14 Sondheim songs chosen to win over newcomers

The New York Times asked notable fans and colleagues to each pick one Stephen Sondheim song to offer a newcomer, assembling a 14-song primer meant to showcase his range and craft. The piece frames Sondheim as both “America’s greatest musical dramatist” and a master tunesmith; it notes that he died in 2021 at the age of 91 and that he wrote music and lyrics for 15 Broadway musicals that opened between 1962 and 2023, plus an earlier 1954 work that did not open, as well as scores for television and films.

Contributors singled out songs for different reasons: Judy Collins chose “Send In the Clowns,” recalling how its opening “Da da da da!” and the lyric “Isn’t it rich?” seized her immediately and calling it Sondheim’s only hit; Michael R. Jackson praised “The Ladies Who Lunch” for its character arc and internal rhymes; Alexis Soloski described “Losing My Mind” as a song that “rips your heart out” and follows obsession impressionistically.

Other selections underline Sondheim’s dramatic and musical technique. Helen Shaw highlighted “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd,” noting its quotation of the Dies Irae and its chilling climaxes; Renée Fleming pointed to “Not While I’m Around” as an example of a ballad that advances plot through unsettling orchestration; Jesse Green recounted how “Comedy Tonight” replaced an earlier opener to set the farcical tone for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

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