For April, 2021, the Classics a Day Team celebrates a legend -- Leopold Stokowski. He was born in April (1882), and became a cultural icon. His recording legacy spans over 60 years. And whether he was conducting a premier orchestra or a group of studio musicians, the sound was unmistakable.
To share all of Stokowski's recordings and arrangements would take far longer than a month. But that means there's quite a lot to choose from for April! Here are my selections for the final week of #ClassicsaDay #Stokowski.
04/26/21 Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 2 (1929)
Rachmaninoff recorded his 2nd concerto with Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra in April 1929. They had recorded it previously in 1924, though the first movement was never released. The 1929 version has remained continually in print.
04/27/21 Vaughan Williams - Dives and Laxarus (1954)
Ralph Vaughan Williams and Leopold Stokowski were fellow students at the Royal Academy of Music. This performance is with Stokowski and the CBS Radio Orchestra.
04/28/21 Franck - Symphony in D minor (1970)
Stokowski made this recording with the Hilversum Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in 1970. It was released as a London Phase 4 stereo release.
04/29/21 Webern - Passacaglia for Orchestra (1962)
Stokowski ranged far beyond basic rep. He conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in this live performance in 1962 (when many audiences thought Webern was still too modern).
04/30/21 Beethoven - "Leonore" No. 3 (1968)
From a documentary released in 1970, Stokowski rehearses his American Symphony Orchestra in Madison Square Garden. He was 86 years old at the time.
For April 2021, the Classics a Day Team celebrates a legend -- Leopold Stokowski. He was born in April (1882) and became a cultural icon. His recording legacy spans over 60 years. And whether he was conducting a premier orchestra or a group of studio musicians, the sound was unmistakable.
To share all of Stokowski's recordings and arrangements would take far longer than a month. But that means there's quite a lot to choose from for April! Here are my selections for the third week of #ClassicsaDay #Stokowski.
04/19/21 The Big Broadcast of 1937
Stokowski's film debut featured him conducting two of his Bach arrangements: "Ein Feste Burg" and the "Little Fugue" in G minor.
04/20/21 Schumann - Symphony No. 2
This is a live performance of Stokowski conducting the American Symphony Orchestra from 1966. He founded the ASO at age 80, with the goal of making orchestral music more accessible and affordable to all.
04/21/21 Werner Josten - Jungle (1928)
Stokowski conducted his American Symphony Orchestra in this 1971 Carnegie Hall performance. This is one of two works by Josten that Stokowski presented to the public.
04/22/21 Sibelius - Finlandia (1930)
Stokowski recorded his own arrangement of this work with the Philadelphia Orchestra in April 1930 for RCA Red Seal. They had previously recorded this modern work in 1921.
04/23/21 Paul Lavalle - Symphonic Rhumba (1942)
Stokowski and the NBC Symphony Orchestra premiered Lavalle's in a December 6, 1942 radio broadcast. Lavalle was a conductor at Radio City Music Hall and founded the McDonald's All-American High School Band (seen in Macy's parades).
For April, 2021, the Classics a Day Team celebrates a legend -- Leopold Stokowski. He was born in April (1882), and became a cultural icon. His recording legacy spans over 60 years. And whether he was conducting a premier orchestra or a group of studio musicians, the sound was unmistakable.
To share all of Stokowski's recordings and arrangements would take far longer than a month. But that means there's quite a lot to choose from for April! Here are my selections for the second week of #ClassicsaDay #Stokowski.
04/12/21 Carnagie Hall (1947)
This was Stokowski's final film appearance. The movie also included performances by Jascha Heifetz, Ezio Pinza, Fritz Reiner, Arthur Rubinstein, Risë Stevens, Bruno Walter, and many others.
04/13/21 Saint-Saens - Danse Macabre
Stokowski made this 1975 recording at age 93. The "National Philharmonic Orchestra" was a studio group comprising top players from several London orchestras.
04/14/21 Handel - Hallelujah Chorus
Stokowski did this Phase 4 Stereo recording with the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in 1966 -- and made it his own.
04/15/21 Music for Strings (Capitol, 1958)
This is one of many releases that featuring Stokowski and "His Symphony Orchestra." The ensemble was comprised of top musicians from the New York Philharmonic, the Met Opera Orchestra, New York City Opera and Ballet, Julliard and Manhatten School of Music faculty, and others.
04/16/21 Stokowski: Symphony
Stokowski was a masterful arranger and orchestrator -- and very early in his studies, he was also a composer. Only two movements of his symphony survive, reconstructed from the orchestra parts. It was premiered in 2009, over a century after its composition.
For April, 2021, the Classics a Day Team celebrates a legend -- Leopold Stokowski. He was born in April (1882), and became a cultural icon. His recording legacy spans over 60 years. And whether he was conducting a premier orchestra or a group of studio musicians, the sound was unmistakable.
To share all of Stokowski's recordings and arrangements would take far longer than a month. But that means there's quite a lot to choose from for April! Here are my selections for the first nine days of #ClassicsaDay #Stokowski.
04/01/21 Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 5 (1917)
This was Stokowski's first recording. It was done in October, 1917with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
04/02/21 Bizet: Symphony in C major (1977)
Stokowski recorded this work for CBS in June, 1977. It was his final session in his 60-year recording career, made just three months before his death. The National Philharmonic Orchestra was a studio group, and included some of London's best classical musicians.
04/05/21 Hovhaness: Mysterious Mountain (1958)
This recording was from a broadcast concert from Carnegie Hall. Stokowski and his Symphony Orchestra marked his 50th year as a conductor with music by Wallingford Riegger, Paul Creston, and the American premiere of Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 9.
Stokowski was not just a brilliant conductor -- he was also a brilliant orchestrator and arranger. He used his arrangement of the Moonlight Sonata as an encore piece.
04/07/21 100 Men and a Girl (excerpts)
Fantasia wasn't Stokowski's only film. In this 1937 classic he plays himself, alongside Deanna Durbin and Adolphe Menjou.
04/08/21 Tchaikovsky "Song Without Words"
Stokowski first recorded his arrangement of this work in 1924 with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
04/09/21 Creston: Saxophone Concerto, Op. 26
Stokowski was a champion of modern music. He made the premiere recording of Paul Creston's concerto with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in 1944.
