Stephen Sondheim

“I always fall into South American rhythms, I don't know why." So said Stephen Sondheim of his wordplay and songwriting, the focus of this episode of KPAC's Momentos Musicales, examining the Latin influence on classical and popular music of America.

On this episode of KPAC's Momentos Musicales, host James Baker recalls early reactions to "West Side Story" through interviews with the late songwriter Stephen Sondheim.

In part 2 of this interview, TPR's James Baker visits with the Library of Congress's Mark Horowitz about Stephen Sondheim's early years and mentorship under Oscar Hammerstein II. The Library of Congress recently acquired the Stephen Sondheim collection.

Stephen Sondheim took American musical theater to places it had never gone before through harmonic invention, and of course, in his lyrics. The Library of Congress recently acquired materials from Sondheim's estate—and TPR's James Baker interviewed the man tasked with overseeing the collection, Mark Horowitz.

The Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim’s musical about three friends received seven Tony nominations. We talk with director Maria Friedman, who was a friend of Sondheim's, and actor Jonathan Groff.

The production is a revised version of Sondheim’s notorious 1981 mega-flop, bolstered by three veteran Broadway actor.

The late composer/lyricist was once considered an acquired taste — but with three shows running in New York and another on tour, he's a hit.

When the composer/lyricist died in 2021 at age 91, he left behind a partly finished show called Here We Are. But his collaborators say Sondheim loved a puzzle — and he left them all the pieces.

Broadway-legend-in-training Stephen Sondheim was a college sophomore in 1948 when his musical Phinney's Rainbow was produced — and recorded — at Williams College in Massachusetts.

PBS's documentary details how Sondheim's landmark 1970 musical was adapted to the current Broadway version — pivoting on a gender switch that rewrites the central role as a woman instead of a man.