Search - Beethoven, Stokowski, London Symphony Orchestra :: Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor Op.125 'Choral'

A first-rate Ninth from a very aged Stoki

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 09/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Stokowski drew too much attention to himself to be the selfless conductor Beethoven demands, but here when he was nearly 90 he outdid his previous efforts. This is Beethoven in the grand style, and although Stoki can't resist pushing the line out of shape here and there, he avoids mannerism to deliver an exciting reading that can stand up to all but the greatest from Karajan, Toscanini, and Furtwangler.



I worried about exaggerated Phase 4 sound, but the multi-miking here is not offensive. I don't think anyone would find the presentation Disneyesque. The four vocal soloists are fine, as is the admirable English chorus."

Age could not wither him

Ralph Moore | Bishop's Stortford, UK | 06/06/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I acquired this recording on the recommendation of the Santa Fe listener and must agree that this goes near to the top of the list of great accounts of this work, to stand alongside those of Klemperer, Karajan and Toscanini. It is amazingly fresh and unfettered, especially for a conductor who was 85 years old when he recorded it; the desire for spontaneity has obviously sanctioned a few minor imperfections in ensemble. These are perhaps more easily exposed by the surprisingly measured tempi Stokowski adopts for the finale. Nonetheless, this account never plods; at 67 minutes it is overall on the fast side compared with comparable recordings. Stokowski generates nobility and grandeur without ever dragging; my main problem with this set has little to do with performance, but rather with the excessive Phase 4 separation and a rattling from the overloading at the climaxes, but neither of these minor sonic flaws is enough to spoil a tremendous performance, made in 1967, a couple of weeks after the famous live concert with the same forces and a terrific "Meistersinger" overture to boot (try, too, the 1972 "Meistersinger" overture available on the Wagnerfest disc in the same series). Purists won't like it; the Old Magician introduces a soaring trumpet into the coda in the finale and occasionally pulls tempi about, as was his wont, but always to justifiable musical effect. The choir and soloists are excellent: Heather Harper is vibrant and impassioned (if not totally on top of her climactic B), it is always a pleasure to hear Heather Watt's rich tones, Alexander Young is surprisingly incisive for a relatively small tenor voice and Donald McIntyre a tower of strength.



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SFL dead on

Wayne A. | Belfast, Northern Ireland | 04/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the best. Available also in the Stokowski Decca Recordings Vol II set. Worth owning, all late Stokowski."