Think of how lucky we are to have access to this history...

I just love hearing Sondheim talk - so erudite and yet so grounded - and I always learn a lot from what he says.

🎹  Steve Sondheim gave us so much. I will always cherish his kindness to me when I lived in New York (50 years ago) and the   thoughtful letters he wrote to me. RIP my friend.

I always feel put at ease when hearing this brilliant, erudite man speak. His manner of speaking oozed both intelligent confidence and grounded humility, a very unusual combination. Had he not gone into musical theatre (perish the thought), Sondheim would've made a great teacher!

I could listen to him talk for a million hours. Incredibly interesting.

Cant get enough Sondheim!

Stephen was such a mensch and his music will live on. Interesting to hear his honest and candid views about working with Bernstein.

Love the clarity of his process

This is a treasure. Thank you.

You can learn everything you need to know about lyric writing from this man.

This is brilliant in so many levels! Rather a master class, than an interview. Genius. And the glimpse of a very interesting human being, too. ❤

Put this one in a time capsule--he was the best

This is the kind of stuff that should have been incorporated into Maestro

Isn't it remarkable how a genius like Sondheim sounds so matter-of-fact when what he created artistically is some of the best music and songs written in the 20th and 21st centuries?

Fascinating and brilliant this is indeed. What a joy to listen to. God bless Sondheim and Bernstein. S x

A wonderful interview with Stephen Sondheim, and his collaboration and rivalry with Leonard Bernstein. It doesn’t matter! 😆 They were co-authors and protagonists of the best Modern American Music and creations of Masterpieces of their time. Outstanding Authors in Lyrics and Music forever  ✨

Oh, I miss him.....

There were several dozen people interviewed by Susan Lacy for her documentary and the tapes are online (type in American Masters Leonard Bernstein.) She is the sole interviewer and she does a very fine job, having studied up her Bernstein.

I suggest you retitle this interview to indicate that it's very much about West Side Story in general as much or more than  about Leonard Bernstein

Highly recommend Okrent’s fantastic Sondheim biography, Art Isn’t Easy. Among other things, it speaks to Lenny and Steve’s rocky relationship, petty gossip they shared about eachother and it’s both messy and interesting. Couldn’t help but think of it when Stephen says “Lenny isn’t a songwriter” in this interview. Lol