To mark the 25th Anniversary of Stokowski's death in 1977, for the first time on CD, Cala Records, in association with the Leopold Stokowski Society, is pleased to release two 77-minute CDs of his celebrated 1947 and 1949 American Columbia recordings. These were the first to be made by the New York Philharmonic (then called the Philharmonic-Symphony of New York) under a great virtuoso conductor following the departure of Toscanini in 1936. The transfers -taken direct from the original lacquers - have been made available by Sony Studios, New York. The resulting sound has a far wider dynamic range than was evident on the original LP's and 78s and reveal some of the most exciting music-making Stokowski ever put onto disc. s critic Virgil Thomson remarked at the time: "Mr Stokowski's conducting was pure miracle from beginning to end … everything was played with wondrous beauty of sound, with the noblest proportions, with the utmost grandeur of expression."
 |
