Search - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Leopold Stokowski, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra :: Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade; Russian Easter Overture

Stoki's greatest stereo "Scheherazade"

Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 05/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For anyone not alive during his lifetime or that hasn't discovered his legend, Leopold Stokowski was one of the most remarkable musicians of the 20th century. Legendary for his score rewriting, his wanton, profligate sexual acumen, his Hollywood reputation (he conducted the score for the Disney film "Fantasia"), and his hundreds of recordings of highly colorful and inflected music like "Scheherazade", Stoki was a one-man show whose reputation was only equalled last century by pianist Artur Rubinstein.



Here's the stereo version of Stokowksi's "Scheherazade" with the Royal Philharmonic that I prefer to his London Symphony Orchestra account that was re-released on Cala about the same time as this came back into circulation. For me, there are two advantages to this issue that make it preferable to the Cala recording:



1. The reocrding has reater depth and more focus on bass line in the concluding movement that renders the overall sound more "Russian" than the London version, whose principal highlight is the outstanding solo work by all the famous soloists. Please note violinist Eric Gruenberg plays the solo part in both recordings.



2. The addition of Stoki's Chicago Symphony Orchestra stereo issue of the "Russian Easter Orchestra" is, in my opinion, a better add-on than the Tchaikovsky included on the London Cala issue. I believe the overture is more temperamentally mated to an hour's listening with Tchaikovsky's "Marche Slav". Add in any old concerto and you have an evening's concert!



Anyone that wants to discover more about Stokowski can look around for his old Philadelphia Orchestra recording in mono that critics have hailed as the most hair-raising version ever of "Scheherazade". For me, this recording has been the most satisfactory performance I've ever heard. It has been in my library continuously since I first acquired it about 1983 on an old RCA Victrola recording. I am pleased it is available again at a low price for a new generation of listeners that never knew Stokowski and his magical wand during his lifetime. He continues to outdo all comers in this music, which was perfectly suited to Stokowski.



For readers just getting introduced to this remarkable conductor, here is a short list of other specialties where Stokowski excelled with his highly perfumed treatments:

-- Resphigi "Pines of Rome" last seen on EMI Classics' The Art of Conducting Vol. 6.

-- Debussy "La Mer", especially the old London Phase 4 recording now reincarnated by ArkivMusic La Mer / Daphnis Et Chloe / Danse des Sylphes.

-- Wagner bleeding orchestral chunks for opera, especially his various "synthesis" of orchestral music Wagner: Die Walküre/Parsifal.

-- Try to locate a copy of his "Ride of the Valkyries" with the vocal score Wagner: Orchestral Works

-- Ibert "Escales" Debussy: Ibéria; Nocturnes; Ibert: Escales; Ravel: Rapsodie Espagnole.

-- Vaughan Williams "Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis" Great Performances from the Library of Congress: Vol. 7, Leopold Stokowski.

-- Bach orchestral transcriptions including the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.

-- His own orchestration of "Pictures At An Exhibition" Leopold Stokowski in Performance: Mussorgsky/Shostakovich.

-- Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 Shostakovich Symphony No.11.



Another rule of thumb about Stokowski -- if you are bored listening to any piece of the standard repertory, try ot locate a Stokowski recording to hear it refreshed. You may be shocked and/or dismayed by what he does with the music, but you won't think the same about it again after hearing his rendition.



See my Listmaina list, "Favorite Stokowski CDs", and see Discophage's review of Stokowski's recording of Villa-Lobos/Prokofiev/Debussy Villa-Lobos/Prokofiev/Debussy for more recommendations from this musical genius."

Stokowski is triumphal

C. D. Simmons | Fayetteville, AR United States | 07/13/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First, a caveat, I am not an expert of any kind on classical music, nor am I a musician, so what follows is an intuitive response to a beatuiful performance, reincarnated by BMG.



I'm familar with the first movement and its haunting melody. I was not aware, until I read the booklet that came with the record of how highly regarded Stokowski was. His direction and the response of the musicians to it seems to me to be seamlessly knit together, making for a powerfully moving experience. It has been said that music reflects the harmonies of the universe, in this case I'd say the performance opens the beauty of the universal harmonies in a very effective way. I'm glad I like Sheherazade, Op. 35 for it introduced up to me to a great conductor I had not been aeare of in the great Stokowski and his innovative approach to a classic by Rimsky-Korsakov."

Great Example of the Legendary Stokowski

Roger Lakins | North Bergen, New Jersey | 08/17/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording of the "Scheherazade" was a very pleasant surprise when it was played on WQXR last night. It is a very late example of the legendary conductor's output, made just two years before his death in 1977. I was fortunate enough to have crossed paths with the man twice in the early 1970s, singing in performances with the Westminster Choir that he conducted. For those who have not grown up with his work, this recording is a terrific example. The better you feel you know this work, the bigger the surprise of this performance will be. Stokowski was a "bad boy" as a younger man and a flamboyant, towering figure as a dramatic interpreter of orchestral literature. This performance shows his signal characteristic of "pushing the envelope" of good taste in pursuit of a breath taking effect. You will not find another conductor who could pull off the extremes of tempo that he does in this example. If you sit back and just let this performance envelope you, I can pretty much guarantee that your reaction will be a gasping, "Holy Smoke!""