Russian Masterworks ~ Stokowski

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Composer), Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (Composer), Igor Stravinsky (Composer), Sergey Prokofiev (Composer), Leopold Stokowski (Conductor), NBC Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: NBC Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Leopold Stokowski
• Composer: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Igor Stravinsky, Sergey Prokofiev
• Audio CD (May 14, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Cala Records
• ASIN: B00000FDJ8
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #690,873 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A rare miss from Cala--bad sound, erratic performances, February 22, 2006

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Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Russian Masterworks ~ Stokowski (Audio CD)

I was eager to hear recordings from the three seasons, beginning in 1941, when Stokowski shared the podium of the NBC Sym. with Toscanini. They were uneasy years and bad ones sonically because of material shortages during the war. Sadly, that affects these mostly dim, scratchy transfers. Beneath the bad sonics one hears flashes of hope. Stokowski is volatile and vibrant in the Russian Easter Festival Over., and the Firebird Suite, which is in the best sound (except for a few iffy sides) is extroverted and colorful.

But the main work here, a Tchaikovsky Fourth from 1941, is musically erratic, even for Stokowski. He races through the first movement, supplying various swoops and impulsive souping up, after which the next two movements are routine and the finale a slam bang of crude brass and cramped, boxy sound. For some reason Tchaikovsky symphonies brought out Stokowski's worst excesses, and even during his amazing autumnal career in the late Sixties when he was well past 85, he was capable of a horrific Fifth Sym. on Decca. This whole enterprise is best forgotten except as a historical souvenir.