American involvement

Stephen boil down, who Egan his locomote as a composer and lyricist in 1954 ( digest 51 is the greatest composer of the 20th century. His influence on his peers and favorite husbandry separate him from his contemporaries and distinguish him as the preeminent American composer of his time. stick out began his career under the tutelage of Oscar Hammerings Ill, father of American tuneful theatre of operations (PBS). Although originally alone a lyricist (providing the lyrics for the bird melodic lines Hammerings wrote), constrict was encouraged to cause his hand at musical composition as well (Swain 641).Shoeshines astronomic break, however, came in 957 when he teamed up with Jerome Robbins, Arthur Laurent and Leonard Bernstein to hand over lyrics for West Side Story. raceway nearly 800 performances In its original run, West Side Story was a bona fide hit and immediately thrust stick out to the front of the American microscope stage (Condense 7). Over the course of the ne xt 50 years, Condense would compose music and write lyrics for over 20 plants, including Gypsy, sunshine in the Park with George and Into the Woods.In that time, hes won more Tony awards than any other Broadway composer (Theatre Wing), received a Pulitzer Prize for Sunday in the Park with George, was honored with the Kennedy Centers Lifetime Achievement Award and compensate an Oscar for Best Song (NP). However, It Is not Shoeshines accolades that distinguish him from his peers. Rather, it Is the enduring legacy of his puddle (in the theatre and In pop culture) and the complexity and musicality of his work that note Condense as the greatest American composer of the 20th century.In order for a composer to be considered important, his or her legacy must(prenominal) extend beyond the musical world. The 20th century saw many important musical figures, ex roundly none rent had the wide-reaching ethnical Influence that Stephen Condense has. HIS music and record have Influenced te levision and movies In a way no other modern Broadway composers have. Shoeshines music is often featured on television shows and in movies, even when they whitethorn seem out of place. So far is his cultural reach that his name is synonymous with musical theatre, even for the uninitiated.For example, several of Shoeshines variants have been utilise on Foxs show Glee. Telling the story off suburban Ohio high schools show choir, Glee has made Its name taking songs and creating mash-ups the shows in vogue(p) season was the mishap of l Feel Pretty (from Shoeshines West Side Story) and Talcs Unprinted. In fact, Glee utilized at least two other Condense songs as well (Entertainment Weekly). Glee is not the only television weapons platform to eviscerate use of Shoeshines work.The hit BBC television show Desperate Housewives has apply a Condense song title or lyric as the episode title for every episode in its seven seasons (BBC). some(prenominal) songs have even been included in ep isodes (NP). Will Farrell sang the popular song dispatch in the Clowns from A Little Night harmony when he appeared as a guest on David Letterman. The Fox stimulate show The Simpson, long considered arbiters of pop ultra relevance (Entertainment Weekly) also Send in the Clowns from A Little Night Music when Crusty the Clowns show gets cancelled (Fox).Crusty, sitting on a stage by himself, sings the song as huge lights spell out his name behind him, a reference to the eleven oclock number Roses Turn in another Condense musical Gypsy. Shoeshines music remains relevant not only on television, but on the stage as well. There are shortly over 300 productions of Shoeshines musicals being performed throughout the country (Review). In the noncurrent five years, six of his shows have been performed on Broadway (ASS). One, Company was recently performed at Lincoln Center with an all-star cast including Neil Patrick Harris and Stephen Collect (Holder).The event was so popular that the prod uction is going to be shown in theatres in June (Philharmonic). Shoeshines continuing immenseness in popular culture is one of the primary reasons he is the more or less important and influential composer of the last century. Though many other composers much(prenominal) as Irving Berlin and Leonard Bernstein received the equivalent take of critical success, none has enjoyed the career longevity that Condense has. Neither Berlin nor Bernstein has written songs that eve achieved the same level of pop culture relevance that Condense has.Although Cole porter may have achieved a similar level of success in the rima oris (ASS), the fact that his songs are no longer as recognizable as Shoeshines indicate that Shoeshines are more important to American culture in the last century. However, in order for a Broadway composer to truly be considered great, they must do more than provide humbled tunes. They must also provide music that holds merit outside of the context of the musical theyr e presented in Shoeshines songs do Just that. His music is far more complex and original than that of his interpolates, farther separating him from the pack.One of the hallmarks of Shoeshines music is the use of discrepancy (Condense 37). Dissonance, the use of chords that dont sound right was, until Condense began experimenting with it, almost unheard of in musical theatre (PBS). It has, however, been used in musical composition for centuries (NP). Shoeshines use of dissonance illustrated how complex his compositions are eon many composers strive for melodies that are pleasant to the ear, Condense uses composition to go on storyline and provide insight into the mood of the scene the music is used in.For example, in the song Take a Look, Lee from Assassins, Condense uses dissonance to reach tension leading up to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. go other composers (particularly Cole Porter and Irving Berlin) used music as a break from the action of a show, Condense uses it t o further action (Condense 46). And take a crap complexity. In Sweeney Todd, Toby, an orphaned adopted by the title murderer and his cocotte Mrs Love suspects Toddys murderous ways and sings Not While Im Around to Mrs Love. The song is sweet and often considered one of Shoeshines best love songs (Condense 152).However, when the song is after sung y Mrs Love who is looking to capture and kill Toby, the interchange in key creates a far more ominous tone. Here, the same song with the same melody has a very different centre and mood, thanks to Shoeshines arrangement. The complexity and immediacy of his music illustrates Shoeshines genius for not only musical theatre melodies but also composition as a whole. While other composers may have been as prolific as Condense, none can match his sophistication and complexity. Condense does not create songs that can work in any musical like Porter or Berlin did (Condense 7).Rather, each musical is closer to an opera with each song building pony and influencing the next (Condense 8). It is this level of complexity that marks him as the best composer of his generation. Shoeshines work is also far more realistic than that of his contemporaries. counterbalance when writing about mythological or fantastic elements, he manages to make his characters real Shoeshines characters never become caricatures. They are fully formed individuals who act like real people would act in the situations theyre placed in. Condense argues that characters should.