Essentials of Music

COMPOSERS

RICHARD RODGERS

Born: June 28, 1902. Long Island, NY
Died: December, 1979. New York, NY

American composer. He is considered one of the greatest writers in American musical theater.

When we watch a Broadway musical, we expect a clearly defined storyline, with musical numbers that support and propel the plot, and with choreography and instrumental music integrated to produce a seamless and dramatic whole. Many of these expectations arise out of the classic musicals of the 1940s and 1950s; the shows of Richard Rodgers are some of the most important and popular of these works.

Rodgers was mainly self-taught as a composer; his earliest influences were the operetta style of Victor Herbert and the songs of Jerome Kern. He began creating music for the stage as a student at Columbia University and the Institute of Musical Art. These works, intended for amateur performance, were often little more than musical reviews in a popular style. In 1918, he began his first important collaboration. This was with the lyricist Lorenz Hart, and it lasted until Hart's death in 1943. As a team, Rodgers and Hart created some of the most memorable songs of the American stage, guided by Hart's witty lyrics and seemingly inexhaustible rhymes and Rodgers' direct and often transparent melodic style. As the two continued to work together, they began to create more integrated theater works. For these, Rodgers contributed more ambitious instrumental pieces, such as the ballet Slaughter on Tenth Avenue for their 1936 show On Your Toes, choreographed by George Balanchine.

After Hart's death, Rodgers teamed up with Oscar Hammerstein II. This collaboration produced some of the most popular pieces in Broadway history, including Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I and The Sound of Music. In addition to their success on the stage, all of these were made into lavish Hollywood movie musicals, and were among the most important works in this genre. In these works, Rodgers' lyrical gift became more central, and the songs often broke away from the standard forms (such as the usual verse/chorus approach) in order to fit the needs of the drama. After Hammerstein's death, Rodgers wrote other shows with other lyricists (including Stephen Sondheim), but none reached the heights of his work with Hammerstein or Hart. Rodgers is also known for film music, especially his score for the film Victory at Sea. In this, as well as much of his Broadway work, he had the assistance of Robert Russell Bennett, who provided the orchestration.

The impact of Rodgers's shows, both in terms of popular appeal and in their influence on other writers, was tremendous. Both Oklahoma!, which is often pointed to as a turning point for the modern musical comedy, and South Pacific (based on James Michener's Tales from the South Pacific) were awarded Pulitzer Prizes. These, and many of his other shows, remain staples of the Broadway and amateur stage.

Musical Examples:

"There is Nothin' Like a Dame" from South Pacific

Works:

Musicals with Lorenz Hart, including The Girl Friend (1926), A Connecticut Yankee (1927), On Your Toes (1936), The Boys from Syracuse (1938) and Pal Joey (1940)
Musicals with Oscar Hammerstein II, including Oklahoma! (1943), Carousel (1945), South Pacific (1949), The King and I (1951) and The Sound of Music (1959)
Other shows and film scores, including Victory at Sea (1952)

20th Century Era

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