Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Joshua Sondheim (March 22, 1930 – November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist.

Stephen Sondheim
Sondheim c. 1976
Born	Stephen Joshua Sondheim (1930-03-22)March 22, 1930 New York City, U.S.
Died	November 26, 2021(2021-11-26) (aged 91) Roxbury, Connecticut, U.S.
Alma mater	Williams College
Occupations	Composer lyricist
Years active	1952–2021
Spouse	Jeffrey Romley ​ (m. 2017)​
Musical career
Genres	Musical theater

Personal life

Sondheim was born into a Jewish^[1] family in New York City. He grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and later near Doylestown, Pennsylvania. He was openly gay.^[2] In 2017, he married Jeffrey Romley.

Sondheim died on November 26, 2021 from heart disease in Roxbury, Connecticut at the age of 91.^[3]

Career

Sondheim wrote the words for songs in Gypsy and West Side Story. Of American composers still living, he had won the most awards. He won:

• Multiple Grammy Awards
• 9 Tony Awards (more than any other composer)
• A Lifetime Achievement Tony
• An Academy Award
• A Pulitzer Prize.

Sondheim wrote both the music and the words to his musicals.

Many critics like his work, but some people do not like it. Sweeney Todd is very different from the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Some of Sondheim's musicals

• A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
• Follies
• A Little Night Music
• Sunday in the Park with George
• Into The Woods
• Sweeney Todd