The reveal of the Land of Oz when Dorothy Gale opens the door of her storm-tossed farmhouse, transitioning from sepia to luminous color, is one of the most stunning visual experiences in Hollywood history. The music accompanying that moment is “gorgeous,” says composer David Newman: “It’s almost like the Alban Berg violin concerto, without the violin. There’s so much modernism in that score, as well as throwback and interpolation. It is a really great, great work of art.”

It’s also a work of art that was recorded in 1939, in mono sound, with rather primitive technology. And when Sphere Studios decided to transport The Wizard of Oz into its eye-popping, immersive techno-wonder in Las Vegas, they wanted the music to dazzle audiences’ ears as much as the imagery their eyes (and cyclo

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