Sondheim's Piano Sonata

Abstract

Stephen Sondheim composed a three-movement piano sonata for his thesis in music at Williams College and submitted the two outer movements upon graduation. Sondheim has since been unwilling to publish or disseminate the work, and a college stipulation has prevented reproduction of the thesis. The sonata shows the influences on Sondheim's emerging musical style – predominantly Ravel, Rachmaninov (influences previously established by scholars), Prokofiev and Hindemith (influences less well established) – and demonstrates that his compositional language was significantly developed by the time of his graduation. Similarities abound between the sonata and the mature musicals of the 1970s and beyond. In addition to providing examples from the completed movements – a feat made possible by Sondheim's decision to grant limited permission to reproduce the sonata – the article examines a two-page sketch for the second movement, a manuscript that had remained in Sondheim's sole possession until October 2000.