Stephen Sondheim, one of the greatest American musical composers, dies at 91

RIP Sondheim, he was a personal hero of mine and an unparalleled force within the small world of musical theatre writing. As an artist he absorbed and perfected the craft of everyone who came before him, and he was an excellent teacher - both directly through his shows but also in mentoring other artists.

If you study his teachings[0][1] about writing musical theatre you'll find a lot of parallels with programming and software (in fact, Sondheim planned to be a mathematician before becoming a composer.)

His three mottos have stood me well, both as a composer and a developer:

"Less is more

Content dictates form

God is in the details

All in the service of clarity, without which nothing else matters"

An absolute master.

[0]: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-iraDwAAQBAJ&lpg=PT13&ot...

[1]: There are so many brilliant videos of him explaining his craft - including this: https://youtu.be/NUN_MTChn5M?t=86

Before I became dedicated to becoming a technology professional, I was in training to become a professional in music. I did some of the things one might do, Berklee, gigging etc. While none of that panned out for me (and really shouldn't have), I still can't help but hold some of those that inspired me in awe. Stephen Sondheim was one of those people, though a bit later than some others.

The quality of Sondheim's writing, both lyrical and musical, drove the craft of musical theater forward in ways that make him unique amongst innovators... you can see some of the roots of this not only in that his original mentor was Hammerstein, but in that he also studied with the likes of Milton Babbitt. The mixing of traditional popular song with the abstract thinking of academic composers led to something that I don't think could have appeared without with a songwriter from only one of these backgrounds.

A truly sad day for music and theater.

Just watched Tick, Tick … Boom on Netflix. The role of mentorship is incredibly important for young aspiring talent. May Stephen’s memory be a blessing.

RIP to a great composer, and by all accounts, a wonderful man. I took a composing class in 2004-2005 and Sondheim came in talked with us during the session on writing for voice. I don't remember the specifics, but I recall his offering to give a close listen to a project a student was working on; the other kid must have been in HS or college at the most, and here was this God descending from Mt. Olympus to help him out.