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Leopold Stokowski - The Columbia Stereo Recordings

Stokowski,Leopold
Release Date: 09/11/2012 
Label:  Sony   Catalog #: 197115   Spars Code: DDD 
Composer:  Manuel de Falla,  Richard Wagner,  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Ludwig van Beethoven,   ... 
Performer:  Shirley Verrett,  Fernando Valenti,  Anshel Brusilow,  William Kincaid,   ... 
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski,  Gregg Smith
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Philadelphia Orchestra,  American Symphony Orchestra,  Schola Cantorum New York members,   ... 
Number of Discs: 10 
Recorded in: Stereo 
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Notes and Editorial Reviews


These recordings include the last that Stokowski made. They are, without exception, fabulous–beyond amazing for an artist in his 90s, and Sony has done him proud. Each of the ten CDs is an “original jacket” edition, never mind the sometimes short playing times, packaged with a nicely designed and fully annotated booklet. The sonics are uniformly impressive for the dates (mid 60s to 70s); Stokowski basically never released a disc that wasn’t engineered to his specifications, weird that they sometimes were. The selection of works also offers a virtually perfect overview of his art.

You get his devotion to contemporary music (Ives’ Fourth Symphony, Robert Browning Overture, and some Read more choruses), his beloved Bach (three chorale prelude transcriptions plus Brandenburg Concerto No. 5), Romantic favorites (Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony, Brahms’ Second and Tragic Overture, Sibelius’ First and The Swan of Tuonela, Bizet’s Symphony in C), orchestral blockbusters (his sensational Bizet Carmen and L’Arlésienne Suites, Tchaikovsky’s Aurora’s Wedding, Falla’s El amor brujo, and Stoki’s own “synthesis” of love music from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde–twenty six minutes of it, no less, played with orgasmic richness by the Philadelphia Orchestra).

There’s the legendary collaboration between Stokowski and Glenn Gould in Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto (Gould’s finest non-Bach concerto recording), and finally a delicious disc of popular transcriptions of everything from Chopin, to Rimsky-Korsakov, to Albeniz and Debussy. The orchestras range from The Philadelphia Orchestra, to Stokowski’s own American Symphony, to the London studio pick-up ensemble The National Philharmonic, and every one of them sounds exactly as Stokowski wants them to sound. It’s pointless to try to choose between them. This is what a great conductor can do.

Although the program is self-recommending, I do want to take a moment to explain, with some musical samples, just why these discs are so important and rewarding, and how they illustrate the difference between a true podium genius and today’s technically proficient but often terminally dull baton wavers. First, consider the “Dance of Terror” from Falla’s El amor brujo (with a surprisingly good Shirley Verrett). This is the idiosyncratic Stokowski at his best (first sound sample). He does some rescoring; there’s the wild, descending swoop of the violins as the dance reaches its climax, but just listen to the passion and frenetic energy he brings to the music, helped in no small measure by the prominent trumpets.

Now compare this to a very good reference recording: Ansermet’s on Decca (second sound sample). Ansermet knew the composer. He conducted the premiere of The Three-Cornered Hat, and his authority in this music is unquestioned. By itself, he delivers a committed performance, but compared to Stokowski he sounds almost dead (until the end, at least). This, after all, is supposed to be a “Dance of Terror,” isn’t it? There’s no doubt that Ansermet is more idiomatic in the sense of being faithful to the score, but when Stokowksi was “on” (and sometimes he could be merely perverse), he created his own “idiom” one work at a time. The ends justified the means–a dangerous road, and an unanswerable question of individual taste, but in the hands of a genius a thrilling ride.

Next, sample the opening of Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony (third sound sample). This was Stokowski’s last recording, made when he was 95. Perhaps it helped that he was practically old enough to have known Mendelssohn personally; this was music in Stokowski’s late Victorian blood. Remember, he conducted the first ever Brahms Symphony cycle, and while he could be demented in the German standard repertoire–witness for example his psychotic Brahms Third on Everest–in both the Brahms and Mendelssohn symphonies he has decided to focus on traditional music values. In the Italian Symphony, he finds the perfect tempo at the start to let those throbbing wind chords propel the soaring violins onwards–not too fast, but so beautifully phrased and truly singing. How different this is from the slick, speedy, superficiality that so often passes for brilliance today (and in Stokowski’s earlier years too, as historical recordings attest).

We could go on. Every disc in this set offers a testament to a conductor of inimitable style and personality. Today, most orchestras are much better than most conductors. The “maestros” get up, wave their hands about, and if things go well they take the credit whether they deserve it or not. It’s really not fair. With Stokowski, there’s never any doubt about who’s truly in charge. Mahler used to say that there are no poor orchestras, only poor conductors. This set proves him right.

-- ClassicsToday.com Read less

Works on This Recording

1.
El amor brujo by Manuel de Falla
Performer:  Shirley Verrett (Mezzo Soprano)
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Philadelphia Orchestra
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1914-1915; Spain 
 Date of Recording: 02/25/1960 
Venue:  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 
Length: 25 Minutes 52 Secs. 
Language: Spanish 
2.
Brandenburg Concerto no 5 in D major, BWV 1050 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer:  Fernando Valenti (Harpsichord), Anshel Brusilow (Violin), William Kincaid (Flute)
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Philadelphia Orchestra
Period: Baroque 
Written: 1720-1721; ?Cöthen, Germany 
 Date of Recording: 02/25/1960 
Venue:  Broadwood Hotel, Philadelphia, PA 
3.
Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 177 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Philadelphia Orchestra
Period: Baroque 
Written: 1732; Leipzig, Germany 
 Date of Recording: 02/25/1960 
Venue:  Broadwood Hotel, Philadelphia, PA 
4.
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 62 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Philadelphia Orchestra
Period: Baroque 
Written: 1724; Leipzig, Germany 
 Date of Recording: 02/25/1960 
Venue:  Broadwood Hotel, Philadelphia, PA 
5.
Wir glauben all'an einen Gott, BWV 437 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Philadelphia Orchestra
Period: Baroque 
Written: ?Leipzig, Germany 
 Date of Recording: 02/25/1960 
Venue:  Broadwood Hotel, Philadelphia, PA 
6.
Concerto for Piano no 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 "Emperor" by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:  Glenn Gould (Piano)
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  American Symphony Orchestra
Period: Classical 
Written: 1809; Vienna, Austria 
 Venue:  Manhattan Center, New York, NY 
Length: 42 Minutes 32 Secs. 
7.
Symphony no 4 by Charles Ives
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  American Symphony Orchestra,  Schola Cantorum New York members
Period: 20th Century 
Written: circa 1912-1925; USA 
 Date of Recording: 04/29/1965 
Venue:  Manhattan Center, New York City 
Length: 30 Minutes 31 Secs. 
8.
Robert Browning Overture by Charles Ives
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  American Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1908-1912; USA 
 Date of Recording: 12/21/1966 
Venue:  Manhattan Center, New York City, NY 
Length: 22 Minutes 58 Secs. 
9.
Majority by Charles Ives
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  American Symphony Orchestra,  Gregg Smith Singers,  Ithaca College Concert Choir
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1921; USA 
 Date of Recording: 10/18/1967 
Venue:  Manhattan Center, New York City, NY 
Length: 4 Minutes 23 Secs. 
10.
They are there! by Charles Ives
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  American Symphony Orchestra,  Gregg Smith Singers,  Ithaca College Concert Choir
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1942; USA 
 Date of Recording: 10/18/1967 
Venue:  Manhattan Center, New York City, NY 
Length: 3 Minutes 8 Secs. 
11.
Nov 2, 1920 by Charles Ives
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  American Symphony Orchestra,  Gregg Smith Singers,  Ithaca College Concert Choir
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1921; USA 
 Date of Recording: 10/18/1967 
Venue:  Manhattan Center, New York City, NY 
Length: 4 Minutes 3 Secs. 
12.
Lincoln, the Great Commoner by Charles Ives
Conductor:  Gregg Smith,  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Gregg Smith Singers,  American Symphony Orchestra,  Ithaca College Concert Choir
Period: 20th Century 
Written: ?1913; USA 
 Date of Recording: 10/18/1967 
Venue:  Manhattan Center, New York City, NY 
Length: 4 Minutes 5 Secs. 
13.
Carmen: Suite no 1 by Georges Bizet
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1875; France 
14.
Carmen: Suite no 2 - Excerpt(s) by Georges Bizet
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1875; France 
15.
L'arlésienne: Suite no 1 by Georges Bizet
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1872; France 
16.
L'arlésienne: Suite no 2 - Excerpt(s) by Georges Bizet
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: France 
17.
Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66: Aurora's Wedding by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1888-1889; Russia 
 Notes: "Aurora's Wedding" was arranged by Serge Diaghilev in 1922 from excerpts of 'Sleeping Beauty.' 
18.
Suite bergamasque: 3rd movement, Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1890/1905; France 
19.
Estampes (3) for Piano: no 2, La soirée dans Grenade by Claude Debussy
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1903; France 
20.
Suite Iberia, Book 1: no 3, El Corpus en Sevilla by Isaac Albeniz
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1906; France 
21.
Caprices (8) for Violin and Piano, Op. 5: no 2, Perpetuum mobile by Ottokar Novácek
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: Czech Republic 
22.
Preludes (24) for Piano, Op. 34: no 14 in E flat minor, Adagio by Dmitri Shostakovich
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1932-1933; USSR 
23.
Tale of Tsar Saltan: Suite, Op. 57 - Flight of the bumblebee by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1903; Russia 
24.
Morceaux (2) for Piano, Op. 10: no 2, Humoresque by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1871; Russia 
25.
Mazurkas (4) for Piano, B 89/Op. 24: no 4 in B flat minor by Frédéric Chopin
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1834-1835; Paris, France 
26.
Preludes (24) for Piano, Op. 28: no 24 in D minor by Frédéric Chopin
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1836-1839; Paris, France 
27.
Maid of Pskov "Ivan the Terrible": Hunt and Storm Music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1868/1892; Russia 
28.
Lemminkäinen Suite, Op. 22: no 3, Swan of Tuonela by Jean Sibelius
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1893-1897; Finland 
29.
Symphony no 1 in E minor, Op. 39 by Jean Sibelius
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1899; Finland 
30.
Tristan und Isolde: Symphonic Synthesis by Richard Wagner
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1857-1859; Germany 
 Notes: Arranged: Leopold Stokowski 
31.
Symphony in C major by Georges Bizet
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1855; France 
32.
Symphony no 2 in D major, Op. 73 by Johannes Brahms
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1877; Austria 
33.
Symphony no 4 in A major, Op. 90 "Italian" by Felix Mendelssohn
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1833; Germany 
34.
Tragic Overture, Op. 81 by Johannes Brahms
Conductor:  Leopold Stokowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  National Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1880; Austria 

Sound Samples

I. Introducción y escena (Introduction and Scene)
II. En la cueva - La Noche [in the Cave (Night-time)]
III. Canción del amor dolido (Song of Love's Sorrow)
IV. El Aparecido (The Apparition)
V. Danza del terror (Dance of Terror)
VI. El circulo mágico (The Magic Circle)
VII. A media noche - Los sortilegios (Midnight - Witchcraft)
VIII. Danza ritual del fuego (Ritual Fire Dance)
IX. Escena (Scene)
X. Canción del fuego fatuo (Song of the Will o' the Wisp)
XI. Pantomima (Pantomime)
XII. Danza del juego de amor (Dance of the Game of Love)
XIII. Final - Las campanes del amanecer (Finale - The Bells of Morning)
Tristan und Isolde (Love Music from Acts II & III)
I. Allegro
II. Affettuoso
III. Allegro
Ich ruf zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ
Nun komm der Heiden Heiland
Wir glauben all' an einen Gott

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:  ( 9 Customer Reviews )
 Stoki Club members or Adventerous types only February 22, 2015 By owen  r. (lakewood, CA) See All My Reviews "Did Sinatra write ''Doing It My Way'' with Stokowski in mind? This set is not for those faint of heart having an idee fixe for music being rendered in a certain correct manner. There is something here to offend, delight or bore just about anyone. For modern music fans there is Ive's 4th Symphony. Stoki and Glenn Gould doing Ludwig's Emperor Concerto their way will offend or delight. A marvelous Bizet Carmen and L'Arlesienne suites by an energetic 94 year old conductor. Then there is a Sibelius First Symphony unlike any that you've ever heard before. Well, you get the idea. Play it safe and avoid this one or if you're feeling dangerous take an adventerous walk on the wild side and buy this bargain priced collection of politically incorrect bon bons. Do be aware that audio quality is variable. But for $1.70 per disc what have you got to lose?" Report Abuse
 Interesting! February 10, 2015 By M. Hovare (Sollentuna, Sweden) See All My Reviews "A very interesting set of cd:s. Leopold Stokowskis often personal way of creating music is sometimes very different to other conductors. That`s what make him unique. Recommended!" Report Abuse
 The best of "The Master" February 3, 2015 By T. Ellis III (North Kingstown, RI) See All My Reviews "The "Philadelphia Sound" still lives, in all its glory. Thanks to Sony 's careful transfer to digital format. Great work!! And a great price to boot! Thanks Arkiv" Report Abuse
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