As he did with the Philadelphia Orchestra for Victor and L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande for London, Stokowski uses his own coda for Romeo and Juliet, which dies away to silence, in place of Tchaikovsky’s bombastic trumpets and drums; I have always thought Stokowski’s ending more appropriate, musically as well as dramatically, but I won’t argue with those who prefer Tchaikovsky. This performance is slow and lush, lacking the fire and passion of earlier recordings by Mengelberg and Toscanini. The lower strings sing gloriously, as only Stoki could make them, and there are some gorgeous horn passages, but the solo trumpet is a bit sour, and a few odd tempo adjustments interrupt the flow. Still, this remains an impressive performance; I loved it wholeheartedly in my youth.

The other items here are live broadcasts from 1949, From the Sacred Harp taken from a rare Vdisc, which rates a label photo in the booklet. Stokowski and Mozart were oil and water; only two other recordings come to mind (the D-Minor Piano Concerto and the Sinfonia concertante for winds). This “Haffner” is lively and vibrant; the large string sections have the slick Stoki sound, yet the winds maintain a strong presence. The sound is excellent for its era, nearly as clean as the studio recordings. Composer Thomas Jefferson Scott announces his piece; it proves an estimable if somewhat conventional tone poem. Stokowski gives it his all, producing a very satisfying performance. Cala must have found an exceptional copy of the Vdisc, as they are usually in terrible condition; some surface noise remains towards the end of the work.

Schwanda the Bagpiper is a delightful Czech comic opera that was produced around the world and insured Jaromir Weinberger’s fame. An early stereo recording, sung in German by Lucia Popp, Siegfried Jerusalem, and Herman Prey, has been called “A rare thing in opera: the perfect recording” by Ethan Mordden. The Polka and Fugue are wonderful music, on a level with anything by Smetana or Dvořák. Cala’s booklet says this was the only time Stokowski ever performed Weinberger, yet he leads the most rollicking performance I know. The sound is again all one could expect, with fugal lines reasonably clear, but I wish he had re-recorded it in stereo. For many reasons, then, this is a must-have set.

James H. North, FANFARE