Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim has died

Enlarge image

Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021)

Photo: Charles Krupa / AP

He was considered a revolutionary of the musical in the USA.

With his texts on "West Side Story" and works like "Company" or "Sweeney Todd", Stephen Sondheim set innovative impulses and shaped entire generations of musical professionals.

Sondheim was born in New York on March 22, 1930.

Although his parents worked in the fashion industry, he became interested in musical theater from an early age.

His breakthrough came in 1957 when he wrote the lyrics to Leonard Bernstein's world success "West Side Story", followed two years later by the musical "Gypsy".

He celebrated further successes in the course of his long career as a composer and lyricist with his own works such as "Sunday in the Park with George" and "A Little Night Music".

The song from "A Little Night Music", "Send in the Clowns", became a classic.

Among other things, it was interpreted by Barbara Streisand.

Crossword puzzles and classic musicals

In addition to his musical works, Sondheim wrote crossword puzzles for the "New York Magazine" from 1968 to 1969, which shaped his writing style and his sense of dramaturgical deception.

Sondheim has received eight Grammy Awards, as many Tony Awards, an Oscar and the Pulitzer Prize for his work.

In 2015 he received the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States, from then President Barack Obama.

"To put it simply: Stephen reinvented the American musical," Obama said at the time.

Now Stephen Sondheim has died at the age of 91.

The "New York Times" reported, citing Sondheim's lawyer.

According to him, Sondheim died on Friday at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut, USA.

The day before he celebrated Thanksgiving with friends.

"Thank God Sondheim was 91 years old, so he had the time to write such wonderful music and great lyrics," tweeted Barbra Streisand.

"We have lost the Shakespeare of musical theater," said "Company" director Marianne Elliott on Twitter. Elliott explained that Sondheim never wrote a note or text without psychological significance. His melodies and lyrics always said something about the character of the Characters from "and that's why he's like Shakespeare".

cbu / dpa