Imagine taking the long andwinding road to a recordingstudio in London. Not just any stu-dio, but Abbey Road Studio, whereJohn, Paul, George and Ringorecorded most of their music from1962 to 1970.

Ted Chapin didn’t have to imag-ine it. He lived it and confides that“it was pretty cool.” But instead ofhearing the legendary Beatles, helistened with pride and admirationas the talented British conductorJohn Wilson coaxed his hand-picked orchestra—comprised ofmany of the U.K. andEurope’s finest first-stringplayers—to bring to lifethe film orchestrations ofRodgers & Hammerstein.

Wilson has producedcountless orchestrations forfilm, radio and TV, and his life-long love of musicals has led himto restore the scores of numerousclassic films including HighSociety and Singin’ in the Rain.

“I listened to a CD many yearsago of movie music by JohnWilson. I’d never heard of himbefore, but immediately became afan,” says Chapin, president andCEO of the New York-basedRodgers & Hammerstein: An

ImagemCompany. “It led

me on a quest to findthis person who conducted withsuch guts and passion. I wantedhim to take a look at the repertoirethat I represented.”

Chapin and Wilson would even-tually meet at the BBC Proms,share their zeal for all things R&H,and agree to collaborate on a proj-ect. The culmination of that mutu-al admiration is EMI Classics’

Rodgers & Hammerstein At TheMovies, the first re-recording ofmany of R&H’s most beloved songssince the original movie sound-stage sessions.

“There is nothing in existencewith this type of integrity,” boasts C

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RODGERS &HAMMERSTEINREVISITED

THE ANATOMY OF A CLASSIC,SEVEN DECADES LATER!

JOHN WILSONCONDUCTS HISORCHESTRA IN

THE LEGENDARYABBEY ROAD

STUDIO.

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MUSICALMUSINGS ONMEN’S STYLETed Chapin: “God lovethe blue blazer is all Ican say! Women alwaystravel with lots ofclothes on hangers, butif I’m gone for a three-day trip, I can do it allwith a blue blazer. Brioniis the suit that looks beston me, so I guess I nowhave ‘a brand.’ And I liketo have fun with neck-ties, an absurd categoryof clothing when youthink about it....”

David Pittsinger: “I feelvery close to Emile deBecque’s style: clothingthat’s refined, butexpressive. I love life-time classics—like Zegnaand Armani—that makeyou feel impeccablydressed and pressed. ButI also admire the stylingof Robert Graham,whose color palettes,hand-stitching and tat-too-inspired designs aredramatic yet elegant.”

“The recording opened to critical acclaim in the U.K.last fall, ahead of Coldplay, the Beach Boys, Katy Perry…”

Chapin. “John has shaken up R&H’s musicand said, ‘Listen to this: it’s pretty extraordi-nary. Don’t take it for granted.’”

Since debuting to critical acclaim in theU.K. last fall—ahead of Coldplay, the BeachBoys and Katy Perry—the recording hasenjoyed comparable notoriety in the UnitedStates following its February2013 release. Howcould it not with aselection of 15 clas-sics from Oklahoma,Carousel, SouthPacific, The King andI and The Sound ofMusic in their stun-ning original filmorchestrations?

Almost sevendecades after Rodgers &Hammerstein first col-laborated on Oklahoma,the universality and significance of theirmusic and message has never beenstronger—both in the U.S. and abroad. JohnWilson saw the reaction firsthand when heperformed the duo’s iconic music at the BBCProms and received a huge public responsethat grew with each subsequent performance.He was gratified by the strong reaction to alegendary team that he believes “gave us acompletely new sort of musical where thesongs were seamlessly integrated into theplot and pushed the plot forward. In additionto this, you got terrific tunes and beautifullycrafted lyrics.”

“If you’re a general fan of Rodgers &Hammerstein, you will hear in these perform-ances such a degree of energy, clarity andpassion, it’s like hearing them for the firsttime,” explains Chapin. “Everyone knows the

notes that make up these songs, but whenyou hear them played by John Wilson, you situp and say ‘Wow!’”

And that’s exactly what happened to DavidPittsinger, the international opera star whomade his Broadway debut as Emile de Becque

in South Pacific and who alsoperforms Some EnchantedEvening on this recording.

Pittsinger says he’s in awe of “the genius of JohnWilson. He captured theessence, the flavor, the textand the color of the filmorchestrations. It’s inspi-rational to be a student,curator and champion ofthis music, which servesas a great tribute to thelasting relevance of

Rodgers & Hammerstein.”Interestingly, South Pacific was the first

musical featuring R&H as both writers andproducers. One of the most successful part-nerships in the history of American musicaltheater, their musicals have collectivelyearned 34 Tonys, 15 Oscars, two PulitzerPrizes and two Grammys.

For this unprecedented recording, Wilsonchose what he considered to be “all the besttunes... where the orchestrations show off theorchestra.” He also showcased a broad cross-section of characters—“the Rodgers &Hammerstein types”—and intentionally castgreat singers who are also respected actors.

“John is smart at getting all the goods tomake music,” adds Chapin. “I think Mr.Rodgers and Mr. Hammerstein would bethrilled by the results. They’d say, ‘Whoa,that’s what we wrote… and that’s exactly theway we wanted it to sound.”

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