Discussion:
Happy Birthday Stoky! Favorite recordings/Guilty pleasures?
(too old to reply)
patter
2005-04-18 17:07:58 UTC
Permalink
OK Stokowski fans,it's Leopolds birthday(123) and I'm listening to his
Emi Classics Bach transcriptions with "His" Symphony orchestra from
1957/58 sessions in NYC. Who made up this group at this time,and what
Stokys are your favorites? Cheers,Todd
Ed in Seattle
2005-04-18 17:34:30 UTC
Permalink
OK Stokowski fans,it's Leopolds birthday(123) ... (snip) ... and what
Stokys are your favorites? Cheers,Todd
Antheil & Vaughan Williams: Symphonies No. 4 (Cala)
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11 (EMI-have not hear the Soviet recording)
Debussy: La Mer (the only slow performance I love)
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade (Decca), Russian Easter Ov. (RCA)
Mussourgsky: Boris Godunov Symphonic Synthesis (Decca)
Gliere: Symphony No. 3
Bizet: Symphony in C/Mendelssohn: Italian Symphony (Sony)
and most of the Everest recordings that he made in the late 50's and early
60's.

My goodness, there must be a dozen others that don't leap to mind.

Ed Presson
Richard Loeb
2005-04-18 17:34:47 UTC
Permalink
Yes I still love the Everest issueof he Strauss tone poems Richard
Post by Ed in Seattle
OK Stokowski fans,it's Leopolds birthday(123) ... (snip) ... and what
Stokys are your favorites? Cheers,Todd
Antheil & Vaughan Williams: Symphonies No. 4 (Cala)
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 11 (EMI-have not hear the Soviet recording)
Debussy: La Mer (the only slow performance I love)
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade (Decca), Russian Easter Ov. (RCA)
Mussourgsky: Boris Godunov Symphonic Synthesis (Decca)
Gliere: Symphony No. 3
Bizet: Symphony in C/Mendelssohn: Italian Symphony (Sony)
and most of the Everest recordings that he made in the late 50's and early
60's.
My goodness, there must be a dozen others that don't leap to mind.
Ed Presson
David Hurwitz
2005-04-18 18:36:52 UTC
Permalink
In article <***@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>, patter
says...
Post by patter
OK Stokowski fans,it's Leopolds birthday(123) and I'm listening to his
Emi Classics Bach transcriptions with "His" Symphony orchestra from
1957/58 sessions in NYC. Who made up this group at this time,and what
Stokys are your favorites? Cheers,Todd
Two special favorites:

1. Wagner: Magic Fire Music (Everest). How he gets that sound I'll never know. I
think he adds an organ, and there must be about 25 harps. And from Houston, yet.
Insane!

2. Martin: Petite symphonie concertante (EMI). It's worth remembering that few
conductors were more dedicated and even scrupulous in performances of
contemporary music worthy of being taken seriously. This remarkable
interpretation, with "his" orchestra, is still the best sounding (from 1958!),
best played version of the piece.

There are many, many other performances I can think of (the Decca Phase 4
Scheherazade is also a particular favorite), but I think the above two examples
give a good summary of what made him special.

David Hurwitz

David Hurwitz
Matthew B. Tepper
2005-04-18 19:53:21 UTC
Permalink
Post by David Hurwitz
2. Martin: Petite symphonie concertante (EMI). It's worth remembering
that few conductors were more dedicated and even scrupulous in
performances of contemporary music worthy of being taken seriously. This
remarkable interpretation, with "his" orchestra, is still the best
sounding (from 1958!), best played version of the piece.
I heartily concur with your recommendation of this wonderful recording.
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
My main music page --- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/berlioz.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Take THAT, Daniel Lin, Mark Sadek, James Lin & Christopher Chung!
William Sommerwerck
2005-04-18 22:19:15 UTC
Permalink
Stokowski had this incredible control over an orchestra that let him reduce the
tempo to a near-stop, without ever losing forward momentum, a remarkable
achievement unequaled by any other conductor I've heard.

Stokowski's tempi lean on the slightly slow side, which allows him to bring out
detail. Although he is never "over the top" in the Phase Four recordings, there
are times when he "fusses" a little too much, and one wishes he were a bit more
straight-forward. At his best, he was one of the all-time-great conductors.

By the way... My memory of the Stokowski Beethoven 9th (which I had on LP) was
not a good one. I was wrong. Hearing it again on CD, I find it one of the best
9ths I've heard. It's a light, fleet performance (especially the scherzo) that
never sounds "rushed."
graham
2005-04-19 02:35:06 UTC
Permalink
Post by William Sommerwerck
Stokowski had this incredible control over an orchestra that let him reduce the
tempo to a near-stop, without ever losing forward momentum, a remarkable
achievement unequaled by any other conductor I've heard.
Stokowski's tempi lean on the slightly slow side, which allows him to bring out
detail. Although he is never "over the top" in the Phase Four recordings, there
are times when he "fusses" a little too much, and one wishes he were a bit more
straight-forward. At his best, he was one of the all-time-great conductors.
By the way... My memory of the Stokowski Beethoven 9th (which I had on LP) was
not a good one. I was wrong. Hearing it again on CD, I find it one of the best
9ths I've heard. It's a light, fleet performance (especially the scherzo) that
never sounds "rushed."
It has long been my favourite and I recently burned it to CD only to find
that it has just been re-issued.
Graham
Vincent Ventrone
2005-04-18 18:53:24 UTC
Permalink
Post by patter
1957/58 sessions in NYC. Who made up this group at this time,and what
Stokys are your favorites? Cheers,Todd
Just off the top of my head, the Tchaikovsky Sym. #5 & ballet suites for
Decca (Phase 4), the Brahms Sym. 2 (reissued on Cala a few months ago), the
Stravinsky Firebird & Petrouchka suites made with the Phila. Orch. in the
1930s (re-issued by Dutton a number of years ago.)
a***@aol.com
2005-04-18 19:30:28 UTC
Permalink
I think Fantasia his greatest achievement, simply for introducing a lot
of people (thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions?) to "classical
music".

I have seen children cry as the dinosaurs trudge their way across the
desert to Rite of Spring extract. I have seen and heard a lot of
responses to Rite across the years but crying is not usually involved.

For me personally, the Bach transcriptions show an understanding of
timpani that you rarely encounter (save for Bruckner and a few others)
even if not intended by the originator.

Born Leo Stokes and, God forbid, to an Irish mother:):) But still, at
aged 13, the youngest student to be admitted to the Royal Academy of
Music, London, and that record stands today.

After all the fake accents he came back to England to die.

Happy Birthday Mr Stokes.

As to who made up the 1957/58 recordings I cannot say but as it was
"His" symphony orchestra I would guess it was who he thought were the
best players of the time.

The Engulfed Cathedral Phase Four is a study in dynamics and
orchestration that quite a lot of people could learn from, I would
think.

Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins

Kind regards,
Sporkadelic
2005-04-18 23:19:37 UTC
Permalink
Post by a***@aol.com
Born Leo Stokes and, God forbid, to an Irish mother:):) But still, at
aged 13, the youngest student to be admitted to the Royal Academy of
Music, London, and that record stands today.
The Stokes story was debunked by Slonimsky, who got hold of the birth
certificate showing the name Leopold Anthony Stokowski.
Kerrison Spartan
2005-04-22 16:23:13 UTC
Permalink
Post by Sporkadelic
Post by a***@aol.com
Born Leo Stokes and, God forbid, to an Irish mother:):) But still,
at
Post by a***@aol.com
aged 13, the youngest student to be admitted to the Royal Academy of
Music, London, and that record stands today.
The Stokes story was debunked by Slonimsky, who got hold of the birth
certificate showing the name Leopold Anthony Stokowski.
... and over 20 years ago, in his Stokowski biography (Midas Books,
1982) the late Preben Opperby even reproduced Stokowski's birth
certificate (a copy of which is freely available to anyone wishing to
see one) on page 9! Stokowski's father Kopernik Joseph Boleslaw
Stokowski was born in London in 1862 and his birth certificate is also
readily available. The full family details are in Oliver Daniel's
Stokowski biography, also published in 1982, so one wonders why the
long-discredited "Stokes" nonsense is still being trotted out today.
And no, he didn't use the name Stokes at St. James's, Piccadilly,
either, as Grove's Dictionary once claimed: that was another factual
error that the writer didn't bother to check.
KS
Matthew B. Tepper
2005-04-22 19:48:54 UTC
Permalink
Post by Sporkadelic
Post by a***@aol.com
Born Leo Stokes and, God forbid, to an Irish mother:):) But still, at
aged 13, the youngest student to be admitted to the Royal Academy of
Music, London, and that record stands today.
The Stokes story was debunked by Slonimsky, who got hold of the birth
certificate showing the name Leopold Anthony Stokowski.
... and over 20 years ago, in his Stokowski biography (Midas Books, 1982)
the late Preben Opperby even reproduced Stokowski's birth certificate (a
copy of which is freely available to anyone wishing to see one) on page 9!
Stokowski's father Kopernik Joseph Boleslaw Stokowski was born in London in
^^^^^^^^
!!!!!!!!

No wonder he was such a persuasive advocate of Holst's "The Planets"!
1862 and his birth certificate is also readily available. The full family
details are in Oliver Daniel's Stokowski biography, also published in 1982,
so one wonders why the long-discredited "Stokes" nonsense is still being
trotted out today. And no, he didn't use the name Stokes at St. James's,
Piccadilly, either, as Grove's Dictionary once claimed: that was another
factual error that the writer didn't bother to check.
KS
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
My main music page --- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/berlioz.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Take THAT, Daniel Lin, Mark Sadek, James Lin & Christopher Chung!
Rodger Whitlock
2005-04-19 15:58:56 UTC
Permalink
Post by a***@aol.com
As to who made up the 1957/58 recordings I cannot say but as it was
"His" symphony orchestra I would guess it was who he thought were the
best players of the time.
I think you'll find that most of those "His Symphony Orchestra"
recordings were made in New York or Los Angeles. The conclusion is
obvious: pickup orchestras that very likely included a lot of the
better players from the local Philharmonic. Rather like the "Concert
Arts Orchestra" that Capitol used to record, or the Columbia Symphony
Orchestra.
--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, BC, Canada
to send email, change atlantic to pacific
and invalid to net
b***@phillynews.com
2005-04-18 19:43:41 UTC
Permalink
Post by patter
OK Stokowski fans,it's Leopolds birthday(123) and I'm listening to his
Emi Classics Bach transcriptions with "His" Symphony orchestra from
1957/58 sessions in NYC. Who made up this group at this time,and what
Stokys are your favorites? Cheers,Todd
I agree on the LSO Scheherazade, as well as the Marche Slav that comes
with it on the Cala release.

That RCA Rhapsodies disc is another one I love.

And the Lohengren Act I prelude with the Philadelphia on Andante.

Barry
Ward Hardman
2005-04-18 21:01:37 UTC
Permalink
Sibelius: Symphony #4 (mid-30s Philiadelphia or the Boston [Philly?]
recording I taped off FM in the early '60s)
Loeffler: Pagan Poem (EMI)
Gliere: Ilya Mourometz
Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty excerpts (late '40s)
Beethoven: Symphony #7 (RCA, 1927) What a wonderful wallow in the
second movement!!! High Fidelity reviewer: "If you can stand the
sound, you don't need high fidelity."

--Ward Hardman

"The older I get, the more I admire and crave competence, just
simple competence, in any field from adultery to zoology."
- H.L. Mencken
Scott Kurtz
2005-04-18 21:56:05 UTC
Permalink
Post by patter
OK Stokowski fans,it's Leopolds birthday(123) and I'm listening to his
Emi Classics Bach transcriptions with "His" Symphony orchestra from
1957/58 sessions in NYC. Who made up this group at this time,and what
Stokys are your favorites? Cheers,Todd
Shostakovitch Symphony No. 11 (Houston Symphony)
Holst The Planets (LA Philharmonic)
Ives Symphony No. 4 (American Symphony), coconducted by Jose Serebrier and
David Katz
m***@yahoo.com
2005-04-19 19:19:47 UTC
Permalink
are your favorites? Cheers,Todd
Post by Scott Kurtz
Shostakovitch Symphony No. 11 (Houston Symphony)
Holst The Planets (LA Philharmonic)
Ives Symphony No. 4 (American Symphony), coconducted by Jose
Serebrier and
Post by Scott Kurtz
David Katz
Yes! My favorite (the Ives) and guilty pleasures (esp the DSCH)
exactly.
William Sommerwerck
2005-04-18 22:13:51 UTC
Permalink
I recently bought the 11 Decca CDs of Stokowski's Phase Four recordings. Some of
them are terrific -- a Schubert "Unfinished," "Night on Bald Mountain,"
"Scheherazade," the Tchaikovsky Fifth. And, of course, those deliciously
over-the-top transcriptions.
Richard Loeb
2005-04-18 22:15:16 UTC
Permalink
Is that a box set??? Richard
Post by William Sommerwerck
I recently bought the 11 Decca CDs of Stokowski's Phase Four recordings. Some of
them are terrific -- a Schubert "Unfinished," "Night on Bald Mountain,"
"Scheherazade," the Tchaikovsky Fifth. And, of course, those deliciously
over-the-top transcriptions.
William Sommerwerck
2005-04-18 23:03:22 UTC
Permalink
Post by Richard Loeb
Is that a box set?
Two boxed sets, one five, the other six disks. The price at my retail dealer was
less than $7 per disk.

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/albumList.jsp?name_id1=56295&name_role1=3&label_id=1088&bcorder=36

#7 and #8 on this page.
Richard Loeb
2005-04-18 23:19:12 UTC
Permalink
Thanks -interesting thing about that site - they make their own Everest Cds
Thanks Richard
Post by William Sommerwerck
Post by Richard Loeb
Is that a box set?
Two boxed sets, one five, the other six disks. The price at my retail dealer was
less than $7 per disk.
http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/albumList.jsp?name_id1=56295&name_role1=3&label_id=1088&bcorder=36
#7 and #8 on this page.
Raymond Hall
2005-04-18 22:40:51 UTC
Permalink
Post by patter
OK Stokowski fans,it's Leopolds birthday(123) and I'm listening to his
Emi Classics Bach transcriptions with "His" Symphony orchestra from
1957/58 sessions in NYC. Who made up this group at this time,and what
Stokys are your favorites? Cheers,Todd
Stoki's Tchaikovsky Hamlet and Francesca da Rimini with the NY Stadium
arkestra on Everest is one of the GREAT recordings of all time.

Ray H
Taree
Russ and/or Martha Oppenheim
2005-04-18 23:13:22 UTC
Permalink
Post by patter
OK Stokowski fans,it's Leopolds birthday(123) and I'm listening to his
Emi Classics Bach transcriptions with "His" Symphony orchestra from
1957/58 sessions in NYC. Who made up this group at this time,and what
Stokys are your favorites? Cheers,Todd
Most of the time Stoki is just too interventionist for my taste, but the
Martin Petite Symphonie Concertante, mentioned elsewhere in this thread, is
certainly very fine, showing him on his best behavior.

And I especially like his Wagner Tristan Prelude-Lliebesnacht-Liebestod
synthesis he recorded in stereo with the Phila Orch around 1960 or so.

I learned the Shostakovich 11th from Stoki's Capitol LPs. Nowadays I
listen to Kondrashin or Berglund for this work, but there is one effect in
which Stoki is incomparable, and ironically closer to the composer's
intentions than anyone else - in the January 9 movt he does the slowly
ascending growling glissandi in the brass exactly as notated -no audible
breaks from note to note.

- Russ (not Martha)
Spam Scone
2005-04-18 23:22:12 UTC
Permalink
Post by patter
OK Stokowski fans,it's Leopolds birthday(123) and I'm listening to his
Emi Classics Bach transcriptions with "His" Symphony orchestra from
1957/58 sessions in NYC. Who made up this group at this time,and what
Stokys are your favorites? Cheers,Todd
Listz Hungarian and Enesco Romanian Rhapsodies (RCA)
Mozart K.361 and Baroque works (Vanguard)
Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet excerpts with the NBC Symphony (RCA)
Tchiakovsky Symphony #4 (Vanguard)
Bizet Symphony (Sony)
Transcriptions (many different labels)
Rachmaninoff Piano Concero #2 and Paganini Rhapsody (Naxos, with the
composer at the keyboard)
s***@hotmail.com
2005-04-18 23:51:57 UTC
Permalink
Have some quotes:


When I was growing up there was a tendency to disparage the old man as
a charlatan ... Today it is all very different. Conductors as
distinguished as Sawallisch and Bamert have recorded his transcriptions
whilst Stokowski himself is recognized as the father of modern
orchestral standards.
-- David Mellor

Stokowski came forward with bowed head, evidently pondering the content
of his musical message. Those who went forth to see a hirsute
eccentricity were disappointed. They beheld a surprisingly boyish and
thoroughly businesslike figure who was sure of himself, yet free from
conceit, who dispensed with the score by virtue of an infallible
memory, and held his men and his audience from the first note to the
last firmly in his grip.
-- anon. critic of the Philadelphia _Public Ledger_, 1912, on
Stokowski's debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra

The moment he stepped on the podium [in 1976]--and it's no
exaggeration--the years literally dropped away. I found him quite
extraordinary because his hearing was outstandingly good. He heard
things that very often the producers, myself and Roy Emerson, or the
engineer didn't pick up. He heard notes that he disapproved of. He
asked for certain balances and he was always right in asking for them;
it was like recording a conductor in his prime, at the age of fifty,
say. The only thing that I think should be mentioned and it's very
important: it's been suggested that in those final years, the
orchestra was absolutely dedicated to him and they played almost
without him--that he was just standing up there in front of them.
That wasn't true for one moment and you only have to listen to any one
of the last few recordings he made. There are certain rubati and
controlled accelerandi that only a conductor can achieve, and he knew
exactly what he was going for and exactly how to get it.
-- Paul Myers, then vice-president of CBS records, in Oliver
Daniel's _Stokowski: A Counterpoint of View_

--
bruce
The dignified don't even enter in the game.
-- The Jam
Brian Cantin
2005-04-19 04:46:07 UTC
Permalink
Bizet: Symphony in C: Sony

Thomson: The Plow that Broke the Plane & The River: Vanguard

Liszt/Enesco/Smetana/Wagner: Rhapsodies: RCA
Steven de Mena
2005-04-19 02:14:23 UTC
Permalink
Post by Brian Cantin
Bizet: Symphony in C: Sony
Wow, I have seen this one show up 3-4 times already on Stoky lists today. Is
it still in print?

Steve
Matthew B. Tepper
2005-04-19 04:34:50 UTC
Permalink
Post by Steven de Mena
Post by Brian Cantin
Bizet: Symphony in C: Sony
Wow, I have seen this one show up 3-4 times already on Stoky lists
today. Is it still in print?
Yes, incongruously coupled but still well worth having:

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?name_id1=1141&name_role1=1
&name_id2=56295&name_role2=3&comp_id=6227&bcorder=315&album_id=5529

Screw that; how about http://tinyurl.com/7jlwh ?

It's included in my list, too!
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
My main music page --- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/berlioz.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Take THAT, Daniel Lin, Mark Sadek, James Lin & Christopher Chung!
Sol L. Siegel
2005-04-19 02:14:53 UTC
Permalink
OK Stokowski fans,it's Leopolds birthday(123)...what
Stokys are your favorites? Cheers,Todd
In no particular order:

Shostakovich 1 (Sym. of the Air), 6 (Philly and Chicago), 11 (Houston).

Wagner syntheses, especially the Tristan Act II.

Brahms Serenade 1.

Schoenberg Verklarte Nacht.

Mahler 2 (RCA).

Any of his versions of Debussy's Afternoon of a Faun.

Any of his versions of Scheherazade.

Vaughan Williams 4 and 6: the latter was, IIRC, the premiere recording,
but that didn't stop him from taking the second movement at about double
speed (and making it thrilling).

Guilty pleasures: Khachaturian's 2nd and 3rd symphonies.
Heck51
2005-04-19 02:49:42 UTC
Permalink
"OK Stokowski fans,it's Leopolds birthday(123)....what
Stokys are your favorites? Cheers,Todd"
Stoki really produced some great ones, too many to name - however a
couple of special favorites:

Shostakovich: Symphony #10 CSO/1966 - on CSO archival release - live
concert recording, best DSh10 I've ever heard, in a field that features
some stiff competition. excellent sound

Rimsky-Korsakov - Sheherazade - Philadelphia Orchestra 10/27/ a classic
in surprisingly good sound. some legendary players in the solo chairs -
Kincaid, Tabuteau, Bonade, Guetter, Mischakoff??
Brendan R. Wehrung
2005-04-19 05:43:37 UTC
Permalink
Post by Heck51
"OK Stokowski fans,it's Leopolds birthday(123)....what
Stokys are your favorites? Cheers,Todd"
Stoki really produced some great ones, too many to name - however a
Shostakovich: Symphony #10 CSO/1966 - on CSO archival release - live
concert recording, best DSh10 I've ever heard, in a field that features
some stiff competition. excellent sound
Rimsky-Korsakov - Sheherazade - Philadelphia Orchestra 10/27/ a classic
in surprisingly good sound. some legendary players in the solo chairs -
Kincaid, Tabuteau, Bonade, Guetter, Mischakoff??
From the same period add Shostakovich Prelude No. 14 in Stokowski's
inimitable transcription.

Brendan
--
R***@aol.com
2005-04-19 08:53:06 UTC
Permalink
Post by Heck51
Rimsky-Korsakov - Sheherazade - Philadelphia Orchestra 10/27/ a classic
in surprisingly good sound. some legendary players in the solo chairs -
Kincaid, Tabuteau, Bonade, Guetter, Mischakoff??
Agree, the first Sheherazade is amazing - and the Russian Easter
Overture is astounding. Also the Brahms Symphonies from that same
Philadelphia period.

Of later Stokowski, I admire his Ives Second Orchestral Set and
Stravinsky Soldier's Tale enormously.
Heck51
2005-04-19 13:15:10 UTC
Permalink
"Of later Stokowski, I admire his Ives Second Orchestral Set and
Stravinsky Soldier's Tale enormously. "

yes, his L'Histoire du Soldat is really outstanding...anyone who thinks
that Stoki was a phony, or somehow not the "real McCoy", should hear
this one. he does a fine job on this demanding work..

I also lke his Falla - "El Amor Brujo" with Shirley
Verrett/PhilaOrch/1960. very colorful, flamboyant and sexy. contrasts
nicely with Reiner's dark, sinister and sensuous CSO version with
Leontyne Price.

another favorite - His Sibelius Sym #2, with NBC from 1954.
Heck51
2005-04-19 17:50:04 UTC
Permalink
I forgot - I love his RCA VictorSO Recordings of the Liszt 2nd
Hungarian Rhapsody, and the Enesco Rumanian #1...

schmaltzy, outrageous, but so effective...

His 1929-30 "Le Sacre" is another classic.
Matthew B. Tepper
2005-04-19 04:34:49 UTC
Permalink
I *might* be able to keep it down to a Top 25 List:

Bizet: Symphony in C (National Philharmonic Orch., recorded 1977)
Brahms: Symphony #1 (LSO, 1972)
Brahms: Symphony #2 (NationalPO, 1976?)
Dvorak: Serenade for Strings (RPO, 1975)
Dvorak: Symphony #9 or whatever (Philadelphia O, 1925)
Elgar: "Enigma" Variations (Czech Philharmonic, 1972)
Franck: Symphony (Hilversum Radio Philharmonic, 1970)
Grieg: Piano Concerto (Grainger, Hollywood Bowl SO, 1945)
Holst: "The Planets" (NBC, 1943 *and* LAPO, 1956)
Ives: Symphony #4 (National SO, 1965)
Mahler: Symphony #2 (LSO, 1972)
Mahler: Symphony #8 (NYP, 1948)
Martin: Petite Symphonie Concertante (HisSO, 1957)
Mendelssohn: Symphony #4 (National PO, 1977)
Menotti: "Sebastian" Ballet Suite (NBC, 1954)
Poulenc: Concert Champêtre (Landowska, NYP, 1949)
Prokofiev: "Romeo and Juliet" exc. (NBC, 1954)
Puccini: _Turandot_ (Met, 1961)
Rachmaninoff: Paganini Rhapsody (composer, Philadelphia, 1934)
Schoenberg: "Gurrelieder" (Philadelphia, 1932)
Shostakovich: Symphony #10 (CSO, 1966)
Shostakovich: Symphony #11 (HoustonSO, 1958)
Sibelius: "The Swan of Tuonela" (HisSO, 1947)
Sibelius: Symphony #1 (NationalPO, 1976)
Vaughan Williams: Symphony #4 (NBC, 1943)
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
My main music page --- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/berlioz.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Take THAT, Daniel Lin, Mark Sadek, James Lin & Christopher Chung!
William Sommerwerck
2005-04-19 11:31:31 UTC
Permalink
Sibelius: "The Swan of Tuonela" (HisSO, 1947)
There's an incredible performance of "Swan" on the deluxe Fantasia DVD,
illustrated with Disney art. (I think it's "stereo," but don't remember.) A
classic example of how incredibly good Stokowski was when he didn't "mess" with
the music. (As is, frankly, the rest of Fantasia, the Rite excepted.)
Matthew B. Tepper
2005-04-19 14:35:50 UTC
Permalink
Post by William Sommerwerck
Sibelius: "The Swan of Tuonela" (HisSO, 1947)
There's an incredible performance of "Swan" on the deluxe Fantasia DVD,
illustrated with Disney art. (I think it's "stereo," but don't remember.)
A classic example of how incredibly good Stokowski was when he didn't
"mess" with the music. (As is, frankly, the rest of Fantasia, the Rite
excepted.)
I'd except the Beethoven as well.

Actually, I have to admit the final pair of sequences don't work for me
either. Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain" is a scary piece of music,
but in the animated images, who's being threatened? Surely not the
inhabitants of the town below, as long as they stay home; they've probably
slept through this thing many times before. And Schubert's "Ave Maria" is
downright sanctimonious, at least as presented in the film.
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
My main music page --- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/berlioz.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Take THAT, Daniel Lin, Mark Sadek, James Lin & Christopher Chung!
graham
2005-04-19 15:14:33 UTC
Permalink
Post by Matthew B. Tepper
And Schubert's "Ave Maria" is
downright sanctimonious,
Isn't it supposed to be?

Graham
Mark
2005-04-19 18:03:16 UTC
Permalink
Post by William Sommerwerck
There's an incredible performance of "Swan" on the deluxe Fantasia DVD,
illustrated with Disney art. (I think it's "stereo," but don't
remember.) A
Post by William Sommerwerck
classic example of how incredibly good Stokowski was when he didn't "mess" with
the music.
I have that DVD, and I don't think it's a Stokowski performance. It's
not identified as such (as, for example, the music for the unpublished
"Clair de Lune" sequence is).

Mark Obert-Thorn
William Sommerwerck
2005-04-19 22:42:01 UTC
Permalink
Post by William Sommerwerck
There's an incredible performance of "Swan" on the deluxe Fantasia
DVD, illustrated with Disney art. (I think it's "stereo," but don't
remember.) A classic example of how incredibly good Stokowski
was when he didn't "mess" with the music.
I have that DVD, and I don't think it's a Stokowski performance. It's
not identified as such (as, for example, the music for the unpublished
"Clair de Lune" sequence is).
Perhaps so, but who else would it be? Note also the slow, but not sluggish
tempo. Typical Stokowski.
Allen
2005-04-20 02:54:47 UTC
Permalink
Post by William Sommerwerck
Post by William Sommerwerck
There's an incredible performance of "Swan" on the deluxe Fantasia
DVD, illustrated with Disney art. (I think it's "stereo," but don't
remember.) A classic example of how incredibly good Stokowski
was when he didn't "mess" with the music.
I have that DVD, and I don't think it's a Stokowski performance. It's
not identified as such (as, for example, the music for the unpublished
"Clair de Lune" sequence is).
Perhaps so, but who else would it be? Note also the slow, but not sluggish
tempo. Typical Stokowski.
My first, and one of my best, recollections of Stokowski was a 12" 78 of
the Second Hungarian Rhapsody, acquired when I was probably 12 years
old. That would be 64 years ago--shudder!! Also, a couple of years after
that I picked up his Tchaikovsky 4 (spelled Tschaikowsky, as was
standard on RCA products back then) with the NBC Orchestra. I liked it
very much at the time, but from what I've heard in later years it was
typically idiosyncratic (sp?) but I don't remember it in great enough
detail to vouch for it.

On the other hand he completely destroyed La Giaconda for me in
Fantasia--I can see only hippos in tutus whenever I hear it, after 65
years. I didn't care much for the garbage cans bouncing down the alley
to Bach, but I guess I should lay the blame for these aberrations on
Walt Disney.

Allen
Matthew B. Tepper
2005-04-20 05:38:56 UTC
Permalink
Post by Allen
My first, and one of my best, recollections of Stokowski was a 12" 78 of
the Second Hungarian Rhapsody, acquired when I was probably 12 years old.
That would be 64 years ago--shudder!! Also, a couple of years after that
I picked up his Tchaikovsky 4 (spelled Tschaikowsky, as was standard on
RCA products back then) with the NBC Orchestra. I liked it very much at
the time, but from what I've heard in later years it was typically
idiosyncratic (sp?) but I don't remember it in great enough detail to
vouch for it.
On the other hand he completely destroyed La Giaconda for me in Fantasia
--I can see only hippos in tutus whenever I hear it, after 65 years. I
didn't care much for the garbage cans bouncing down the alley to Bach,
but I guess I should lay the blame for these aberrations on Walt Disney.
But _Gioconda_ is a crap opera -- it really doesn't deserve any better.
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
My main music page --- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/berlioz.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Take THAT, Daniel Lin, Mark Sadek, James Lin & Christopher Chung!
Rodger Whitlock
2005-04-19 15:58:56 UTC
Permalink
...what Stokys are your favorites?
Not quite a favorite, but one especially noteworthy: his recording of
Beethoven's ninth. It is the ideal recording for a newcomer inasmuch
as it underlines and highlights the salient points of the rhetoric.

Some may disagree. I don't care.
--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, BC, Canada
to send email, change atlantic to pacific
and invalid to net
patter
2005-04-19 18:30:04 UTC
Permalink
Thanks to all who responded! There are many fine suggestions to which I
will add one-a nice tribute from Wolfgang Sawallisch and the
Philadelpia(EMI Encore) of Stoky transcriptions from Bach to
Debussy...wonderful fun,the orchestra sounds great,and it's bargain
price!! I haven't had so much fun just reveling in a great "soundfest"
as I did with this. A joy indeed!
Paul Goldstein
2005-04-19 19:00:57 UTC
Permalink
In article <***@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com>, patter
says...
Post by patter
Thanks to all who responded! There are many fine suggestions to which I
will add one-a nice tribute from Wolfgang Sawallisch and the
Philadelpia(EMI Encore) of Stoky transcriptions from Bach to
Debussy...wonderful fun,the orchestra sounds great,and it's bargain
price!! I haven't had so much fun just reveling in a great "soundfest"
as I did with this. A joy indeed!
The Kunzel/Cincinnati Pops collections of Stoki transcriptions are also
soundfests. Kunzel himself, unfortunately, is somewhat prosaic.
--
Paul Goldstein
Matthew B. Tepper
2005-04-19 19:24:26 UTC
Permalink
Post by Rodger Whitlock
...what Stokys are your favorites?
Not quite a favorite, but one especially noteworthy: his recording of
Beethoven's ninth. It is the ideal recording for a newcomer inasmuch
as it underlines and highlights the salient points of the rhetoric.
Some may disagree. I don't care.
Presumably you mean his Phase 4 recording? Wasn't there an earlier
Philadelphia one with a vocal quartet headed by the ubiquitous Agnes Davis?
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
My main music page --- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/berlioz.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Take THAT, Daniel Lin, Mark Sadek, James Lin & Christopher Chung!
Ward Hardman
2005-04-19 23:25:19 UTC
Permalink
Ooops! I forgot to mention Prokofieff's "Peter and the Wolf," with the
All-American Symphony Orchestra and Basil Rathbone narrating. This was
my first childhood classical album, on 78s, circa 1947. Now there's a
"sentimental favorite"! :-)

--Ward Hardman

"The older I get, the more I admire and crave competence, just
simple competence, in any field from adultery to zoology."
- H.L. Mencken
Brendan R. Wehrung
2005-04-20 05:40:55 UTC
Permalink
Post by Ward Hardman
Ooops! I forgot to mention Prokofieff's "Peter and the Wolf," with the
All-American Symphony Orchestra and Basil Rathbone narrating. This was
my first childhood classical album, on 78s, circa 1947. Now there's a
"sentimental favorite"! :-)
Mine too.

Brendan
--
d***@yahoo.com
2005-04-20 21:36:43 UTC
Permalink
I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned one of my own favorite
Stoki/Phase 4 recordings--Messiaen's L'Ascension. His is still my
absolute favorite of this music, though the new CSO "From The Archives"
issue of Boulez's performance is pretty exceptional, if inhabiting an
altogether different sound world.

Dave Royko
Vaneyes
2005-04-21 00:29:12 UTC
Permalink
Bizet Sym in C, Mendelssohn Sym 4 (Sony Odyssey)

Debussy La Mer, Berlioz Danse des Sylphes, Ravel Daphnis & Chloe Suite
No. 2 (Decca Ovation)

Regards
Sacqueboutier
2005-04-23 00:33:17 UTC
Permalink
Post by Vaneyes
Bizet Sym in C, Mendelssohn Sym 4 (Sony Odyssey)
Debussy La Mer, Berlioz Danse des Sylphes, Ravel Daphnis & Chloe Suite
No. 2 (Decca Ovation)
Regards
Stravinsky: Firebird Suite w/BPO on Capitol
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody Nr.2 on RCA
Khachaturian: Symphony Nr.2 on United Artists
Khachaturian: Symphony Nr.3 on RCA
Tchaikovsky: Francesca da rimini and Hamlet on Everest
d***@aol.com
2005-04-21 00:41:29 UTC
Permalink
I haven't heard all that many Stokowski recordings, but I'll sing the
praises of a couple of them anyway. I remember being very impressed
with the live (and lively) recording of Beethoven's Fifth included in a
Philadelphia Orchestra box set, and Stokowski's recording of Ives 4th
symphony is still probably my favorite (although Ozawa is better--truly
and uncharacteristically rip-roaring and indeed overwhelming--in the
wild second movement).

-david gablre
David Hurwitz
2005-04-21 03:21:36 UTC
Permalink
In article <***@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>,
***@aol.com says...
(although Ozawa is better--truly
Post by d***@aol.com
and uncharacteristically rip-roaring and indeed overwhelming--in the
wild second movement).
-david gablre
Ozawa is most certainly not better. He uses the version for single conductor,
first of all, and it shows all through the second movement--the lack of contrast
in tempo and muddiness of texture don't hold a candle to what Stokowski
achieves, bar for bar. Ozawa's performance is, in fact, probably the poorest
available in this movement. Tilson Thomas, Serbrier, and Dohnanyi (especially)
are all audibly superior.

Dave Hurwitz
Dick Grayson
2005-04-24 08:36:45 UTC
Permalink
Post by patter
OK Stokowski fans,it's Leopolds birthday(123) and I'm listening to his
Emi Classics Bach transcriptions with "His" Symphony orchestra from
1957/58 sessions in NYC. Who made up this group at this time,and what
Stokys are your favorites? Cheers,Todd
Worth mentioning is his live concert at Carnegie Hall circa Sept. 25
1958, which includes the U.S. premiere of Ralph Vaughan Williams 9th
symphony, and Alan Hovhaness's Mysterious Mountain symphony which was
commissioned by Stokowski and premiered by him in 55'. This is
available on Cala Records CACD0539.
Matthew B. Tepper
2005-04-24 17:14:13 UTC
Permalink
Post by Dick Grayson
Post by patter
OK Stokowski fans,it's Leopolds birthday(123) and I'm listening to his
Emi Classics Bach transcriptions with "His" Symphony orchestra from
1957/58 sessions in NYC. Who made up this group at this time,and what
Stokys are your favorites? Cheers,Todd
Worth mentioning is his live concert at Carnegie Hall circa Sept. 25
1958, which includes the U.S. premiere of Ralph Vaughan Williams 9th
symphony, and Alan Hovhaness's Mysterious Mountain symphony which was
commissioned by Stokowski and premiered by him in 55'. This is
available on Cala Records CACD0539.
Yesterday at Record Surplus I picked up Living Era AJC 8552, with his 1927
Dvorak "New World" and shorter pieces by Brahms, Liszt, Berlioz, Novacek,
and Enescu from 1934, 1940, and 1947. This finally gives me a CD version
(in a David Lennick transfer, previewed on 'phones before purchase) of the
Dvorak, which I once had in an interesting gatefold set on RCA LPs, where
it was coupled with his 1973 New Philharmonia recording for comparison. (I
already have the Biddulph CD containing the 1925 recording; haven't made up
my mind if I'm going to make the effort to track down the other three.)
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
My main music page --- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/berlioz.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Take THAT, Daniel Lin, Mark Sadek, James Lin & Christopher Chung!
GMS
2005-04-24 20:11:24 UTC
Permalink
My favorite Stoki guilty pleasures include a Victor 78 RPM single
containing Sibelius' "Valse Triste" and "Berceuse" from the Tempest
(Philadelphia Orchestra) and the All American Youth Orchestra version
on a Columbia 78 of Tchaikovsky/Stokowski's Solitude. Orgasmic
versions of all 3 pieces!!!

Gary Stucka
Cellist, Chicago Symphony Orchestra

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