Title: For musicians and Sondheim enthusiasts only
Review: As a musical theatre composer myself, this book was dead on as far as its intricate dissecting of Sondheim's scores. However, non-musicians take note: This book may not be for you. Banfield employs deep theortical analasys of Sondheim's work, and most readers without a background in music theory will find some of this book difficult to understand. As far as Banfield's analasys goes, it is right on target. He explains the various schemes and tecniques Sondheim uses in his music to make it sound exactly like what is being expressed. Banfield also does an excellent job in explaning the various actions that drove Sondheim to write his shows and the reactions that came from the critics. All in all, this is a wonderfully written book.
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