Leopold Stokowski's wartime appearances with the NBC Symphony Orchestra proved a golden opportunity to showcase new music - in one month in 1944 alone three of the conductor's four concerts included world premières.
This release consists of world, radio and US premières of music by Schoenberg, Copland, Hanson, Antheil, Amfitheatrof, Mohaupt and Lavalle - some names more familiar than others - together the represent a fascinating snapshot of new music deemed acceptable for a nationwide American audience between 1942 and 1944. The Schoenberg Piano Concerto, the most challenging work here, merited a special introduction by the conductor.
If you've heard our previous Stokowski/NBC issues you'll know by now that Pristine has been granted access to some terrific source material. Whilst some of the recordings on this week's release have surfaced on CD before, they were never available in the kind of sound quality to be heard here. It's a fascinating cross-section of music, including some exceptionally rare music that's probably not been heard since, presented in hi-fi sound quality that's years ahead of its time.