A long time favorite, The Sound of Music, is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary! We have two copies of the 50th Anniversary Special Edition of the Original Cast Recording: The Sound Of Music to give to two lucky readers! Read on to find out how to enter.
On November 16, 1959, The Sound of Music – the last musical collaboration of composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II – made history when it opened at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theater. Masterworks Broadway celebrates that milestone with a special 50th anniversary edition of the musical’s beloved original cast recording, starring Broadway legend Mary Martin. The 50th anniversary edition of the original cast recording of The Sound of Music will be released on November 3, 2009.
While a larger audience came to know The Sound of Music six years later, when the Oscar-winning film version starring Julie Andrews was released, the musical became a major hit of the 1959-60 season, sharing (with Fiorello!) that spring the Tony Award for Best Musical. It ran 1,443 performances on Broadway, toured the U.S. for several seasons and became an even longer-running hit in London when the first British production (1961) ran twice as long as its Broadway counterpart. It continues to be one of the most popular and enduring musicals of all time.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Broadway premiere of The Sound of Music, Masterworks Broadway has restored the original cast recording in a new edition that features three unusual bonus tracks, extensive liner notes about the show’s history by Bert Fink of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, and rarely seen photos of the recording sessions, held November 22, 1959, in Columbia Records’ celebrated 30th Street Studios.
In addition to the original cast recording, the three bonus tracks on the 50th anniversary edition are:
“From Switzerland: The Pratt Family,” a spoof of The Sound of Music created for and performed by Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett in 1962 on their TV special Julie and Carol Live at Carnegie Hall; A live recording of “Edelweiss,” sung in German, from the historic first production (2005) of The Sound of Music in Vienna; A soaring cover version of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” sung in Swedish (as “Sök dig till bergen”) by Tommy Körberg, best known to American audiences for his vocals on the concept album of Chess.
The release of the recording comes just as Simon & Schuster adds to The Sound of Music phenomenon with a collectible pop-up book for every family’s library. The heartwarming, classic adventure – adapted by Bert Fink from the story of the stage musical – comes alive with paper engineering as unforgettable as each timeless melody. It is available now wherever books are sold.
RCA Red Seal, Sony Classical, deutsche harmonia mundi, Masterworks Broadway and Masterworks Jazz are labels of Sony Masterworks. For email updates and information regarding RCA Red Seal, Sony Classical, deutsche harmonia mundi, Masterworks Broadway and Masterworks Jazz artists, promotions, tours and repertoire, please visit www.sonymasterworks.com.
We have been singing along with the songs ever since we got our copy. It’s so much fun to sing our favorites. It’s even more fun to look at the pop-up book that they came out with for the anniversary too. You can find The Sound of Music: A Classic Collectible Pop-Up on Amazon. Believe me, you are going to want this book, especially if you love The Sound of Music story. We love pop up books too, and this one did not disappoint!
This Cast Recording and Pop up Book are a great way for you to spend quality time with your child while encouraging their reading skills along the way. According to the Child Literacy Center reading to your child is the single most valuable thing you can do. Many educational intuitions suggest reading predictable books that children can “read” back to you and sharing music with strong rhythms and songs with rhyming lines. What better way to teach your child to read, than with a story and music that you grew up with and love. You can use this Sing-Along guide along with the book to encourage your child to follow the story with you.
Want a chance to win one of the CDs?
Just leave a comment on this post before midnight on Friday December 4th. Tell us your favorite song from The Sound of Music! The winners will be chosen at random and contacted by email shortly after the giveaway ends.
*this giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Sherrie, and Vader’s Mom.*
music | Aimee | June 18, 2010 | 
Comments (1) 
recently. What a treat! I had never heard of Brandi before, so I was curious what kind of music it would be. It’s a bit hard to categorize the style of music, but I would say it’s mainly folk rock or even country.
