Search - Various, Leopold Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra :: Philadelphia Orchestra and Leopold Stokowski

This four-CD set showcases the Philadelphia Orchestra with conductor Leopold Stokowski, the world-famous originator of the lush "Philadelphia Sound." The centerpiece in this collection of vintage Philadelphia/Stokowski achievements is the premiere 1932 recording of Schoenberg's epic post-Romantic cantata Gurrelieder. Dating from 1927 to 1940, the rest of the repertoire ranges from the conductor's own "symphonic synthesis" of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov to Rimsky-Korsakov, Hindemith and such rarities as a setting of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven by Arkadi Dubensky. The 158-page booklet features photos of Stokowski, his soloists and the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as an introduction by Pulitzer Prize-winner Tim Page, a producer's note by Ward Marston and an essay by longtime Philadelphia Inquirer critic Daniel Webster ("Stokowski and Philadelphia: Virtuosity as Glamour").