A further six-pack from ICA devoted to Leopold Stokowski (1882-1977), some from BBC Legends, some ‘new’, a mix of conductorial meddling and illumination, as well as wholesale orchestrations, such as his quirky scoring of Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition (‘Bydlo’ a hoot at this racing speed, comes across like a football chant) and Night on Bare Mountain, imaginative though, if yielding to one of his superb Bach transcriptions.
Less honourable are such as Tchaikovsky Five and Dvořák ‘From the New World’. The former plods at times, best is the slow movement, nice horn solo, but come the end of the Symphony Stokowski ignores the pause (9’06”), introduces irritating brass scoops (11’16”), excises bars, and blurs the final four notes (there’s also an 1812 Overture that journeys well until cannons and bells arrive to up the decibels and outgun, literally, the orchestra and the Band of the Grenadier Guards), and the ‘New ‘World’ at its opening has horns and timpani crudely projected, col legno effects added to the Scherzo, not forgetting an unsolicited horn trill and cymbal clash, first movement and Finale respectively, although the Largo is pleasing both in tempo and in its transitions, and totally successful is Scriabin’s Poem of Ecstasy, as compelling as the one in the previous box (which I didn’t have to hand to check whether different or duplication). Further dichotomies include the Second Suite from Daphnis et Chloé in which ‘Dawn’ is pushed through and lacks magic, and despite the vibrancy afforded the ‘Polovtsian Dances’ (Prince Igor) there’s no escaping Václav Smetáček’s stunning Czech Philharmonic Supraphon recording, below. (Is it possible that Stokowski could have engineered what I hear as pitch discrepancies between chorus and orchestra?)
And while some of Stokowski’s machinations make it easy to throw brickbats at whatever his motivations were, he can bite back with rewarding perfomances that here include a Beethoven Nine of genuine stature – a volcanic first movement, a cut-and-thrust Scherzo/chattering Trio (help handed to horns, if no more than by other conductors), an expressive Adagio, its Andante contrasts well-judged, and a transcendent Finale, the ‘Choral’ element supplied by a super-lusty London Symphony Chorus and four fine soloists, Stokowski’s interventions, and there are a few, easier to accept. There is also a Wagner collection, including a surging Mastersingers Prelude, and an Act III Prelude that gets under the skin, as well as a selection from Götterdämmerung – involving a Rhine journey, funeral music, and an immolation – Berit Lindholm as Brünnhilde. The Overture to Rienzi completes the feast.
The sound is variable, usually good, and always in expert and discerning transfers by Paul Baily. All the selections feature London orchestras – BBCSO, London Symphony, New Philharmonia, RPO – from performances originally captured by the BBC, including some short pieces, invariably effective, save for the whizzed-through ‘Humorous Song’ from Liadov’s Eight Russian Folk Songs (four from Stokowski); Ansermet remains the boss here.
However, from the Twenties and Thirties, two twentieth-century masterworks, respectively Nielsen’s Sixth Symphony and Tippett’s Concerto for double string orchestra, the former the anything-but ‘Sinfonia semplice’ – complex, quizzical, surreal, oblique – sharing musical multi-layers with Ives, and anticipating the enigmas of Shostakovich Fifteen and even the wackier aspects of Ligeti’s output, such as Aventures and its Nouvelles successor, which Stokowski does not interfere with and shows much sympathy for, and also leads a simply superb LSO rendition of the Tippett, of energy, beauty, rhythmic exhilaration and deep-rooted eloquence, flowering to glorious uplift at the conclusion. ICA Classics ICAB5183 (6 CDs). There’s an informative video below.
SRO/Ansermet (Decca).
Colin’s description of the Beethoven 9th as a performance of “genuine stature” caused me to look back at the press reviews at the time. They were typically mixed. “Hard-driving Ninth by Stokowski” was the headline for Martin Cooper’s Telegraph review, while John Warrack, in the Observer, wrote: “Not since Beecham, with his magisterial disdain for Beethoven, have I heard such a fast performance.”
However, as was often the case with Stokowski, other critics had the highest praise. “Triumphant night for Stokowski” was the Times headline, with Joan Chissell writing that in his performance, he had “scaled the highest peaks and opened up vistas of starry heavens with a physical exhilaration quite remarkable in a man of 85.”
What is interesting however is that when Mackerras recorded it with the Royal Liverpool Phil for EMI, the back liner of the CD printed the metronome mark. If you check his tempo with Stokowski’s for the first movement, the two are identical but I don’t recall Mackerras being scolded for rushing the tempo. In fact, if memory serves, some said that his observation of the metronome mark was a revelation!
Also, just to say that there were indeed two London performances of the Scriabin “Extase” … Vol 1 had the NPO / RFH performance of 1968 and the new set has the RPO / RAH one from 1969.
Thanks for reviewing the new set in the Column!