"The Merry Widow" Overture

The original Merry Widow does not have an overture. As you might know from the Merry Widow Selections, the music starts at the "introduction" and goes directly into the story. However, several "overtures" do exist, arranged independently and specifically for concert performance. The composer Franz Leh?r himself wrote one, and some are arrangements by other composers such as Robert Stolz. The Lehar score is unpublished, yet there is a recording conducted by the composer himself, which is the basis of this arrangement for band.