interview Sondheim has admitted that he had a rather unhappy and secluded childhood.
Sondheim studied music at Williams College in Massachusetts. After graduating, he started writing musicals and tried getting them on to Broadway. After three successful launches and writing the lyrics for Leonard Bernstein's well-received West Side Story, his Broadway success came to a screeching halt when his show Anyone Can Whistle flopped after just nine performances. He found success again with A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, and more.
Sondheim has received many awards including an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards (more than any other composer), eight Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, and the American Medal of Freedom.
Did You Know?
Sondheim published a series of cryptic crossword puzzles in New York magazine in the 1960's.
In 2010 Henry Miller’s Theatre in New York was renamed the Stephen Sondheim Theatre to help celebrate Sondheim's 80th birthday.
Watch this short clip of interview with Stephen Sondheim about his process for writing a musical on the The New Yorker YouTube channel.
Here are Ms. Mojo's top 10 Stephen Sondheim picks from the Ms. Mojo YouTube channel.
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