The 50th Anniversary Special Edition -- The Sound of Music With Songs By Rodgers & Hammerstein, Original Broadway Cast Recording Starring Broadway Legend Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel

The 50th Anniversary Special Edition -- The Sound of Music With Songs By
Rodgers & Hammerstein, Original Broadway Cast Recording Starring Broadway
Legend Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel
THREE RARE BONUS TRACKS, NEW LINER NOTES & CANDID PHOTOS OF RECORDING SESSION
ADD NEW INSIGHTS TO CELEBRATED RECORDING

NEW YORK, Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- 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
"Sok dig till bergen") by Tommy Korberg, 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.

Also on Monday, November 16, 2009 at 5:00 PM, Barnes & Noble "Live at Lincoln"
(Lincoln Triangle, 1972 Broadway at 66th Street) will present The Sound of
Music: 50th Anniversary Celebration presented in conjunction with The Rodgers
& Hammerstein Organization. Special guests will be signing copies of the 50th
anniversary edition of the original cast recording of The Sound of Music (Sony
Masterworks) and The Sound of Music: A Classic Collectible Pop-Up (Simon &
Schuster). For further information, please call the store at (212) 595-6859.

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.

SOURCE Sony Masterworks Broadway

Angela Barkan, +1-212-833-8575, angela.barkan@sonymusic.com; or Larissa
Slezak, +1-212-833-6075, larissa.slezak@sonymusic.com