{"id":1887,"date":"2020-11-01T17:27:57","date_gmt":"2020-11-01T17:27:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/?p=1887"},"modified":"2020-11-01T18:12:05","modified_gmt":"2020-11-01T18:12:05","slug":"sondheim-anyone-can-whistle-complete-recording","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/?p=1887","title":{"rendered":"SONDHEIM: ANYONE CAN WHISTLE: Complete recording"},"content":{"rendered":"

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SONDHEIM: ANYONE CAN WHISTLE: Complete recording\/Soloists, National Symphony Orchestra, John Owen Edwards\/Jay Records<\/p>\n

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Stephen Sondheim has been recognised for so long as the great glory of the modern American musical that it\u2019s salutary to remind oneself that some of his best-loved shows only achieved success after a variety of new iterations. Who would believe now (for instance) that Company was not instantly recognised for the splendour of its music and lyrics? \u00a0But perhaps his most famous initial misfire was the early Anyone can Whistle, which — while initially a flop — has since become the show that many people claim to have been at the first performance of (prompting more than a little scepticism at such claims). The cast recording of the show, featuring the great Angela Lansbury, is treasured by admirers of the composer, but the celebrated producer John Yap has put together the first absolutely complete recording of the score, and it\u2019s a triumph, already enjoying the composer\u2019s imprimatur (\u201cThe brilliance of this recording gives the show more energy and sparkle than it\u2019s ever had. It made me proud of it\u201d). This new set (issued for the composers\u2019 90th<\/sup> birthday) will invite fresh discovery for those already familiar with the show from its cast album, but also provides a piquant extra element: the chance to compare the original Lansbury\/Lee Remick readings of the songs with those by Yap\u2019s new cast — one of whom is a particular favourite of Sondheim, the British singer Julia McKenzie, who gives a performance that is different from but more than equal to that of Angela Lansbury.<\/p>\n

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The show premiered in 1964 on Broadway, and this first complete recording was recorded in 1997 and is now released in 2020. In the span of 56 years, the show remains as vital, sparkling and relevant as ever. It is uncanny how much the tsunami of unprecedented political and social upheaval in the USA in 2020 mirrors the plot and essence of it. Sondheim\u2019s spectacular and inventive score remains vital and sparkling in its ingenious musical and lyric ingenuity and its melodic creativity. Witty and constantly surprising, it contains Broadway showstoppers, comedy numbers and deeply felt ballads, such as the title song and \u201cWith So Little To Be Sure Of.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fact that this recording which was recorded 23 years ago in 1997 sounds so fresh and energetic now in 2020 is testimony to the timelessness of it. With Julia Mackenzie, Maria Friedman and John Barrowman, all in the prime of their careers, joined by the book\u2019s author Arthur Laurents, leading a cast of over 35 West End featured actors and stars who proudly sing as a chorus, it is proof of their love and admiration for this much talked-about but rarely seen musical.<\/p>\n

As a bonus, the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Owen Edwards reveals the wonderful orchestrations of Don Walker. Recorded over a period which started in 1997 at the famous Abbey Road Studios and completed in New York, it was produced by John Yap.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  SONDHEIM: ANYONE CAN WHISTLE: Complete recording\/Soloists, National Symphony Orchestra, John Owen Edwards\/Jay Records   Stephen Sondheim has been recognised for so long as the great glory of the modern American musical that it\u2019s salutary to remind oneself that some … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-classical"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1887"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1891,"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1887\/revisions\/1891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cdchoice.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}