Big Steve

Always interesting to hear what Stephen Sondheim has to say for himself; certainly a lot more interesting than what anyone else has to say about him. This interview seems like a typical bit of smirky indifference:

"I can’t say I enjoy writing [lyrics]. I find it extremely difficult, but then I can’t think of a lyric writer I’d rather work with than myself!”

I've always thought that that has been a great shame. For me his greatest work was as a lyricist for other composers. I'm kind of a Sondheim fan in reverse: merrily rolling along with the early stuff, from West Side Story up to Company, but gradually getting more take-it-or-leave-it from Follies onwards.

I don't like the fawning of some critics and it must irk his Broadway contemporaries no end, but Sondheim himself is always worth listening to. He always seems clear-sighted about his own work, never openly scornful about the work of others. And a lot jollier than you might expect.