Stokowski: Bach Transcriptions, Vol. 2

Stokowski (Composer), Serebrier (Conductor), Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Serebrier
• Composer: Stokowski
• Audio CD (January 27, 2009)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos
• ASIN: B001LKLKRK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #150,624 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

AudiophileAudition.com, Gary Lemco, February 16, 2009

While I am not the greatest advocate of "sequels," popular response to José Serebrier's first volume of selections from the Leopold Stokowski (1882-1977) fund of some forty of Bach's works that he arranged for the modern orchestra's realization, has Serebrier and his very gifted Bournemouth players presenting us another eleven of the master's Bach, which exploit the range--or more properly, diapason--of the orchestra's palette to achieve what might be called organ sonority, even when the original incarnation had been a string or klavier piece. Fellow composer Bernard Hermann remarked that Stokowski released "the great cosmic sound" that Bach must have had in mind but could not be realized under the conditions which produced his original organ works.

Serebrier begins with the immensely lauded Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (arr. 1926), which many of us know as the musical opener from Walt Disney's Fantasia of 1940. Serebrier's tempos occasionally deviate from those of Stokowski, even to more stunning, virtuoso effect than Stokowski's. That Serebrier keeps his sound absolutely homogeneous itself testifies to a color will-power we tend to ascribe to Mengelberg and Stokowski himself. The plastic, streamlined character of the Bournemouth string section excels equally in Siciliano from the C Minor Sonata for Violin and Clavier, the chorale Mein Jesu, and again, with woodwinds, in the chorale-prelude, Ich ruf'zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ. The familiar Wachet Auf from Cantata 140 and Ein feste Burg achieve grand sonorities in strings and brass, often suggestive of Wagnerian ambitions, a suggestion made flesh in the C Minor Prelude from WTC I.

The six remaining selections from renaissance, baroque, early classical style indulge in the same lush orchestration that is no less capable of charming clarity, as in Boccherini's perennial Minuet from the Quintet in E Minor, Op. 13, No. 5. I recall Stokowski's own, devotional performance of the Palestrina Adoramus te for a United Artists LP two generations ago. What had been known as Purcell's Trumpet Voluntary now gains political correctness in the name of Jeremy Clarke's Trumpet Prelude, aka The Prince of Denmark's March. The sleeper turns out to be the Air from the Suite No. 5 in C Minor by Johann Matheson (1681-1764), one of those Stokowski dreamy pieces that haunts the musical memory. Recorded 17-18 April 2008, the entire set of pieces rings with ennobled enthusiasm, a testament to Stokowski via the Leopold Stokowski Society and Stokowski's most active exponent, José Serebrier.

Stokowski_Fans (Yahoo blog), Edward Johnson, CEO of the Stokowski Society, February 11, 2009

I just received the latest CD from Naxos of Bach tranascriptions conducted by Jose Serebrier with the Bouremouth Symphony. From the very opening of the Toccata and Fugue it's clear that this is another excellent CD from Serebrier and the Naxos engineers. The sound first of all is splendid, perhaps even better than on their previous Bach transcriptions disc, with perfect orchestral balance, a realistic soundstage, moderate reverberation and a warm overall acoustic. This serves to make the BSO sound absolutely glorious in the louder tuttis and yet gossamer delicate in the pianissimo playing of say the Boccherini minuet, here realised very lovingly.

This disc has several rarely heard items, including a transcription by Matheson with which I was not previously familiar and the adagio from the Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, BWV 564 which was recorded, I believe, by Stoki on 78s but not since and is quite beautifully realised here.

There are also several non-Bach transcriptions from the "pre-Mozart" era by Purcell, Clarke and Palestrina.

Edward Johnson's notes are, as ever, informative and authoritative.

This CD is required listening for every Stokowski fan, even if you have the superb CD by Sawallisch and the Philadelphians, you will still want this for it's (better) sonics and the rarely heard transcriptions in modern sound. The playing of the Bouremouth orchestra is absolutely top notch (though I wish the brasses were slightly more incisive when they first enter in Ein Feste Burg - sorry) and they are captured in wonderful sound.

Jose Serebrier continues to demonstrate a wonderful affinity for these transcriptions and is setting them down with great care and dedication. His phrasing is aptly "romantic" and the care for balance and textural detail exemplary.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Think Bach Would Be Thrilled, January 28, 2009

By 

J Scott Morrison (Middlebury VT, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stokowski: Bach Transcriptions, Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

After three long years we finally have Volume 2 in this series of orchestral transcriptions of Bach's (and others') music by Leopold Stokowski (1882-1977). I reviewed the first of these Stokowski: Bach Orchestral Transcriptions with a rave and a brief walk down Memory Lane. Unlike some, for whom the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor is the first and most impressive of the Bach/Stokowski arrangements, in that first CD I was delighted to find my own first-heard Stokowski arrangement, that of the Little Fugue in G Minor. But the opening band of the present volume is possibly what most people have been waiting for: the gloriously rich transcription of the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. (Who can forget its use in Disney's Fantasia?) José Serebrier has the Stokowski sound down pat; it's no wonder as he was Stokowski's assistant when the Maestro was the conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra (and he was Stokowski's necessary second conductor in the world première of the Ives' Fourth Symphony). Once again Serebrier and the fine Bournemouth Symphony perform at the top of their game.

After a bang-up performance of the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, we get a series of mostly slow-ish and richly orchestrated selections. There are, as of the date of this review, not listed and I shall do so here:

Arioso (Largo from the Concerto for Harpsichord and Strings in F Minor, BWV 1056

Wachet auf (arr. of Schübler Choral, BWV 645)

Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ (Organ Choral Prelude, BWV 639)

Adagio from Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C for organ, BWV 564

Mein Jesu (from Schemeli's Musical Song Book)

Ein feste Berg (chorale by Luther)

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (Chorale No. 10 from Cantata No. 147)

Prelude in B Minor (No. 24 from WTC, Bk 1)

Siciliano (from 4th Violin Sonata and Clavier, BWV 1017)

Fugue in C Minor (No. 2 from WTC, Bk 1)

Palestrina: Adoramus te

Byrd: Pavane and Gigue

Jeremiah Clark: Trumpet Prelude (previously known as Purcell's Trumpet Voluntary)

Boccherini: Minuet (from Quintet in E Major, Op. 13, No. 5)

Johann Mattheson: Air (from Harpsichord Suite No. 5 in C Minor)

Haydn: Andante cantabile (from Quintet in F major, Op. 3, No. 5)

Not all of the arrangements are for full romantic-era orchestra. For instance, Mein Jesu is for strings alone, as are the Prelude in B minor and the Siciliano. The Bournemouth strings have no reason to be compared negatively with those of the old Philadelphia Orchestra whom Stokowski brought to such prominence. They sound fabulous.

Everyone who has seen the Alec Guinness film, 'The Ladykillers', will recognize the Boccherini. That's the piece Guinness's gang of accomplices pretended to rehearse as they planned a bank robbery. And who hasn't heard Clarke's Trumpet Prelude at a wedding or three.

The final band is a transcription of the unpretentious little C Minor Fugue from Book I of the Well-Tempered Clavier that takes on heroic Wagnerian proportions in Stokowski's hands. It certainly brought a smile to my face.

I know it's fashionable to decry these sometimes gargantuan transcriptions, particularly in these days of historically-informed performances. But for me they retain their persuasive charm. Thank you, Maestro Serebrier and your Bournemouth musicians.

Scott Morrison

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HiFi Stokowski, April 11, 2009

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Terrence W. Faulkner (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stokowski: Bach Transcriptions, Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

Although Stokowski always good recorded sound for his era - this is significantly better than anything his engineers (and his dial twiddling) were able to achieve.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars just as beautiful as the first transcription, February 28, 2010

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queenoftheslipstream - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Stokowski: Bach Transcriptions, Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

I raved about the first Stokowski Bach Transcriptions CD in a previous review so I didn't have great hopes that this would one be as good. But it is. This is a wonderfully centering CD that I play when I get home from work. It takes all the care out of the day and replaces it with calm and beauty. A Mighty Fortress is somber yet powerful. Two favorite pieces are Prelude in D Minor - subtle and gorgeous, and William Byrd's Pavane and Gigue which is out of this world. Both of the Bach Stokowski Transcriptions CDs are keepers. I've almost worn them both out and couldn't recommend them more highly.