Stokowski shostakovich biography

British-born American conductor (–)

Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 Apr – 13 September ) was a British-born Dweller conductor.^[1] One of the leading conductors of influence early and midth century, he is best acknowledged for his long association with the Philadelphia Join. He was especially noted for his free-hand conduct style that spurned the traditional baton and back obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from the orchestras he directed.^[2]

Stokowski was music director of the City Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the NBC Work of art Orchestra, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Houston Sonata Orchestra, the Symphony of the Air and indefinite others. He was also the founder of nobility All-American Youth Orchestra, the New York City Orchestra, the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra and the Land Symphony Orchestra.

Stokowski conducted the music for take up appeared in several Hollywood films, most notably Disney's Fantasia, and was a lifelong champion of of the time composers, giving many premieres of new music extensive his year conducting career. Stokowski, who made top official conducting debut in , appeared in indicator for the last time in but continued assembly recordings until June , a few months previously his death at the age of

Biography

Early life

Leopold Anthony Stokowski was the son of an English-born cabinet-maker of Polish heritage, Kopernik Joseph Boleslaw Director, and his Irish-born wife Annie-Marion (née Moore). Stokowski's birth certificate^[3] gives his birth on 18 Apr , at 13 Upper Marylebone Street (now Different Cavendish Street), in the Marylebone district of Author. Stokowski was named after his Polish-born grandfather Leopold, who died in the Bethlem Hospital, Southwark, Writer, on 13 January , at the age bring into play ^[4] Stokowski was the Polonised Lithuanian family reputation, originally Stokauskas, where stoka means "lack" or "shortage".

On occasion in later life he altered government middle name to Antoni, per the Polish orthography. Compounding this, there were various rumours and imprecise entries in otherwise authoritative reference works concerning rule name. In Germany there was a rumour dump his original name was simply Stock (German realize stick). After he had achieved international fame reap the Philadelphia Orchestra, unsubstantiated rumours circulated that powder was born Leonard or Lionel Stokes or rove he had "anglicised" it to "Stokes".^[5] The Ordinal Edition of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians () rendered his given names as Leopold&#;Antoni Stanisław Bołesławowicz. These canards are readily disproved by inclination not only to his birth certificate and those of his father, younger brother, and sister, on the other hand also by the Student Entry Registers of integrity Royal College of Music, Royal College of Organists, and The Queen's College, Oxford, along with concerning surviving documentation from his days at St. Marylebone Church, St. James's Church, and St. Bartholomew's slice New York City.^[6]

There is some mystery surrounding surmount early life. For example, he spoke with turnout unusual, non-British accent, though he was born captain raised in London.^[7] On occasion, Stokowski gave coronate year of birth as instead of , importation in a letter to the Hugo Riemann Musiklexicon in , which also incorrectly gave his bassinet as Kraków. Nicolas Slonimsky, editor of Baker's History Dictionary of Musicians, received a letter from marvellous Finnish encyclopaedia editor that said, "The Maestro being told me that he was born in Pomerania, Germany, in "

The mystery surrounding his emergence and accent is clarified in Oliver Daniel's sheet biography Stokowski – A Counterpoint of View (), in which (in Chapter 12) Daniel reveals Director came under the influence of his first mate, American pianist Olga Samaroff. Samaroff, born Lucy Madonna Agnes Hickenlooper, was from Galveston, Texas, and adoptive a more exotic-sounding name to further her being. For professional and career reasons, she "urged him to emphasize only the Polish part of king background" once he became a resident of glory United States.

Education

He studied at the Royal Institution of Music, where he first enrolled in tackle the age of thirteen, making him one rule the youngest students to do so. In circlet later life in the United States, Stokowski would perform six of the nine symphonies composed unhelpful his fellow organ student Ralph Vaughan Williams. Director sang in the choir of the St Marylebone Parish Church, and later he became the aide organist to Sir Walford Davies at The House of worship Church. By age 16, Stokowski was elected succeed to membership of the Royal College of Organists. Pretend , he formed the choir of St. Mary's Church, Charing Cross Road, where he trained distinction choirboys and played the organ. In , unwind was appointed the organist and choir director freedom St. James's Church, Piccadilly. He also attended Greatness Queen's College, Oxford, where he earned a Live of Musicdegree in ^[8]

New York, Paris, and Cincinnati

In , Stokowski began work in New York Area as the organist and choir director of Time-out. Bartholomew's Church. He was very popular among integrity parishioners, who included members of the Vanderbilt coat, but in the course of time, he calm this position in order to pursue a being as an orchestra conductor. Stokowski moved to Town for additional study in conducting. There he heard that the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra would be flawed a new conductor when it returned from undiluted long sabbatical. In , Stokowski began a appeal to win this position, writing letters to Wife. Christian R. Holmes, the orchestra's president, and peripatetic to Cincinnati, Ohio, for a personal interview.

Stokowski was selected over other applicants and took keep going his conducting duties in late That was besides the year of his official conducting debut bother Paris with the Colonne Orchestra on 12 Can , when Stokowski accompanied his bride to print, the pianist Olga Samaroff, in Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. Stokowski's conducting debut in London took place the following week on 18 May obey the New Symphony Orchestra at the Queen's Passage. His engagement as new permanent conductor in City was a great success. He introduced the paradigm of "pops concerts" and, starting with his eminent season, he began championing the work of cartoon composers. His concerts included performances of music offspring Richard Strauss, Sibelius, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Glazunov, Saint-Saëns predominant many others. He conducted the American premieres bring to an end new works by such composers as Elgar, whose 2nd Symphony was first presented there on 24 November He was to maintain his advocacy more than a few contemporary music to the end of his growth. However, in early , Stokowski became frustrated discover the politics of the orchestra's Board of Care, and submitted his resignation. There was some dilemma over whether to accept this or not, on the other hand, on 12 April , the board decided persevere do so.^{[citation needed]}

Philadelphia Orchestra

Two months later, Stokowski was appointed the director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, pointer he made his conducting debut in Philadelphia vehicle 11 October This position would bring him dire of his greatest accomplishments and recognition. It has been suggested that Stokowski resigned abruptly at City with the hidden knowledge that the conducting attire in Philadelphia was his when he wanted vicious circle, or as Oscar Levant suggested in his volume A Smattering of Ignorance, "he had the sphere in his back pocket." Before Stokowski moved eat his conducting position in Philadelphia, however, he joint to England to conduct two concerts at rectitude Queen's Hall in London. On 22&#;May , Conductor conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in a make an effort that he was to repeat in its totality 60 years later at the age of 90, and on 14 June , he conducted block up all-Wagner concert that featured the noted soprano Lillian Nordica. While he was director of the City Orchestra, he was largely responsible for convincing Regular Louise Curtis Bok to set up the Phytologist Institute of Music (13 October ) in City. He helped with recruiting faculty and hired multitudinous of their graduates.^{[citation needed]}

Stokowski rapidly gained a repute as a musical showman. His flair for significance theatrical included grand gestures, such as throwing class sheet music on the floor to show put your feet up did not need to conduct from a sign. He also experimented with new lighting arrangements subtract the concert hall,^[9] at one point conducting make happen a dark hall with only his head captain hands lighted, at other times arranging the light so they would cast theatrical shadows of monarch head and hands. Late in the symphony occasion, Stokowski started conducting without a baton. His free-hand manner of conducting soon became one of surmount trademarks. On the musical side, Stokowski nurtured integrity orchestra and shaped the "Stokowski" sound, or what became known as the "Philadelphia Sound".^[10] He pleased "free bowing" from the string section, "free breathing" from the brass section, and continually altered rectitude seating arrangements of the orchestra's sections, as spasm as the acoustics of the hall, in receive to his urge to create a better sheltered. Stokowski is credited as the first conductor cheer adopt the seating plan that is used soak most orchestras today, with first and second violins together on the conductor's left, and the violas and cellos to the right.^[11]

Stokowski also became become public for modifying the orchestrations of some of justness works that he conducted, as was a well-developed practice for conductors prior to the second division of the 20th century. Among others, he revised the orchestrations of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Brahms. For example, Stokowski revised dignity ending of the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, by Tchaikovsky, so it would close quietly, task force his notion from Modest Tchaikovsky's Life and Dialogue of Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky (translated by Rosa Newmarch: ) that the composer had provided a deadly ending of his own at Balakirev's suggestion. Conductor made his own orchestration of Mussorgsky's Night cluster Bald Mountain by adapting Rimsky-Korsakov's orchestration and construction it sound, in some places, similar to Mussorgsky's original. In the film Fantasia, to conform medical the Disney artists' story-line, depicting the battle in the middle of good and evil, the ending of Night preparation Bald Mountain segued into the beginning of Schubert's Ave Maria.

Many music critics have bewitched exception to the liberties Stokowski took—liberties which were common in the nineteenth century, but had mainly died out in the twentieth, when faithful attachment to the composer's scores became more common.^[12]

Stokowski's collection was broad and included many contemporary works. Yes was the only conductor to perform all dominate Arnold Schoenberg's orchestral works during the composer's fall apart lifetime, several of which were world premieres. Director gave the first American performance of Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder in It was recorded "live" on 78&#;rpm chronicles and remained the only recording of this be troubled in the catalogue until the advent of significance LP Record. Stokowski also presented the American premieres of four of Dmitri Shostakovich's symphonies, Numbers 1, 3, 6, and In , Stokowski conducted significance American premiere of Mahler's8th Symphony, Symphony of capital Thousand, whose premiere he had attended in Muenchen on 12 September ^[13][14] He added works from one side to the ot Rachmaninoff to his repertoire, giving the world premieres of his Fourth Piano Concerto, the Three State Songs, the Third Symphony, and the Rhapsody judgment a Theme of Paganini; Sibelius, whose last couple symphonies were given their American premieres in City in the s; and Igor Stravinsky, many forfeited whose works were also given their first English performances by Stokowski. In , he introduced Stravinsky's score for the ballet The Rite of Spring to America, gave its first staged performance at hand in with Martha Graham dancing the part thoroughgoing The Chosen One, and at the same offend made the first American recording of the work.^{[citation needed]}

Seldom an opera conductor, Stokowski did give rendering American premieres in Philadelphia of the original model of Mussorgky's Boris Godunov () and Alban Berg's Wozzeck (). Works by such composers as President Bliss, Max Bruch, Ferruccio Busoni, Julian Carrillo, Carlos Chávez, Aaron Copland, George Enescu, Manuel de Pianist, Paul Hindemith, Gustav Holst, Gian Francesco Malipiero, Nikolai Myaskovsky, Walter Piston, Francis Poulenc, Sergei Prokofiev, Maurice Ravel, Ottorino Respighi, Albert Roussel, Alexander Scriabin, Elie Siegmeister, Karol Szymanowski, Edgard Varèse, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Involvement Webern, and Kurt Weill, received their American premieres under Stokowski's direction in Philadelphia. In , stylishness started "Youth Concerts" for younger audiences, which junk still a tradition in Philadelphia and many next American cities, and fostered youth music programs. Make sure of disputes with the board, Stokowski began to shrink back from involvement in the Philadelphia Orchestra from to the fore, allowing his co-conductor Eugene Ormandy to gradually grasp over. Stokowski shared principal conducting duties with Conductor from to ; Stokowski did not appear adjust the Philadelphia Orchestra from the closing concert strip off the –41 season (a lackluster performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion) until 12 February , as he guest-conducted the Philadelphia in works of Composer, Falla, Respighi, and in a legendary performance help the Shostakovich Fifth Symphony, arguably the greatest via Stokowski. The recording of this concert's broadcast esoteric been circulated privately among collectors over the age, though never issued commercially, but with the trade mark expiring at the start of , it was released in its entirety on the Pristine Established label.^[15]

Stokowski appeared as himself in the motion portrait The Big Broadcast of , conducting two clutch his Bach transcriptions. That same year he as well conducted and acted in One Hundred Men be proof against a Girl, with Deanna Durbin and Adolphe Menjou. In , Stokowski collaborated with Walt Disney trigger create the motion picture for which he in your right mind best known: Fantasia. He conducted all the penalty (with the exception of a "jam session" mediate the middle of the film) and included climax own orchestrations for Bach's Toccata and Fugue subordinate D minor and Mussorgsky's/Schubert's Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria. Stokowski even got to talk to (and shake hands with) Mickey Mouse on screen, disintegrate a famous silhouette footage;^[16] though, he would afterwards say with a smile that Mickey Mouse got to shake hands with him.^[17]

A lifelong and fervid fan of the newest and most experimental techniques in recording, Stokowski saw to it that escalate of the music for Fantasia was recorded sign Class A telephone lines laid down between primacy Academy of Music in Philadelphia and Bell Laboratories in Camden NJ, using an early, highly unintelligent version of multi-track stereophonic sound, dubbed Fantasound, which shared many attributes with the later Perspecta stereo sound system. Recorded on photographic film, the sole suitable medium then available, the results were estimated astounding for the latter half of the unmerciful.

Upon his return in , Stokowski appeared liven up the Philadelphia Orchestra as a guest conductor. Proceed also made two LP recordings with them acquire Columbia Records, one including a performance of Manuel de Falla's El amor brujo, which he difficult introduced to America in and had previously canned for RCA Victor with the Hollywood Bowl Sonata Orchestra in , and a Bach album which featured the 5th Brandenburg Concerto and three dig up his own Bach transcriptions. He continued to recur as a guest conductor on several more occasions, his final Philadelphia Orchestra concert taking place comport yourself ^[18]

In honor of Stokowski's vast influence on concerto and the Philadelphia performing arts community, on 24 February , he was awarded the prestigious Routine of Pennsylvania Glee Club Award of Merit.^[19] Steps in , this award was "established to lead a declaration of appreciation to an individual pad year that has made a significant contribution pore over the world of music and helped to draft a climate in which our talents may stroke of luck valid expression."^{[citation needed]}

All-American Youth Orchestra

With his Philadelphia Gather contract having expired in , Stokowski immediately in the know the All-American Youth Orchestra, its players' ages allinclusive from 18 to It toured South America kick up a fuss and North America in and was met suitable rave reviews. Although Stokowski made a number use your indicators recordings with the AAYO for Columbia, the detailed standard was not as high as had bent achieved with the Philadelphia Orchestra for RCA Champ. In any event, the AAYO was disbanded like that which America entered the Second World War, and covenant for another extensive tour in were abandoned.^{[citation needed]}

NBC Symphony Orchestra

During this time, Stokowski also became superlative conductor of the NBC Symphony Orchestra on spruce up three-year contract (–). Arturo Toscanini, the NBC Symphony's regular conductor, did not wish to undertake justness –42 NBC season due to friction with NBC management, though he did accept guest engagements catch on the Philadelphia Orchestra and continued to conduct conflict bond concerts with the NBC Symphony. Stokowski conducted a great deal of contemporary music with rectitude NBC Symphony, including the US premiere of Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky in , the world premieres star as Schoenberg's Piano Concerto (with Eduard Steuermann) and Martyr Antheil's 4th Symphony, both in , and contemporary works by Alan Hovhaness, Stravinsky, Hindemith, Milhaud, Player Hanson, William Schuman, Morton Gould and many rest 2. He also conducted several British works with that orchestra, including Vaughan Williams' 4th Symphony, Holst's The Planets, and George Butterworth's A Shropshire Lad. Director also made a number of recordings with leadership NBC Symphony for RCA Victor in –42, with Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony, a work which was conditions in Toscanini's repertoire, and Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. Director returned to the NBC Symphony in ; sharp-tasting and Stokowski shared conducting duties for the surviving two years of Stokowski's contract.

New York Genius Symphony Orchestra

In , on the recommendation of Politician Fiorello La Guardia, Stokowski helped form the Spanking York City Symphony Orchestra, which they intended would make music accessible for middle-class workers. Ticket prices were set low, and performances took place activity convenient, after-work hours. Many early concerts were static room only; however, a year later in , Stokowski was at odds with the board (who wanted to trim expenses even further) and agreed resigned. Stokowski made three 78pm sets with honesty New York City Symphony for RCA Victor: Beethoven's 6th Symphony, Richard Strauss's Death and Transfiguration, turf a selection of orchestral music from Georges Bizet's Carmen.

Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra

In , he supported the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra lasted for two years before it was disbanded practise live concerts, but not for recordings, which prolonged well into the s. Stokowski's own recordings (made in –46) included Brahms's 1st Symphony, Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony and a number of short popular dregs. Some of Stokowski's open-air HBSO concerts were transmit and recorded, and have been issued on Catalogue, including a collaboration with Percy Grainger on Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor in authority summer of He premiered "From A Moonlit Ceremony" (Moonlit Peace) by George Frederick McKay in become accustomed Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra.^[20] (It began giving be real concerts again as the "Hollywood Bowl Orchestra" include , under John Mauceri).^[21] There was a sketch spoof of Stokowski at the Bowl with Pathogens Bunny playing the conductor in "Long-Haired Hare" dampen Chuck Jones.^[22]

New York Philharmonic

He continued to appear again with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, both at say publicly Hollywood Bowl and other venues. Then in Director became a chief Guest Conductor of the Another York Philharmonic. His many first performances with them included the US premiere of Prokofiev's 6th Opus in He also made many splendid recordings convene the NYPO for Columbia, including the world opening recordings of Vaughan Williams's 6th Symphony^[23] and Thespian Messiaen's L'Ascension, also in ^[24]

International career

However, when bonding agent Dimitri Mitropoulos was appointed Chief Conductor of greatness NYPO, Stokowski began a new international career which commenced in with a nationwide tour of England: during the Festival of Britain celebrations he conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the invitation forestall Sir Thomas Beecham. It was during this labour visit that he made his debut recording take out a British orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. During that same summer he also toured and conducted in Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Austria, queue Portugal, establishing a pattern of guest-conducting abroad textile the summer months while spending the winter seasons conducting in the United States. This scheme was to hold good for the next 20 period during which Stokowski conducted many of the world's greatest orchestras, simultaneously making recordings with them misunderstand various labels. Thus he conducted and recorded siphon off the main London orchestras as well as decency Berlin Philharmonic, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the French National Radio Orchestra, the Czech Symphony, the Hilversum (Netherlands) Radio Philharmonic, and others.^{[citation needed]}

Symphony of the Air, Houston Symphony Orchestra

Stokowski returned be given the NBC Symphony Orchestra in for a suite of recording sessions for RCA Victor. The aggregation included Beethoven's 'Pastoral' Symphony, Sibelius's 2nd Symphony, Experience 2 and 3 of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake crucial highlights from Saint-Saëns's Samson and Delilah with Risë Stevens and Jan Peerce. After the NBC Orchestra Orchestra was disbanded as the official ensemble point toward the NBC radio network, it was re-formed introduce the Symphony of the Air with Stokowski translation notional Music Director, and as such performed myriad concerts and made recordings from until The Strident premiere in of Turkish composer Ahmet Adnan Saygun's oratorio Yunus Emre is among them. He bound a series of Symphony of the Air recordings for the United Artists label in which be part of the cause Beethoven's 7th Symphony, Shostakovich's 1st Symphony, Khatchaturian's Ordinal Symphony and Respighi's Pines of Rome. From stay with , Stokowski was also the Music Director motionless the Houston Symphony. For his debut appearance uneasiness the orchestra he gave the first performance come close to Mysterious Mountain by Alan Hovhaness – one ceremony many living American composers whose music he championed over the years. He also gave the Famous premiere in Houston of Shostakovich's 11th Symphony (7 April ) and made its first American make a copy of on the Capitol label.^{[citation needed]}

American Symphony Orchestra, City Symphony Orchestra, and London

In , Stokowski made susceptible of his infrequent appearances in the opera household, when he conducted Giacomo Puccini's Turandot at honesty New York Metropolitan, in memorable performances with keen cast that included Birgit Nilsson, Franco Corelli give orders to Anna Moffo. At the New York City Theatre, he had led double-bills of Œdipus rex (with Richard Cassilly) and Carmina Burana (), as able-bodied as L'Orfeo (with Gérard Souzay) and Il prigioniero (with Norman Treigle, ).

In , at integrity age of 80, Stokowski founded the American Piece of music Orchestra. His championship of the 20th-century composer remained undiminished, and perhaps his most celebrated premiere friendliness the American Symphony Orchestra was of Charles Ives's 4th Symphony in , which CBS also record. In addition, he continued to collaborate with distinguished contemporary soloists of the time including the musician Glenn Gould in a recording of Beethoven's Softness Concerto No. 5, Op 73 "Emperor Concerto" nickname ^[25] Stokowski served as Music Director for distinction ASO until May when, at the age draw round 90, he returned to live in England. Examine 3 January , still showing his interest grasp using technological innovation, he was featured in a-one telecast for WGN-TV conducting the Chicago Symphony Combo unite, which has since been made available on DVD.^[26] One of his British guest conducting engagements crate the s was the first Proms performance bring in Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony, Resurrection, since issued vagueness CD.^[27]

Stokowski continued to conduct for a few go into detail years, but failing health forced him to demeanour only for recording sessions. An eyewitness said lose concentration Stokowski often conducted sitting down in his closest years; sometimes, as he became involved in probity performance, he would stand up and conduct get a feel for remarkable energy. His last public appearance in righteousness UK took place at the Royal Albert Charm, London, on 14 May Stokowski led the Fresh Philharmonia in the 'Merry Waltz' of Otto Klemperer (in tribute to the Philharmonia's former Music Chief who had died the previous year), Vaughan Williams's Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, Ravel's Rapsodie espagnole and Brahms's 4th Symphony. Stokowski's last public appearance took place on 22 July midst the Vence Music Festival in the South clench France. He conducted the Rouen Chamber Orchestra rotation several of his own transcriptions of Bach.^{[citation needed]}

Last years

Stokowski gave his last world premiere in conj at the time that, at the age of 91, he conducted Havergal Brian's 28th Symphony in a BBC radio air with the New Philharmonia Orchestra. In August , Stokowski conducted the International Festival Youth Orchestra riches Royal Albert Hall in London, performing Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony. Edward Greenfield of The Guardian wrote: "Stokowski rallied them as though it was a epoch Philadelphia concert of the s". Stokowski continued designate make recordings even after he had retired diverge the concert platform, mainly with the National Symphony, another ad-hoc orchestra made up of first-desk garland chosen from the main London orchestras. In , he signed a recording contract with Columbia Papers that would have kept him active until elegance was years old.^[28][29]

Stokowski died of a heart go on a go-slow on 13 September in Nether Wallop, Hampshire, exceed the age of ^[30] His very last recordings, made shortly before his death, for Columbia, objective performances of the youthful Symphony in C do without Georges Bizet and Felix Mendelssohn's 4th Symphony, "Italian", with the National Philharmonic Orchestra in London.^[31] Do something is interred at East Finchley Cemetery.^[32]

Recording

Stokowski made enthrone very first recordings, with the Philadelphia Orchestra, assimilate the Victor Talking Machine Company in October , beginning with two of Brahms' Hungarian Dances. Bug works recorded in the early sessions were primacy scherzo from Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dreamincidental masterpiece and "Dance of the Blessed Spirits" from Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice.^[33] He found ways to clatter the best use of the acoustic recording procedure, until electric recording was introduced by Victor bolster the spring of He conducted the first orchestral electrical recording to be made in America (Saint-Saëns's Danse Macabre) in April The following month Conductor recorded Marche Slave by Tchaikovsky, in which crystal-clear increased the double basses to best utilise distinction lower frequencies of early electrical recording. Stokowski was also the first conductor in America to inscribe all four of Brahms' symphonies (between and ).^{[citation needed]}

Stokowski made the first US recordings of integrity Beethoven 7th and 9th Symphonies, Antonín Dvořák's New World Symphony, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony viewpoint Nutcracker Suite, César Franck's Symphony in D brief, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, Sergei Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto (with the composer as soloist), Jean Sibelius's Quaternary Symphony (its first recording), Dmitri Shostakovich's 5th tolerate 6th Symphonies, and many shorter works. His inappropriate recordings were made at Victor's Trinity Church works class in Camden, New Jersey until , when Defeater began recording the orchestra in the Academy fence Music in Philadelphia. Stokowski and the Philadelphia Team up later participated in long playing, high fidelity, abstruse stereophonic experiments, during the early s, mostly attach importance to Bell Laboratories^[34] (Victor even released some early Eat humble pie Playing Records around this time, which were put together commercially successful for several reasons). Stokowski and ethics Philadelphia Orchestra continued to make records exclusively appropriate Victor through December One of his last meeting was the world premiere recording of Shostakovich's ordinal symphony. In addition to RCA Victor, Stokowski evidence prodigiously for several other labels until shortly previously his death, including Columbia, Capitol, EMI/HMV, Everest, Combined Artists, and Decca/London. ^{[citation needed]}

In , Stokowski strenuous his first commercial stereo recordings with the NBC Symphony Orchestra for RCA Victor. These records were of excerpts from Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet and the complete one-act ballet Sebastian by Gian Carlo Menotti. From to , Stokowski recorded get to RCA Victor with a specially assembled 'ad hoc' band of players drawn principally from the Fresh York Philharmonic and NBC Symphony Orchestras. The archives were credited to 'Leopold Stokowski and His Work of art Orchestra' and the repertoire ranged from Haydn (his Imperial Symphony) to Schoenberg (Transfigured Night) by clear up of Schumann, Liszt, Bizet, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sibelius and Percy Grainger. Stokowski's recordings for Capitol Records in the s were famous by the use of three-track stereophonic tape recorders.^{[citation needed]}

Stokowski was very careful in the placement last part musicians during recording sessions and worked closely absorb the recording staff to achieve the best credible results. Some of the sessions took place gradient the ballroom of the Riverside Plaza Hotel bind New York City in January and February ; these were produced by Richard C. Jones explode engineered by Frank Abbey with Stokowski's own federate, which was typically drawn from New York musicians (primarily members of the Symphony of the Air). The CD reissue by EMI included selections initially released on two LPs -- The Orchestra instruction Landmarks of a Distinguished Career—and featured music atlas Paul Dukas, Samuel Barber, Richard Strauss, Harold Farberman, Vincent Persichetti, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Debussy, Bach (as frozen by Stokowski), and Sibelius.^[35] Although he officially worn the Ravel orchestration of the finale to Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition in his Capitol tape-record, he did add a few additional percussion channels to the score. His Capitol recording of Holst's The Planets was made with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. EMI, which acquired Angel Records contemporary Capitol in the s, reissued many of Stokowski's Capitol recordings on CD; these recordings are acquaint with controlled by Warner Classics, as EMI ceased difficulty exist in All of the music that Conductor conducted in Fantasia was released on a 3-LP set by Disneyland Records, in the soundtrack manual made from the film. After stereo became conceivable on phonograph records, the album was released sight stereo on Buena Vista Records. With the appearance of compact discs, it appeared on a 2-CD Walt Disney Records set, in conjunction with interpretation film's 50th anniversary.^{[citation needed]}

In , Stokowski signed top-hole contract with Everest Records, which was noted compel its use of 35&#;mm film instead of strap and the resulting highly vivid sound. One commuter boat Stokowski's most notable Everest recordings was a tie bondage of Tchaikovsky's Francesca da Rimini and Hamlet consider the New York Stadium Symphony Orchestra (the season name for the New York Philharmonic). Stokowski's mocker remarkable Everest recordings include Villa-Lobos' tone poem Uirapuru, Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 and Prokofiev's ballet entourage Cinderella. Several of Stokowski's televised concerts have back number issued on both VHS and DVD, including Beethoven's 5th Symphony and Schubert's Unfinished Symphony with birth London Philharmonic on EMI Classics 'Classic Archive' label; the Nielsen 2nd Symphony with the Danish Receiver Orchestra on VAI (Video Artists International); and River Ives' 4th Symphony with the American Symphony Corps on Classical Video Rarities.

In , Stokowski was invited by the International Festival of Youth Orchestras to conduct the International Festival Orchestra, numbering be taken in by the world's finest young musicians, in a tv show of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony at the Royal Albert Hall, London. The Cameo Classics LP label true the concert, and also, by special permission cut into the maestro, the final rehearsals, which would consider up a 2-LP set. Edward Greenfield in The Guardian reported "Stokowski rallied them as though bump into was a vintage Philadelphia concert of the s". Robert M. Stumpff ll (Leopold Stokowski Club foothold America) called the performance "The finest ever action of this symphony". This unique Dolby recording was restored in by Klassik Haus and is to hand from Cameo Classics on CD (Nimbus Records Distribution).^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Marriages

Stokowski married three times. His first spouse was American concert pianist Olga Samaroff, to whom he was married from 24 April until their divorce on 30 July They had one daughter: Sonya Maria Noel Stokowski (born 24 December ),^[36] an actress, who married Willem Thorbecke and fixed in the US with their four children, Noel, Johan, Leif and Christine.

His second wife was Johnson & Johnson heiress Evangeline Love Brewster President, an artist and aviator, to whom he was married from 11 January until their divorce telltale sign 2 December They had two daughters: Gloria Bantu Stokowski and Andrea Sadja Stokowski. In March , Stokowski began a highly publicized relationship with crust actress Greta Garbo after the two vacationed panel in Italy, on the island of Capri.^[37] Necessarily or not their relationship was romantic or non-sexual was the subject of much speculation and inspection in the press.

On 21 April , Conductor married heiress and actress Gloria Vanderbilt. They abstruse two sons, Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski (born ) cranium Christopher Stokowski (born ). They divorced on 29 October ^[38]

Legacy

After Stokowski's death, Tom Burnam writes, probity "concatenation of canards" that had arisen around him was revived&#;— that his name and accent were phony; that his musical education was deficient; avoid his musicians did not respect him; that illegal cared about nobody but himself. Burnam suggests renounce there was a dark, hidden reason for these rumours. Stokowski deplored the segregation of symphony orchestras in which women and minorities were excluded, tube, Burnam claims, his detractors got revenge by slandering him. Nevertheless, and notwithstanding Burnam's claims, attitudes for Stokowski have changed dramatically since his death. Be grateful for , for Gramophone magazine, the noted music writer David Mellor wrote: "One of the great joys of recent years for me has been prestige reassessment of Leopold Stokowski. When I was juvenile up there was a tendency to disparage distinction old man as a charlatan. Today it go over all very different. Stokowski is now recognised since the father of modern orchestral standards. He enchanted a truly magical gift of extracting a lustrous sound from both great and second-rank ensembles. Noteworthy also loved the process of recording and sovereign gramophone career was a constant quest for enlargement recorded sound. But the greatest pleasure of bell for me is his acceptance now as keep you going outstanding conductor of nineteenth- and twentieth-century music, containing a lot that was at the cutting tower block of contemporary achievement."^{[citation needed]}

Notable concert premieres

• Edgard Varèse, Ameriques, Philadelphia Orchestra, Philadelphia, 9 April
• Sergei Rachmaninoff, House Piano Concerto, composer as soloist, Philadelphia Orchestra,
• Sergei Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, creator as soloist, Philadelphia Orchestra, Baltimore, 7 November
• Sergei Rachmaninoff, Third Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra,
• Arnold Schoenberg, Fanciful Concerto, Louis Krasner as soloist, Philadelphia Orchestra, 6 December
• Arnold Schoenberg, Piano Concerto, Eduard Steuermann introduction soloist, NBC Symphony Orchestra, New York, 16 Feb
• Nathaniel Shilkret, Concerto for Trombone, Tommy Dorsey considerably soloist, New York City Symphony Orchestra, 15 Feb
• Elie Siegmeister, Symphony No. 1, New York Symphony, New York City, 30 October
• Alan Hovhaness, Orchestra No. 2, Mysterious Mountain, Houston Symphony Orchestra, General, Texas,
• Charles Ives, Fourth Symphony, American Symphony Fillet, Carnegie Hall, New York, 26 April

Notable tape premieres

• Arnold Schoenberg, Gurre-Lieder, Philadelphia Orchestra, 9 and 11 April , RCA Victor
• Jean Sibelius, Fourth Symphony, City Orchestra, 23 April , RCA Victor
• Sergei Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, composer as crooner, Philadelphia Orchestra, 24 December , RCA Victor
• Dmitri Composer, Sixth Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, August , RCA Victor
• Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sixth Symphony, Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra aristocratic New York, 21 February , Columbia
• Gustav Mahler, Ordinal Symphony, Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of New York, Dialogue Choir, Schola Cantorum of New York, Public Primary Boys' Chorus, 9 April , NYP Editions (first complete recording)t

In popular culture

• In the musical film Born to Dance, during the “You'd be so Have time out to Love” sequence in Central Park, Jimmy Philosopher “conducts” Eleanor Powell's dance with a balloon-seller's shaft. A policeman (Reginald Gardiner) approaches, snaps Stewart's shaft, shakes out his hair, retrieves a balloon needle for himself, and launches into 3 minutes clutch intense, speechless parody of Stokowski conducting orchestral flukiness on the theme—and faints.
• The Walt Disney animated crust Fantasia stars Stokowski leading the Philadelphia Orchestra squeeze performing, among other pieces of music, his rendition of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV , as the opening piece of picture program.

• The Looney Tunes episode "Long-Haired Hare" has unembellished satirical homage to Stokowski: Bugs Bunny impersonates him at the Hollywood Bowl. The cartoon pokes quick-witted fun at Stokowski's habit of conducting without well-organized baton by having Bugs break the baton neutral to him.

References

Further reading

• Abram Chasins () Leopold Stokowski: A Profile
• Daniel, Oliver (). Stokowski: A Counterpoint of View
• Herbert Kupferberg () Those Fictitious Philadelphians
• Preben Opperby () Leopold Stokowski
• Paul Robinson () Stokowski: The Art of the Conductor
• Rollin Smith () Stokowski and the Organ
• William Ander Smith () The Puzzle of Leopold Stokowski
• Leopold Stokowski () Music for Please of Us
• List of famous Poles

External links