Simply stated, Richard Rodgers is America's finest composer. In our history, no other composer's music equals the consistent and prolonged quality, innovativeness, range, and sublime beauty of his compositions. Rodgers exquisite, unforgettable melodies are crafted with such subtle ingenuity and sophistication that they never lose their freshness or their appeal.Rodgers' musical genius was matched in two legendary partnerships, the first with lyricist Lorenz Hart, and the second with librettist-lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. Rodgers' collaboration with these two gifted men elevated and transformed musical theater into a true and distinctive American art form.
There is a knee-jerk tendency by a few so-called musical "experts" to site Gershwin as the greatest American composer. But discerning authorities and audiences know better. The ENTIRE BODY of Richard Rodgers' work stands the test of time better than Gershwin's, or for that matter, better than the music of Berlin, Kern, Porter, Arlen, and Carmichael, all gifted composers.
Rodgers' music is universally admired and respected generation after generation amongst all kinds of audiences. Few, if any of his compositions sound dated which cannot be said for a substantial portion of Gershwin and other composers' music.
Rodgers' music is written so brilliantly that it seems organic, as if nature itself had perfectly strung together a series of notes which sound no less than heavenly, and which seem as if they could not have been structured in any other way. In some of Gershwin's music, particulary "An American in Paris" and "Porgy and Bess", the music seems stilted, grandiose, even pretentious.
You never get that feeling with a Rodgers' composition. His music always has a quality of lightness, fluidity, and sponteneity something missing in portions of Gershwin's music. Some of Gershwin's music has a leaden and/or redundant aspect which is not found in Rodgers' works.
The breadth of Rodgers' range as a composer was limitless. Here is a man who wrote music perfectly suited to shows as diverse as "Oklahoma", "Pal Joey", "Carousel", "Sound of Music", "Cinderella", "King and I", "No Strings", etc. The list is impressive.
The documentary "The Sweetest Sounds" serves as a brief, but informative look at Rodgers incomparable career. It also provides an anecdotal analysis of the handsome ladies' man and the complex, neurotic person that Rodgers was. Rodgers could be a faithful friend and ally, but he was also a demanding perfectionist who could also be confoundingly emotionally distant.
Regardless of Rodgers' human frailties, the contributions and innovations that he made in popular and theatrical music are unsurpassed. Richard Rodgers is a genius, an artist, and an icon the likes of whom we may never see again.
