If Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II had never met, each would still be remembered as a pioneer of the American musical theatre. By the summer of 1942, when the pair began their Broadway collaboration, each had enjoyed a distinguished career quite independent of the other. As lyricist and librettist, Hammerstein had masterminded some of the longest-running musicals of the 1920s and 1930s, such as The Desert Song, The New Moon and the Illustrious Show Boat. Rodgers 23-year partnership with lyricist Lorenz Hart, capped by a recent string of innovative successes including On Your Toes, The Boys From Syracuse, and Pal Joey, had already placed him at the forefront of musical theatre composers.                
   But Rodgers's and Hammersteins first joint work, Oklahoma!, dwarfed all of their earlier, individual achievements. Their partnership was not instantly solidified, they separated soon after the premiere of Okiahoma! to pursue other projects, but when the collaboration resumed early in 1944, it continued unbroken until Hammerstein's death 16 years later. And in that time, the team created an unsurpassed legacy of enduring theatrical work.               
   Rodgers & Hammerstein Overtures celebrates the team's 11 musicals, nine written for the stage, one for the screen, and one for television. Wherever possible, the overtures are presented uncut in their original arrangements, just as audiences first heard them in the 1940's and 1950's. As these overtures transport us from the American southwest to the Far East, from the California coast to the New England shore, from the Pacific Isles to the Austrian Alps, they remind us of the skill and vision that Rodgers, Hammerstein and their collaborators brought to the American musical.