Stokowski conducted the music for and appeared in several Hollywood films, most notably Disney's Fantasia, and was a lifelong champion of contemporary composers, giving many premieres of new music during his 60-year conducting career. He was also the founder of the All-American Youth Orchestra, the New York City Symphony, the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra and the American Symphony Orchestra. Stokowski was music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the NBC Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony of the Air and many others. He was especially noted for his free-hand conducting style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from the orchestras he directed. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Spectacular, sensational, skirting the boundaries of "good taste"-this is the real deal." - David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. The engineering stands among the best from this source as well. Serebrier's flexible approach to tempo and willingness to inject a jolt of extra electricity make something quite special out of the climaxes in A Night on Bare Mountain, and it's very clear that the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is having as much fun playing this music as you will have listening to it. "Further icing on the cake: the two lovely Tchaikovsky transcriptions (the Humoresque will be familiar to knowledgeable listeners from its use in Stravinsky's The Fairy's Kiss), and Stokowski's own Traditional Slavic Christmas Music, a setting where once again Serebrier shows himself able to conjure a truly authentic "Stokowski sound". Serebrier understands this, as others who worked with Stokowski do not." - David Hurwitz, Key to any successful new recording of his arrangements is string sonority, that special, luminous sheen, especially in soft passages. Stokowski was not really a brilliant orchestrator in terms of timbral variety, but he was a very characteristic one. Outstanding items among the latter include Palestrina's Adoramus Te, Byrd's Pavane and Galliard, and a really yummy (but never too droopy) Boccherini Minuet. "José Serebrier deploys an imaginative mix of the great man himself with other early masters. José Serebrier conducts the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in thrilling performances, passionate in a genuinely Stokowskian manner and treated to orchestral sound of demonstration quality." - Edward Greenfield, Gramophone Then at times he thins the orchestration down for more transparent textures. Stokowski, in these 'symphonic syntheses,' enhances Wagner's already opulent orchestration with shrewdly added instrumental lines and with the vocal parts usually given to the strings. "It would be hard to imagine a more sumptuous disc. However, Serebrier also has the advantage of superb modern sonics to back him up, making these productions eloquent tributes to a beloved friend and mentor, as well as perfectly valid and compelling interpretations in their own right.” - David Hurwitz, Classics Online “José Serebrier brings to his recordings of Stokowski transcriptions the same voluptuous orchestral sheen that the old wizard himself managed on his own numerous recordings of this repertoire. This new release is an unqualified triumph." - David Hurwitz, The engineering supports the interpretations particularly well, giving the strings the necessary sheen and allowing the climaxes to expand hugely. It's clear that the Bournemouth Symphony is having a great time reproducing these ultra-rich, Golden Age sonorities. Dido's Lament sounds particularly dark and tragic in this performance. That would be impossible in any case, given the wide range of tempos and other variations among his own numerous recordings of these pieces.Aside from Bach, Serebrier includes Stokowski's own Two Ancient Liturgical Melodies, a sexy conflation of Veni Creator Spiritus and Veni Emmanuel, as well as the Handel and Purcell items. The obvious first question is: How do these versions compare to the "originals"? Can they be as good? The answer, quite simply, is "Yes, they can." Serebrier doesn't try to duplicate every gesture that Stokowski made. "Stokowski's Bach transcriptions have received a great deal of attention on disc lately, but this is one of the very few recordings that has the genuine flavor that Stoki himself brought to them. Reviews of the original recordings which make up this set. Disc 5 of this set is a bonus disc titled "Serebrier on Stokowski."
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