Last Saturday, March 19, Symphony Space celebrated composer Stephen Sondheim's 75th birthday with a gigantic marathon of the composer's music called "Wall to Wall Sondheim." I was scheduled to perform in that concert as a member of the Juilliard Choral Union. Unfortunately, personal and professional conflicts did not allow me to participate in the event. The Choral Union sang during the last hours of the show, and closed the evening with "Sunday in the Park with George," arranged and played by composer Jason Robert Brown. Luckily, the entire affair was broadcast by XM Satellite Radio, and the buffs were quick to post it to Usenet. I downloaded and burned all twelve hours into one shiny CD-R -- don't you love the MP3 format?! -- and have plans to spend my Easter week vacation listening to the whole thing.
I hope this will be a great week of listening and discovery. Truthfully, though, I am riddled with fears of interruptions. I remember that funny, clever British comedy by Simon Gray Otherwise Engaged, where London publisher Simon Hench buys a recording of Wagner's Parsifal, and all he wants to do is unwind in his den with the recording and a glass of brandy. His prospects are dashed, time and again, by annoying interruptions.
I must say that the first two hours (I am listening to it as I blog) have already featured "Into the Woods," "Gypsy," "Company," and esoterica from Sondheim's days as an undergraduate in Williams College. It promises to be a very enjoyable marathon. Click here for a complete schedule of the event, with a list of performers and musical numbers.
6 comments:
You didn't put 12 hours of music on one CD. Tell me how you did it when I see you Wednesday. Tim
And where was it posted on Usenet? Is it still there? Tim
from where did you get the wall to wall sondheim recording? Is it still possible to get a copy?
Hello.
I only recently found out about the Wall to Wall celebration and I'm trying to find a recording of it (and not just the concert). Do you know if it's still available on the web somewhere?
Btw, your name sounds very familiar to me. I wonder if we might have met somewhere (my parents are musicians in NY).
Please contact me. I'm on livejournal, under the name tiguh_tiguh, or you can reach me at camusr@verizon.net.
Thank you so much.
Assassins was his best work. Don't think so join the poll at http://museforpat.blogspot.com/
I'm soo late in the game on this, but if you have the complete recording, I'd love to get a copy...
jscottyca (at) gmail (dot) com
Thanks!
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