Sondheim on Creativity

子曰：“述而不作，信而好古，竊比於我老彭.”

The Master said: "Transmitting insight, but never creating insight, standing by my words and devoted to the ancients: perhaps I'm a little like that old sage, P'eng. (7.1)

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of meeting Stephen Sondheim, a giant of contemporary American musical theater.  He came to my college for a large public question and answer session with Frank Rich, erstwhile theater critic of the NYT.   I was also able to attend a smaller gathering with about 30 people asking questions.

Of the many anecdotes and ideas that were bantered around , one thing stood out for me: his views on creativity.  Now, it must be said at the outset that Sondheim is generally seen as a truly original and creative composer, shifting the valence of American musicals toward a more dissonant and unresolved narrative and score, but still bringing forth stunning beauty.  Think of the settings and tunes of "Pretty Women" and "Johanna" from Sweeny Todd....

In any event, when asked about his creative process, Sondheim quite readily stated that he mimicked and, even, copied styles and concepts of others.  He went so far as to invoke the Oscar Wilde quote: "talent borrows, genius steals."  He gave various examples of how he starts with something that someone else had done, sometimes something near in time, sometimes something historical.  It was a revelation - though trite in a way.  Just another example of how innovation arises from context: we find originality within existing cultural practices and parameters.

And that is pretty much what Confucius says in 7.1.  He understands himself as carrying forward the best practices of the Zhou and the Shang and the Xia.  But, of course, he was very innovative, transforming what had come before into something new, a call to moral practice that fundamentally challenged existing political and cultural patterns.  

In either case, they are not merely transmitting insight, they are creating it...

Comments

[Margo]

What a great post - it's nice to think that we don't always have to be completely innovative to create something original. Your post gives me a new way to look at originality. Thanks for sharing!

Cheers,
Margo