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Bit by bit, putting it together... Piece by piece, only way to make a work of art. Every moment makes a contribution, Every little detail plays a part. Having just the vision's no solution, Everything depends on execution, Putting it together, that's what counts.
Stephen Sondheim -
He came from a rock band and even though he was not a lead singer, I knew he was musical just from that. I also knew that he was intelligent enough from talking to him, that he would not play this part unless he could handle it vocally. I knew he was not about to get up there and have to have his voice dubbed or come off croaking. So Johnny Depp casted Johnny Depp. I trusted him entirely. I knew that he was no fool and he would only do it if he felt he could handle it. I told him to listen to the score carefully and if you can handle it, fine by me, and I was right.
Stephen Sondheim
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Everyone I used to play with has either given up or is dead.
Stephen Sondheim -
Success is like failure, It's how you perceive it, It's what you do with it, not how you achieve it.
Stephen Sondheim -
You're so nice. You're not good, you're not bad, You're just nice. I'm not good, I'm not nice, I'm just right. I'm the witch. You're the world.
Stephen Sondheim -
Can't we just pursue our lives With our children and our wives Till that happy day arrives How do you ignore All the witches All the curses All the wolves, all the lies The false hopes, the goodbyes . . .
Stephen Sondheim -
By the time I was 22, I was a professional. A young and flawed professional, but not an amateur.
Stephen Sondheim -
I love computers. I love writing on them. I love gadgetry. The thing is: I am a slow reader. So, if I am going to get my work done, I read, like, a newspaper and that's it. If I got into websites and the internet, I wouldn't get any work done.
Stephen Sondheim
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I really don't want to write a score until the whole show is cast and staged.
Stephen Sondheim -
Ah, but if you have no expectations, You can never have a disappointment.
Stephen Sondheim -
Musical comedies aren't written, they are rewritten.
Stephen Sondheim -
Deciding what is to be sung and what is not to be sung is really what writing a musical is about.
Stephen Sondheim -
Nice is different than good.
Stephen Sondheim -
A song is such a short form ... that 'the slightest flaw seems like a mountain.' And so every song needs to be revised 'til it's close to perfection... But achieving perfection takes a lot of energy.
Stephen Sondheim
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Into the woods--you have to grope, But that's the way you learn to cope. Into the woods to find there's hope Of getting through the journey.
Stephen Sondheim -
To wish and wait From day to day Will never keep The wolves away.
Stephen Sondheim -
I didn't really want to write just lyrics, but I wanted to meet Leonard Bernstein. Music was always the first reason I was writing songs.
Stephen Sondheim -
The concerts you enjoy together/ Neighbors you annoy together/ Children you destroy together,/ That keep marriage in tact.
Stephen Sondheim -
Careful the spell you cast, not just on children. Sometimes the spell may last Past what you can see And turn against you... Careful the tale you tell. That is the spell.
Stephen Sondheim -
White. A blank page or canvas. The challenge. Bring order to the whole Through design, composition, tension, balance, light, and harmony.
Stephen Sondheim
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By the time I get through writing a score, I know the book better than the book writer does, because I've examined every word, and questioned the book writer on every word.
Stephen Sondheim -
Work is what you do for others, liebchen. Art is what you do for yourself.
Stephen Sondheim -
Generally, the best recording is the original cast, because that's the way the piece grew: integrally, with them.
Stephen Sondheim -
If I got involved with the chat rooms and Facebook and everything - I would probably never leave. That's why I don't do it. I literally don't do it. At all.
Stephen Sondheim