A mixed bag of early Stokowski
T. Fisher | 09/25/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is a nice collection overall of early Stokowski, overwhelmingly with the Philadelphia Orchestra. The main drawback to the set is the sound. Most of the tracks have no great sound problems beyond being old recordings, but still there are quite a few tracks that have bothersome noise issues. Despite that, it is a bargain at its current $17 price.
The collection shows a trait that was both Stowkowski's strength and weakness. He was famously willing to change compositions around to suit his tastes and needs, a quality that is evident starting with his Bach transcriptions, through to switching languages and rewriting/editing Wagner. I'm sure that there are plenty of other changes that could be noticed by people with the right training and copies of the scores to read along with.
Disc 1 - Bach transcriptions, recorded 1927-1940.
Marred by distortion and poor sound quality on many tracks, mainly the older ones. There is loud record needle noise and a constant background hiss on some tracks. Performances are good, but I've never been one for Stowkowski's Bach transcriptions anyway.
Disc 2 - Beethoven's Ninth
A good quality recording for 1934 -- enjoyable and listenable with minimal hissing and moderately muted tone. The interpretation is actually fairly standard, until you get to the choral part -- in English! Kind of a shock. This practice used to be pretty common with choral and vocal works in the early 20th century and even later in many countries. I was torn between my conditioned antipathy toward translation, and fascination with the recording as a historical curiosity/monstrosity. The different words bring different cadences and rhythms in the music, which were pretty interesting if disturbing. Hearing the tenor belt out "Glad! Glad!" instead of "Froh! Froh!" in the middle of the chorus is strange indeed.
Disc 3-4 - Wagner Overtures, Preludes and Excerpts
Recorded 1926-1940. Great performances. I especially enjoyed the 35-minute Symphonic Synthesis of Tristan und Isolde arranged by Stowkowski, which has very good sound for being recording in 1932. There was some noticeable distortion on the 1926-27 recording of the Rienzi Overture, and poor quality in a 1927 excerpt from Götterdämmerung. But the other recordings from the 1930s hold up well overall.
Disc 5 - Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5
Recorded in 1934, and sounds like it. But I liked the performance. Excerpts from the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture are from a very exciting performance in 1944, and sound pretty good.
Disc 6 - Mussorgsky, Scriabin, Liadov, Gliere, Ippolitov-Ivanov
Recorded in 1927-1944. Contains distortion in loud sequences of Pictures at an Exhibition. Sounds like speaker buzz, but I'm sure it wasn't my speakers. Also, there is unexplained loud laughter at one point during that performance -- I wished I knew what had happened. Other selections had relatively good sound and performance.
Disc 7 - Dvorak 9 (New World)
From 1935, this recording has lots of record needle noise, which basically makes the whole symphony pretty tough to listen to. Sibelius pieces from 1929-30 sound better despite their greater age.
Disc 8 - Bizet, Berlioz, Saint-Saëns and Satie
The main item on this disc is a half-hour suite of music from Carmen (with some Arlesienne thrown in) arranged by Stokowski and recorded in 1945. Other pieces are short works by French composers. The sound and performances on this disc are good to very good, even on the older recordings from the 1930s.
Disc 9 - Music from "Fantasia"
This is not the soundtrack to the Walt Disney movie "Fantasia", but includes earlier recordings by Stokowski of some of the same music. The Bach Tocatta and Fugue from 1929 sounds surprisingly good for its age, but Tchaikovsky "Nutcracker" excerpts from 1939 showed considerable buzzing distortion. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" from 1937 sounds pretty darn good. Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" from 1929-1930 shows its age, and then the disc closes with a brisk and tense rendition of Mussorgsky's "Night on the Bare Mountain" from 1940.
Disc 10 - Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Schoenberg
The Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 from 1929 is special since it features Rachmaninoff himself as the soloist. The performance is fine, and the sound quality is remarkable -- by which I mean I don't think 1929 can sound much better than this. Stravinsky's Firebird from 1935 sparkles with a really great performance, and again the best sound that can be had from 1935. Schoenberg's Prelude to Gurrelieder from 1932 also sounds surprisingly good given its difficult, bouncy nature that must have been hard to capture with the technology of the time.
Altogether this set is worthwhile for the historically inclined, the budgetarily challenged, and Stokowski fans. Recommended.
"
Same material at a cheaper price...
J. S. Alfille | Mexico. | 03/04/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In this Wallet Box you'll find the same music that in "STOKOWSKI MAESTRO CELEBRE" from the Collection Century Maestros.Maestro Celebre (Box Set)
Exactly same musical material with a different presentation and at a fraction of the price.
Unfortunately,I discovered it lately; why?
Because I bought both.
You know, sound is kind of outdated but clean and performance gains a AAA."
Track Listings (34) - Disc #1