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Elisabeth von Trapp of the famous Austrian folksinging family will sing Edelweiss during her concert Sept. 24 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church for Augusta's Westobou Festival.
The song is not a genuine Austrian folk tune. In fact, she had never heard it until actress Mary Martin taught the song to the von Trapp family.
Ms. Martin portrayed Ms. Trapp's stepgrandmother, Maria von Trapp, in the 1959 Broadway version of The Sound of Music . Julie Andrews portrayed the nun-turned-governess in the 1965 movie.
"Many people do not know that Mary Martin was the first to play my grandmother Maria, but she really had a vision for my family's story," Ms. von Trapp said in a telephone interview from her home in Vermont.
Composers Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II considered using Austrian folk songs when they began working on a stage version of Maria's 1949 best-selling biography, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers .
"But then they thought, 'No, let's start from scratch and do an American musical,' which brings it much more into the American song book field," Ms. von Trapp said. "That's why people love it so much here in the States.
"The first time I ever sang My Favorite Things and Edelweiss was when Mary Martin taught them to us. She came up to the von Trapp home in Stowe, Vt., for 10 days to get to know my grandmother so she could have some characteristics and mannerisms similar to my grandmother."
Ms. Von Trapp's father, Werner von Trapp, was depicted as "Kurt" in the Broadway and film versions. Her father was the fourth child and second son of Capt. (Baron) Georg Ludwig von Trapp and his first wife, Agathe.
The first time Ms. Von Trapp saw The Sound of Music was when she was about 5 and a touring production went to Burlington, Vt.
"We were so proud because we knew my father was part of this whole thing, and we knew it was the story about my grandmother and my grandfather," she said. "At the end of the whole play, my grandmother got up to talk, and I remember being so nervous for her, because I thought, 'She has to speak to all these people.'
''Then she started telling her own story, and the people gave her a standing ovation. It was so exciting."
NEXT WEEK: Elisabeth von Trapp talks about her music career and more about her stepgrandmother, Maria von Trapp.
Don Rhodes has written about country music for 38 years. He can be reached at (706) 823-3214 or at don.rhodes@morris.com.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Guitarist and vocalist Elisabeth von Trapp, cellist Erich Kory
WHEN: 8 p.m. Sept. 24, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 605 Reynolds St.
COST: $15, 17 and younger free
EXTRA: Buffet 6 p.m., catered by Crum's on Central, $25; reservations required for buffet; (706) 722-3463, riverwalkseries.com
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