Sondheim Tonight: Live from Barbican Centre London

Product Description

The Barbican Centre paid a tribute to the world's greatest living musical composer, STEPHEN SONDHEIM recently with a concert entitled SONDHEIM TONIGHT. The star studded evening was a sell out event and generated such excitement that this live recording is eagerly awaited.The stars appearing included CLEO LAINE, JULIA McKENZIE, JULIA MIGENES, MICHAEL BALL, MARIA FRIEDMAN, JONATHAN PRYCE, MILLICENT MARTIN, DAME EDNA EVERAGE and others.Some of the greatest Sondheim songs were represented in the concert and therefore will be included on this 2CD set. However, because of the World premiere recordings of two Sondheim pieces, A VERY SHORT VIOLIN PIECE and A PIANO SONATA, this 2CDs is a must for all Sondheim collectors the World over.Although this is a live recording, it was recorded by the very special JAY team and the resultant recording sounds very much like a great studio recording with the live essence being the feature. All the details in the 65 piece orchestra and the voices are perfectly recorded in Digital Dolby Surround Sound.

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As Stephen Sondheim's new shows become fewer and further between, tribute concerts have become a popular way to fill the gaps. Among others, there was Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall in 1993. There was Sondheim: A Celebration in 1997. Now there's Sondheim: Tonight's Celebration--err, make that Sondheim Tonight, a live London concert, and a mixed bag it is. Longtime Sondheim followers will enjoy Len Cariou's brief return as Sweeney Todd, the reunion of the cast of Side by Side by Sondheim, and the appearance of British singers Cleo Laine, Maria Friedman, and Michael Ball. On the other hand, Dame Edna Everage (a.k.a. Barry Humphries) provides a revised "Ladies Who Lunch" that is best skipped. Most notable are the recorded premieres of two instrumental works Sondheim wrote as a student, A Very Short Violin Piece and the more interesting Variations on a Theme (Katie Malone) for solo piano. This two-CD set clocks in at a generous 139 minutes, but over a half-hour is monologues and reminiscences (all separately tracked, thankfully), and another 16 minutes is pleasant but undistinguished orchestral arrangements. No doubt the concert was more entertaining to attend than to listen to on CD, but the Sondheim completist should find something of interest here--or at least get a fix while waiting for Wise Guys. --David Horiuchi