Lyrics By Oscar Hammerstein II.

HAMMERSTEIN II, Oscar; Edited by William Hammerstein; Foreword by Stephen Sondheim.

Item Number: 25034

Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Books, 1985.

First edition. Octavo, original cloth. Inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “To Sylvia who is a part of all this W. Hammerstein.” Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Foreword by Stephen Sondheim.

This volume, edited by William Hammerstein, encompasses lyrics from Oscar Hammerstein's entire canon; from the early "Indian Love Call" written in 1924 with Otto Harbach and Rudolph Friml, to his final song, "Edelweiss," written with his long-time collaborator Richard Rodgers in 1959. Oscar Hammerstein's introduction, Notes on Lyrics, has been an acknowledged classic text for musical theatre enthusiasts since 1949 and remains a definitive work today. To say Oscar Hammerstein II made a significant contribution to the art of lyric-writing is understating the case. He, with his lyrics, and his collaborators, with their music, rewove the fabric of the musical theatre for all time.