Leopold Stokowski

Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor of Polish and Irish descent. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th Century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and for appearing in the film Fantasia. 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.

Stokowski was music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the NBC Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony of the Air and many others. 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 conducted the music for and appeared in several Hollywood films, including Disney's Fantasia, and was a lifelong champion of contemporary composers, giving many premieres of new music during his 60-year conducting career. Stokowski, who made his official conducting debut in 1909, appeared in public for the last time in 1975 but continued making recordings until June 1977, a few months before his death at the age of 95.
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Leopold Stokowski

Leopold Stokowski

Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor of Polish and Irish descent. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th Century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and for appearing in the film Fantasia. He was especially noted for his free-hand conducting style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from...
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54 albums
STOKOWSKI conducts Brahms and Dvořák (1927-28) - PASC540
STOKOWSKI conducts Brahms and Dvořák (1927-28) - PASC540
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BRAHMS  Symphony No. 3
DVOŘÁK  Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”

Victor Studio Recordings, 1927 – 1928
Total duration:  78:34

The Philadelphia Orchestra
conducted by Leopold Stokowski

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STOKOWSKI conducts British music at the NBC (1943/44) - PASC546
STOKOWSKI conducts British music at the NBC (1943/44) - PASC546
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HOLST The Planets
BUTTERWORTH A Shropshire Lad
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasia on Christmas Carols (Orchestral version)

Live broadcast recordings, 1943/44
Total duration:  71:28

NBC Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Leopold Stokowski

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STOKOWSKI conducts C20 Symphonies - Hovhaness, Stravinsky, Hindemith (1942/3) - PASC587
STOKOWSKI conducts C20 Symphonies - Hovhaness, Stravinsky, Hindemith (1942/3) - PASC587
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HOVHANESS Symphony No. 1 'Exile' (1936, US première)
STRAVINSKY Symphony in C (1940, radio première)
HINDEMITH Symphony in E flat major (1940)

Live broadcast recordings, 1942-43
Total duration: 76:42

NBC Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Leopold Stokowski

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STOKOWSKI conducts French Music: Debussy, Milhaud, Ravel (1943/44) - PASC583
STOKOWSKI conducts French Music: Debussy, Milhaud, Ravel (1943/44) - PASC583
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DEBUSSY (arr. Stokowski) La cathédrale engloutie
DEBUSSY Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
DEBUSSY Le martyre de saint Sébastien
DEBUSSY (arr. Stokowski) La soirée dans Grenade
MILHAUD Symphony No. 1, Op. 210
RAVEL Daphnis et Chloé Suite No.2

Live broadcast recordings, 1943/44
Total duration: 79:26  

NBC Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Leopold Stokowski

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STOKOWSKI conducts Music from the Theatre: Tchaikovsky & Wagner (1950/53) - PASC167
STOKOWSKI conducts Music from the Theatre: Tchaikovsky & Wagner (1950/53) - PASC167
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TCHAIKOVSKY Aurora's Wedding - Ballet Suite (arr. Diaghilev from Sleeping Beauty)
WAGNER Tristan und Isolde - Symphonic Synthesis (arr. Stokowski)

Recorded 1950 & 1953
Total duration: 75:49

Leopold Stokowski and his Symphony Orchestra
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STOKOWSKI conducts Rimsky-Korsakov (1927) - PASC529
STOKOWSKI conducts Rimsky-Korsakov (1927) - PASC529
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RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Scheherazade (1927 recording)
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Russian Easter Overture
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV The Maid of Pskov – Prelude to Act 3

Studio recordings, 1927 - 1939
Total duration: 71:55

The Philadelphia Orchestra
conducted by Leopold Stokowski

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