Sondheim Sings, Vol. 2: 1946-1960

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The second volume of Sondheim Sings is an even greater discovery than the first. While that was a fascinating glimpse into the composer's private recordings of early versions of very familiar songs, volume 2 goes back to 1946 (and earlier), when Stephen Sondheim was a precocious 16-year-old writing a show called By George (which, as legend has it, Sondheim presented to Oscar Hammerstein II, who told him, 'It's terrible, and I'll tell you why,' thus propelling an eventually brilliant career). The most familiar song to listeners will be 'Do I Hear a Waltz,' written as the title song of a show composed by Richard Rodgers, but 'Pour le Sport' is a fun romp. Even more interesting are two wildly ambitious list songs, 'A Star Is Born' and 'Ten Years After,' that suggest the young Sondheim's cleverness was almost matched by his fascination with popular culture. There's also some variation on the 'living room tapes' theme, with a 1948 radio broadcast of an instrumental combo playing a lovely waltz, 'How Do I Know?' that foreshadows his film score for Stavisky.
As a singer, Sondheim is closer to Glynis Johns than Bernadette Peters, but he has the enthusiasm to match his vigorous piano-playing. The private-home recordings sound remarkably good, and the booklet is amazingly detailed, providing exactly the historical background required for this type of material, all the lyrics, and annotations of every reference in the list songs mentioned earlier. And again, proceeds from the recording will go to Young Playwrights Inc., which Sondheim founded to support playwrights under 18.