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53-465: The John Wilson Orchestra has been acclaimed for showing how "authentic period performance" extends to screen musicals. In an interview with Rebecca Franks for the BBC Music Magazine prior to the 2010 Proms season, John Wilson explained how the specific make-up of the orchestra reflects this purpose: The orchestra’s been together a good 15 years and its make-up is very specific. It’s modelled on

106-712: A special Pulitzer Prize in 1944 for Oklahoma! . In 1954, Rodgers conducted the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in excerpts from Victory at Sea , Slaughter on Tenth Avenue and the Carousel Waltz for a special LP released by Columbia Records . Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals earned a total of 37 Tony Awards , 15 Academy Awards , two Pulitzer Prizes , two Grammy Awards , and two Emmy Awards . Rodgers composed five new musicals between Hammerstein's death in 1960 and his own in 1979. In chronological order, they are: No Strings (1962), Do I Hear

159-595: A Beautiful Mornin' ", " People Will Say We're in Love ", " Oklahoma " (which also became the state song of Oklahoma), "It's A Grand Night For Singing", " If I Loved You ", " You'll Never Walk Alone ", " It Might as Well Be Spring ", " Some Enchanted Evening ", " Younger Than Springtime ", " Bali Hai ", " Getting to Know You ", " My Favorite Things ", " The Sound of Music ", " Sixteen Going on Seventeen ", " Climb Ev'ry Mountain ", " Do-Re-Mi ", and " Edelweiss ", Hammerstein's last song. Much of Rodgers' work with both Hart and Hammerstein

212-542: A British national tour of A Celebration of Classic MGM Musicals , visiting Manchester ,Nottingham, Gateshead , Glasgow , Birmingham , and Bournemouth . BBC Music Magazine BBC Music Magazine is a British monthly magazine that focuses primarily on classical music . The first issue appeared in September 1992. BBC Worldwide , the commercial subsidiary of the BBC , was the original owner and publisher together with

265-547: A Broadway songwriting force. Throughout the rest of the decade, the duo wrote several hit shows for both Broadway and London, including Dearest Enemy (1925), The Girl Friend (1926), Peggy-Ann (1926), A Connecticut Yankee (1927), and Present Arms (1928). Their 1920s shows produced standards such as " Here in My Arms ", " Mountain Greenery ", " Blue Room ", " My Heart Stood Still " and " You Took Advantage of Me ". With

318-534: A DVD of the concert. This concert was also revived for a national tour of Britain in November 2010. The evening paid tribute to, among others: Wilson would go on to appear in future Proms seasons with his new ensemble Sinfonia of London . During November, the John Wilson Orchestra reunited with soloists Sir Thomas Allen (baritone) , Kim Criswell , Sarah Fox , Seth MacFarlane and Curtis Stigers for

371-527: A Rodgers song, with a dramatically different arrangement from that originally conceived by him, Rodgers said, "I don't know why Peggy picked on me, she could have fucked up Silent Night ". Mary Martin said that Richard Rodgers composed songs for her for South Pacific , knowing she had a small vocal range, and the songs generally made her look her best. She also said that Rodgers and Hammerstein listened to all her suggestions and she worked extremely well with them. Both Rodgers and Hammerstein wanted Doris Day for

424-522: A Waltz? (1965), Two by Two (1970), Rex (1976), and I Remember Mama (1979). Rodgers wrote both words and music for his first new Broadway project No Strings , which earned two Tony Awards and played 580 shows. The show was a minor hit and featured the song, " The Sweetest Sounds ". Rodgers also wrote both the words and music for two new songs used in the film version of The Sound of Music . (Other songs in that film were from Rodgers and Hammerstein.) Each of his final Broadway musicals faced

477-472: A ballad from Rodgers's Allegro and a comic routine delivered by a quartet from the Maida Vale Singers, from Jerry Bock's Fiorello . Seth MacFarlane and Anna-Jane Casey performed a medley from Guys and Dolls . Other star vocalists were Rodney Earl Clarke, Elizabeth Llewellyn, Sierra Boggess and Julian Ovenden . This was another televised concert from films made between 1935 and 1969, taking

530-490: A collection of songs, dances and comic turns held together by a tenuous plot became a fully integrated narrative. Even though Show Boat is considered to be the earliest example of a book musical, Oklahoma! epitomized the innovations for which Show Boat had laid the groundwork and is considered the first production in American history to be intentionally marketed as a fully integrated musical. In 1943, Richard Rodgers became

583-406: A declining level of success as Rodgers was overshadowed by up-and-coming composers and lyricists. This was evident by the steady drop in run times and critic reviews. Do I Hear a Waltz? ran 220 performances; Two by Two, 343 performances; Rex only 49 performances; and I Remember Mama, 108 performances. While Rodgers went on to work with lyricists: Stephen Sondheim ( Do I Hear a Waltz? ), who

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636-594: A melody for which Hart wrote three consecutive lyrics which were either cut, not recorded or not a hit. The fourth lyric resulted in one of their most famous songs, " Blue Moon ". Other film work includes the scores to The Phantom President (1932), starring George M. Cohan , Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (1933), starring Al Jolson , and, in a quick return after having left Hollywood, Mississippi (1935), starring Bing Crosby and W. C. Fields . In 1935, they returned to Broadway and wrote an almost unbroken string of hit shows that ended shortly before Hart's death in 1943. Among

689-444: A new CD that year in tribute to Rodgers, entitled My Favorite Things: A Richard Rodgers Celebration . Alec Wilder wrote the following about Rodgers: Of all the writers whose songs are considered and examined in this book, those of Rodgers show the highest degree of consistent excellence, inventiveness, and sophistication ... [A]fter spending weeks playing his songs, I am more than impressed and respectful: I am astonished. Rodgers

742-409: A new maturity by telling stories that were focused on characters and drama rather than the earlier light-hearted entertainment of the genre. Rodgers was the first person to win all four of the top American entertainment awards in theater, film, recording, and television – an Emmy , a Grammy , an Oscar , and a Tony  – now known collectively as an EGOT . In addition, he

795-525: A very high octane, high gloss, soloist sort of player. The string sound isn’t blended down, it’s blended up. You play up to the best. It’s a very in-your-face, expensive sort of string sound and it takes a lot of playing. You have to have the best players, but we're spoilt in this country for terrific orchestral performers. The BBC Proms are a celebrated annual summer concert series that take place primarily at London's Royal Albert Hall . Between 2009 and 2019, The John Wilson Orchestra performed thirteen Proms at

848-461: Is 37,530. Profits "are returned to the BBC". The magazine features articles on subjects such as favourite conductors and trends in 21st-century classical music . Previous editors of BBC Music Magazine have included Helen Wallace and Oliver Condy. The current editor is Charlotte Smith, since January 2022. Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979)

901-527: Is a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame . Along with the Academy of Arts and Letters, Rodgers also started and endowed an award for non-established musical theater composers to produce new productions either by way of full productions or staged readings. It is the only award for which the Academy of Arts and Letters accepts applications and is presented every year. Below are the previous winners of

954-483: Is the composer of Adrift In Macao, which debuted at the Philadelphia Theatre Company in 2005 and was produced Off-Broadway in 2007. Mary Rodgers' book Shy: The Alarmingly Outspoken Memoirs of Mary Rodgers was published posthumously in 2022, and included her frank revelations and assessments of her father, family and herself. Rodgers was an atheist . He was prone to depression and alcohol abuse and

1007-814: The Barnard Medal of Distinction . Rodgers was an honoree at the first Kennedy Center Honors in 1978. At the 1979 Tony Awards ceremony—six months before his death—Rodgers was presented the Lawrence Langner Memorial Award for Distinguished Lifetime Achievement in the American Theatre. One of Rodger's final works was a revival of Fly With Me for the 1980 Varsity Show, to which he added several new songs. He died less than four months before its premiere in April 1980. In 1930, Rodgers married Dorothy Belle Feiner (1909–92). Their daughter, Mary (1931–2014),

1060-598: The Depression in full swing during the first half of the 1930s, the team sought greener pastures in Hollywood. The hardworking Rodgers later regretted these relatively fallow years, but he and Hart did write some classic songs and film scores while out west, including Love Me Tonight (1932) (directed by Rouben Mamoulian , who would later direct Rodgers's Oklahoma! on Broadway), which introduced three standards: " Lover ", " Mimi ", and " Isn't It Romantic? ". Rodgers also wrote

1113-528: The Richard Rodgers Theatre in his memory. In 1999, Rodgers and Hart were each commemorated on United States postage stamps. In 2002, the centennial year of Rodgers' birth was celebrated worldwide with books, retrospectives, performances, new recordings of his music, and a Broadway revival of Oklahoma! . The BBC Proms that year devoted an entire evening to Rodgers' music, including a concert performance of Oklahoma! The Boston Pops Orchestra released

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1166-502: The 1920s and 1930s, including Pal Joey , A Connecticut Yankee , On Your Toes and Babes in Arms . With Hammerstein he wrote musicals through the 1940s and 1950s, such as Oklahoma! , Flower Drum Song , Carousel , South Pacific , The King and I , and The Sound of Music . His collaborations with Hammerstein, in particular, are celebrated for bringing the Broadway musical to

1219-494: The 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Drama), The King and I (1951), and The Sound of Music (1959). Other shows include the minor hit Flower Drum Song (1958), as well as relative failures Allegro (1947), Me and Juliet (1953), and Pipe Dream (1955). They also wrote the score to the film State Fair (1945) (which was remade in 1962 with Pat Boone ) and a special TV musical of Cinderella (1957). Their collaboration produced many well-known songs, including " Oh, What

1272-594: The Band ( Caroline O'Connor ), and Top Hat (Matthew Ford). Other outstanding numbers were "A Fine Romance" and "Secret Love" ( Clare Teal ), "Can't Help Singing" ( Sarah Fox ), "Jolly Holiday" ( Mary Poppins , sung by Beechey) and "Put on Your Sunday Clothes" (Stuart Matthew Price). Operatic tenor Charles Castronovo interpreted "Serenade" ( The Student Prince ) and the duet "One Hand, One Heart" ( West Side Story ) with soprano Sarah Fox . Caroline O'Connor performed "The Man That Got Away" ( A Star Is Born ), and led

1325-604: The CD Release for A Celebration of Rodgers and Hammerstein Wilson remarked that recording the music for the concert and CD was the hardest music he and the orchestra ever had to play. In 2009 the John Wilson Orchestra played their debut Prom, A Celebration of MGM Film Musicals. John Wilson's restored arrangements and the performance both received critical acclaim. The soloists were Sarah Fox , Sir Thomas Allen , Kim Criswell , Curtis Stigers and Seth MacFarlane . The BBC released

1378-585: The Institute of Musical Art (now the Juilliard School ). Rodgers was influenced by composers such as Victor Herbert and Jerome Kern , as well as by the operettas his parents took him to see on Broadway when he was a child. In 1919, Richard met Lorenz Hart , thanks to Phillip Levitt, a friend of Richard's older brother. Rodgers and Hart struggled for years in the field of musical comedy, writing several amateur shows. They made their professional debut with

1431-871: The Royal Albert Hall: The John Wilson Orchestra performed this musical by Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990) in 2018, his centenary year. Directed by Rachel Kavanaugh and with choreography by Alastair David, this semi-staged production of Rodgers and Hammerstein 's musical marked 10 years since John Wilson first performed at the BBC Proms and eight years since the John Wilson Orchestra made their Proms debut. The "stellar cast" included Belinda Lang (Aunt Eller) with Nathaniel Hackmann (Curly), Scarlet Strallen (Laurey), Robert Fairchild (Will Parker), David Seadon-Young (Jud), and Lizzy Connolly (Ado Annie), with comedian/actor Marcus Brigstocke (Ali Hakim). A tribute to George and Ira Gershwin . For 12 of

1484-677: The Warner Music Enterprises during its initial phase. Immediate Media Company has been the publisher since 2012. BBC Music Magazine has also an edition in North America which was first published in March 1993. The magazine reflects the broadcast output of BBC Radio 3 , which is devoted primarily to classical music, but also broadcasts some jazz and world music . Each edition comes together with an audio CD, often including BBC recordings of full-length works. The magazine's circulation

1537-673: The World ", " My Romance ", " Little Girl Blue ", " I'll Tell the Man in the Street ", " There's a Small Hotel ", " Where or When ", " My Funny Valentine ", " The Lady Is a Tramp ", " Falling in Love with Love ", " Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered ", and " Wait till You See Her ". In 1939, Rodgers wrote the ballet Ghost Town for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo , with choreography by Marc Platoff . Rodgers' partnership with Hart began having problems because of

1590-435: The audience through the birth of movie musicals to the last of the musicals made using the old studio format. Styles ranged from romantic to brash, and moods from elegiac to inspirational. The soloists and orchestra re-created interpretations by Fred Astaire , Ginger Rogers , Gene Kelly , Judy Garland , Julie Andrews and Doris Day . Highlights included the title songs from 42nd Street (Annalene Beechey), Strike Up

1643-449: The award: Rosemary Clooney recorded a version of " Falling in Love with Love " by Rodgers, using a swing style. After the recording session Richard Rodgers told her pointedly that it should be sung as a waltz. After Doris Day recorded " I Have Dreamed " in 1961, he wrote to her and her arranger, Jim Harbert, that theirs was the most beautiful rendition of his song he had ever heard. After Peggy Lee recorded her version of " Lover ",

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1696-508: The ensemble in " There's No Business Like Show Business ". As in the previous Proms, the Maida Vale Singers backed the vocalists and performed songs such as " Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat ". This project grew out of an invitation by Proms controller Roger Wright for John Wilson to do a concert commemorating the 50th anniversary of lyricist Oscar Hammerstein 's death. As the John Wilson Orchestra specialises in film music, Wilson decided to revive

1749-451: The lyricist's unreliability and declining health from alcoholism . Rodgers began working with Oscar Hammerstein II , with whom he had previously written songs (before ever working with Lorenz Hart). Their first musical, the groundbreaking hit Oklahoma! (1943), is a notable example of a " book musical ", a musical play in which the songs and dances are fully integrated into the plot. What was once

1802-512: The main title theme for the 1963–64 historical anthology television series The Great Adventure . In 1950, Rodgers and Hammerstein received The Hundred Year Association of New York 's Gold Medal Award "in recognition of outstanding contributions to the City of New York." Rodgers, Hammerstein, and Joshua Logan won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for South Pacific . Rodgers and Hammerstein had won

1855-493: The most notable are Jumbo (1935), On Your Toes (1936, which included the ballet " Slaughter on Tenth Avenue ", choreographed by George Balanchine), Babes in Arms (1937), I Married an Angel (1938), The Boys from Syracuse (1938), Pal Joey (1940), and their last original work, By Jupiter (1942). Rodgers also contributed to the book on several of these shows. Many of the songs from these shows are still sung and remembered, including " The Most Beautiful Girl in

1908-471: The ninth president of the Dramatists Guild of America . In November that year he and Hart mounted a revival of A Connecticut Yankee ; Hart died from alcoholism and pneumonia just days after its opening. Rodgers and Hammerstein went on to create four more hits that are among the most popular in musical history. Each was made into a successful film: Carousel (1945), South Pacific (1949, winner of

1961-467: The old contract movie orchestras in America. And that's basically the combination of a dance-band brass, rhythm and saxophone section, so four trumpets, four trombones, five saxes who all double, and a rhythm section, who are all very specific specialists in this style. And then on top of that you have a woodwind and French horn section. But I think the key thing is getting the right string players. It has to be

2014-676: The original film orchestrations. The choir was the Maida Vale Singers and the international star soloists included Julian Ovenden , Sierra Boggess , Kim Criswell , Anna-Jane Casey and Rod Gilfry . As in the MGM film musicals Prom, this concert featured John Wilson's reconstructions of the following arrangers' original film score versions: Robert Russell Bennett , Adolph Deutsch , Edward B. Powell , Gus Levene , Bernard Mayers , Pete King , Irwin Kostal and Herbert W. Spencer . In an interview for

2067-542: The piano at the age of six. He attended P.S. 166, Townsend Harris Hall and DeWitt Clinton High School . Rodgers spent his early teenage summers in Camp Wigwam ( Waterford, Maine ) where he composed some of his first songs. Rodgers, Lorenz Hart , and later collaborator Oscar Hammerstein II all attended Columbia University . At Columbia, Rodgers joined the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity. In 1921, Rodgers shifted his studies to

2120-433: The pieces in the programme, the musical scores no longer existed and John Wilson and his team reconstructed the music from sound-track recordings. The John Wilson Orchestra was joined by soloists Louise Dearman , Matthew Ford, Julian Ovenden , and the Maida Vale Singers. A tribute to Frank Sinatra . Seth MacFarlane was the lead singer, with Jamie Parker and Claire Martin . The second of their two performances in 2015

2173-456: The song "Any Old Place With You", featured in the 1919 Broadway musical comedy A Lonely Romeo . Their first professional production was the 1920 Poor Little Ritz Girl , which also had music by Sigmund Romberg . Their next professional show, The Melody Man , did not premiere until 1924. When he was just out of college Rodgers worked as musical director for Lew Fields . Among the stars he accompanied were Nora Bayes and Fred Allen . Rodgers

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2226-414: Was a complete reconstruction of Lerner & Loewes musical My Fair Lady . This reunited many vocalists familiar from featuring with the orchestra in previous proms. This was the first of John Wilson Orchestra's proms not to be broadcast on television though it had been recorded and aired on BBC Radio 3. The second Prom for the John Wilson Orchestra in 2012 was devoted to Broadway's best musicals. This

2279-686: Was a protégé of Hammerstein, Martin Charnin ( Two by Two, I Remember Mama ) and Sheldon Harnick ( Rex ), he never found another permanent partner. These partnerships proved to be unsuccessful as a result of issues of collaboration. Sondheim's reluctance to participate in Do I Hear a Waltz? led to tension between the two. In addition, Charnin and Rodgers were met with opposing ideas when creating Two by Two . Nevertheless, his overall successful lifetime career did not go unrecognized. At its 1978 commencement ceremonies, Barnard College awarded Rodgers its highest honor,

2332-510: Was a tribute not just to the composers of Broadway's golden age from the 1920s to the 60s but also to the arrangers and orchestrators who created the rich orchestral textures. The authentic sound of Broadway was revived in the ballet sequences from Richard Rodgers ' On Your Toes and Leonard Bernstein's On the Town , featuring the brass and woodwind sections. Contrast was provided by romantic songs from Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella ,

2385-441: Was an American composer who worked primarily in musical theater . With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American composers of the 20th century, and his compositions had a significant influence on popular music. Rodgers is known for his songwriting partnerships, first with lyricist Lorenz Hart and then with Oscar Hammerstein II . With Hart he wrote musicals throughout

2438-463: Was at one time hospitalized. Rodgers was portrayed by Tom Drake in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film Words and Music , a semi-fictionalized depiction of the partnership of Rodgers and Hart. Rodgers died in 1979, aged 77, after surviving cancer of the jaw, a heart attack, and a laryngectomy . He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at sea. In 1990, the 46th Street Theatre was renamed

2491-548: Was awarded a Pulitzer Prize , making him the first ever to receive all five awards (later joined by Marvin Hamlisch ). In 1978, Rodgers was in the inaugural group of Kennedy Center Honorees for lifetime achievement in the arts. Rodgers was born into a Jewish family in Queens, New York, the son of Mamie (Levy) and Dr. William Abrahams Rodgers, a prominent physician who had changed the family name from Rogazinsky. Rodgers began playing

2544-571: Was considering quitting show business altogether to sell children's underwear, when he and Hart finally broke through in 1925. They wrote the songs for a benefit show presented by the prestigious Theatre Guild , called The Garrick Gaieties , and the critics found the show fresh and delightful. Although it was meant to run only one day, the Guild knew they had a success and allowed it to re-open later. The show's biggest hit—the song that Rodgers believed "made" Rodgers and Hart—was " Manhattan ". The two were now

2597-641: Was dedicated to the music of conductor, pianist and composer Leonard Bernstein . The John Wilson Orchestra joined forces with soloists Julian Ovenden , Louise Dearman , Lucy Schaufer, Scarlett Strallen , and the Maida Vale Singers. The John Wilson Orchestra returned to the Proms in 2014 with a semi-staged production of Cole Porter 's musical Kiss Me, Kate . The cast included Ben Davis (Fred Graham / Petruchio), Alexandra Silber (Lilli Vanessi / Katherine), Tony Yazbeck (Bill Calhoun / Lucentio), Louise Dearman (Lois Lane / Bianca) and Alex Bourne (Harrison Howell). This

2650-628: Was later taken from the Victory at Sea theme entitled "Beneath the Southern Cross". Rodgers won an Emmy for the music for the ABC documentary Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years , scored by Eddie Sauter , Hershy Kay , and Robert Emmett Dolan . Rodgers composed the theme music, " March of the Clowns ", for the 1963–64 television series The Greatest Show on Earth , which ran for 30 episodes. He also contributed

2703-422: Was orchestrated by Robert Russell Bennett . Rodgers composed twelve themes, which Bennett used in preparing the orchestra score for the 26-episode World War II television documentary Victory at Sea (1952–53). This NBC production pioneered the "compilation documentary"—programming based on pre-existing footage—and was eventually broadcast in dozens of countries. The melody of the popular song " No Other Love "

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2756-470: Was the John Wilson Orchestra's Prom (broadcast on radio and TV) in 2013. It focused almost exclusively on the orchestra itself (rather than vocalists) with performances by the 100+ strong orchestra of scores from The Adventures of Robin Hood , The Big Country , Ben-Hur , Casablanca , Psycho , etc., as well as "Tom and Jerry at MGM". In 2012 the BBC brought back the John Wilson Orchestra for two proms. The first

2809-499: Was the composer of Once Upon a Mattress and an author of children's books. The Rodgers later lost a daughter at birth. Another daughter, Linda (1935–2015), also had a brief career as a songwriter . Mary's son and Richard Rodgers's grandson, Adam Guettel (b. 1964), also a musical theater composer, won Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Orchestrations for The Light in the Piazza in 2005. Peter Melnick (b. 1958), Linda Rodgers's son,

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