Stephen Sondheim, (born March 22, 1930, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died Nov. 26, 2021, Roxbury, Conn.), U.S. composer and lyricist. He studied piano and organ and at age 15 wrote his first musical, under the tutelage of the musical comedy author Oscar Hammerstein II, a family friend. After studies with composer Milton Babbitt, he made his first mark on Broadway as lyricist for West Side Story (1957). He then wrote lyrics for Gypsy (1959) and both music and lyrics for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), which won the Tony Award for best musical. Sondheim later earned Tonys for his work on Company (1971), Follies (1972), A Little Night Music (1973), Sweeney Todd (1979), Into the Woods (1987), and Passion (1994). Other notable musicals included Sunday in the Park with George (1984, Pulitzer Prize). His stage works are known for their intellectuality, musical complexity, and frequently dark tone. Sondheim’s other honours included a special Tony Award for lifetime achievement (2008) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2015).
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Grammy Award Summary
Grammy Award, any of a series of awards presented annually in the United States by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS; commonly called the Recording Academy) or the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (LARAS; commonly called the Latin Recording Academy) to recognize
Academy Award Summary
Academy Award, any of a number of awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, located in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., to recognize achievement in the film industry. The awards were first presented in 1929, and winners receive a gold-plated statuette commonly
musical Summary
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music Summary
Music, art concerned with combining vocal or instrumental sounds for beauty of form or emotional expression, usually according to cultural standards of rhythm, melody, and, in most Western music, harmony. Both the simple folk song and the complex electronic composition belong to the same activity,