Frederick Stock closes his remarkable Chicago Symphony discography with a final set of 1941 studio recordings that perfectly capture the qualities which made him one of America’s great orchestral builders: authority, warmth, colour and complete musical conviction. From Stock’s own grand orchestration of Bach’s “St. Anne” Prelude and Fugue to a wonderfully atmospheric Dvořák In Nature’s Realm, these performances reveal a conductor whose artistry deserves to stand alongside the bigger names of his era.
At the heart of the release lies a superb performance of Chausson’s Symphony in B-flat, passionately played and beautifully recorded, alongside a rare Wagner Forest Murmurs transferred from a surviving test pressing. Issued here in the sixth and final volume of our Frederick Stock series, these recordings form both a fitting conclusion and a compelling reminder of a major conductor too often overlooked today.
To mark the 213th anniversary of Richard Wagner’s birth on 22 May 1813, we’re also offering 10% off all Wagner recordings this week. With 116 Wagner titles currently available, from legendary Ring cycles conducted by Furtwängler and Krauss to Toscanini’s blazing orchestral broadcasts and historic Parsifal and Tristan performances, there’s no better moment to explore one of the most transformative figures in musical history.