Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall

Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall A celebration of the music of Stephen Sondheim [Compact Disc 782.14 Son] 

This two-CD album is a marvelous recording from a live event that took place in June 1992 at Carnegie Hall, in which many of the past stars of songs penned by Stephen Sondheim gathered to perform his music in a concert setting, to pay tribute to the master lyricist. The event was recorded for release as an episode of PBS’ Great Performances, and came out both as a DVD and as this musical CD. The show is a veritable “Who’s Who” of Broadway mega-talents from that era, including Madeline Kahn, Liza Minelli, Betty Buckley, Patti LuPone, Patrick Cassidy, Victor Garber, Bernadette Peters, Glenn Close and more. The songs included are among the best-known pieces of music in Broadway history, epitomized by Sondheim’s fast lyrics and manic pacing.
While some of the individual tracks may not live up to the quality of the Original Cast Recordings of their respective shows, this is still a very fun collection, with live audience reactions to the performances. I recommend this for any Sondheim completists, or if you’re only vaguely familiar with his great body of work and just want a sampler of some of his best pieces.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try any of the soundtracks to individual Sondheim-created stage musicals, including Assassins, Company, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Into the Woods, A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park With George and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Also, this concert was also released on DVD (though the libraries don't own it).]

[ manufacturer’s official Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall ordering page — play samples of all tracks ] | [ official www.sondheim.com web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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