Not just rolling along

January 3, 2011 by Amanda Ameer

The New York Times, man.

If I ever meet someone who works on their website, they’re getting a hug from me. And I’m really not a hugger.

In honor of Stephen Sondheim’s birthday, New York Times critic Anthony Tommasini takes to the piano to break down The Ballad of Sweeney Todd, a few tracks from his take-to-a-desert-island Sondheim show, Merrily We Roll Along, and my least-favorite Sondheim show (I know, I know) Sunday in the Park with George for us. The resulting video is charming, clear, and candid. Artists, take notes! I would be thrilled to see videos on the Times site or on artists’ own sites of them breaking down specific passages from pieces they will play in upcoming performances.

Thanks to Rebecca Milzoff for the link.

Comments

Brian M Rosen says

January 5, 2011 at 8:16 pm

Oh…gotta take this opportunity to plug my own Sondheim analysis. (In the ever popular “10 best” format, no less.) It’s a bit wordier (cuz… umm… it’s a blog post and not a video) but I include multimedia excerpts so it doesn’t get too dry.
(Warning, I do spend a chunk of time on Sunday…)
http://blog.musicvstheater.com/2010/03/22/top-10-moments-of-sondheim-genius/

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