IT TOOK \u201csome doing\u201d, admits acclaimed conductor John Wilson, to choose the 24 pieces of music he needed for his latest tour.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you look at Richard Rodgers, and the sheer volume of songs to pick from – The Sound of Music<\/a>, Climb Ev\u2019ry Mountain, Oh What a Beautiful Morning, People Will Say We\u2019re in Love \u2013 I mean, it\u2019s 3000 songs,\u201d he says, in awe.<\/p>\n \u201cThe level of accomplishment is astonishingly high. So yes, choosing 24 is extraordinarily difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n Prepare to be enchanted this June, as John and his famous orchestra, Sinfonia of London, return to Glasgow with his UK tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein\u2019s Greatest Hits.<\/p>\n This spectacular concert will feature songs from the greatest musicals of all time, including South Pacific, The Sound Of Music, Oklahoma!, Carousel (which celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2025), and The King and I.<\/p>\n (Image: CHRIS CHRISTODOULOU)<\/p>\n \u201cBecause Richard Rodgers was so celebrated, the movies spared no expense in terms of the scores, so they were recorded by the best musicians of the day,\u201d says John.<\/p>\n \u201cTo have a go at recreating them in a live arena, is a gift.”<\/p>\n John is renowned for his passion and expertise in interpreting music from the Golden Age of Hollywood, and he has been celebrated for bringing a fresh yet faithful sound to classic scores.<\/p>\n John Wilson (Image: Sim Canetty-Clarke)<\/p>\n “The majority of\u00a0my musical life is spent in\u00a0that period from the 30s to the 60s, for the simple reason that those\u00a0were musicals with orchestras,” he says. “Once you get to the\u00a060s and the 70s, the advent of rock and pop musicals, they didn’t use orchestras any more, with the occasional exception.”<\/p>\n He adds: “The change started with Oklahoma!, which was really the first musical where the songs grew out of the plot and developed the characters –\u00a0although they do still all stand alone as fantastic songs\u00a0too. They are all hits.”<\/p>\n John Wilson (Image: Sim Canetty-Clarke)<\/p>\n He smiles. “And\u00a0audiences will have the chance to hear them, the exact arrangements from the films,\u00a0played by our 70-piece orchestra. They are outstanding, I\u2019m very proud of them.”<\/p>\n Sinfonia of London, reformed by Wilson in 2018, is comprised of some of the UK\u2019s leading musicians. It has received rave reviews for its\u00a0previous performances, including an exhilarating appearance at last year\u2019s Proms in the Albert Hall in London.<\/p>\n John agrees it is \u201calways a thrill to play at the Proms\u201d but he is also keenly looking forward to his Glasgow concert, which will take place on June 28 at the Royal Concert Hall.<\/p>\n READ NEXT:\u00a0<\/strong>Tragic story behind Glasgow comedy club’s new home<\/a><\/p>\n READ NEXT:\u00a0<\/strong>The unusual way Glasgow pupils are celebrating city’s 850th birthday<\/a><\/p>\n