Lerner and Loewe
 |
This article's factual accuracy is disputed. Please help to ensure that disputed facts are reliably sourced. See the relevant discussion on the talk page. (January 2012) |
|
|
This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (January 2012) |
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2012) |
 |
This article's citation style may be unclear. The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting, or external linking. (December 2009) |
Lerner and Loewe are the duo of lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe, known primarily for the music and lyrics of some of Broadway's most successful musical shows, including My Fair Lady, Camelot, and Brigadoon.
Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, more commonly known as Fritz, met in 1942 at the Lambs Club in New York City[1] where, according to Loewe, he mistakenly took a wrong turn to the men's room and walked past Lerner's table. Having recognized him, he asked if Lerner wrote lyrics and Lerner confirmed Loewe's question.
Lerner claimed to be the more dominant one of partnership, which is supported by interviews with their close friends, saying that he would throw out the first two melodies that Loewe would write to any song even if they were both perfect. He said he always knew, with a little pushing, Loewe was capable of greater work. Loewe also worked perfectly with Lerner, who would agonize for weeks over a lyric. Unlike other collaborators Lerner would work with, Loewe was the most understanding of the time Lerner needed for his lyrics and would never pressure him to complete the work.
Their last collaboration came with the 1974 musical film, The Little Prince, which received mixed reviews but was lauded as one of the team's most cerebral scores.
Regardless of their professional relationship, Lerner and Loewe were close friends and remained so until the end of their lives. Their final public appearance was in December 1985, when they received a Kennedy Center Honor, six months before Lerner's death.
Lerner said this of Loewe:
"There will never be another Fritz...Writing will never again be as much fun. A collaboration as intense as ours inescapably had to be complex. But I loved him more than I understood or misunderstood him and I know he loved me more than he understood or misunderstood me."[2]
Contents |
[edit] Theatre works
- Life of the Party 1942
- What's Up? 1943
- The Day Before Spring 1945
- Brigadoon 1947
- Paint Your Wagon 1951
- My Fair Lady 1956
- Camelot 1960
- Gigi 1973 - stage version adapted from the film
[edit] Films and film adaptations
- Brigadoon 1954
- Gigi 1958
- My Fair Lady 1964
- Camelot 1967
- Paint Your Wagon 1969
- The Little Prince 1974
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://www.holeintheweb.com/drp/bhd/LernerLoewe.htm
- ^ Lerner, Alan Jay."Chapter"Camelot"The Street Where I Live, Da Capo Press, 1994, ISBN 0306806029, p. 247
[edit] References
- Lees, Gene (2005, originally published 1991). The Musical Worlds of Lerner and Loewe. University of Nebraska Press (bisonbooks.com), ISBN 0803280408
- Green, Benny, Editor (1987). A Hymn to Him : The Lyrics of Alan Jay Lerner. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0879101091
- Lerner, Alan Jay (1985). The Street Where I Live. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0306806029
- Green, Benny. "Frederick Loewe, a prince of musical comedy", The Guardian, February 16, 1988, p. 33
|
||||||||
