Stokowski: Orchestrated Wagner Opera Tunes: Symphonic Syntheses, etc.

Richard [Classical] Wagner (Composer), José Serebrier (Conductor), Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: José Serebrier
• Composer: Richard [Classical] Wagner
• Audio CD (September 25, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos
• ASIN: B000U7V9A8
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #159,217 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

MusicWeb International, October 2007

Recording of the Month: Ravishing performances of Stokowski's sumptuous take on Wagner. This album will undoubtedly figure in my list of outstanding releases for 2007. Don't miss this one. - by Ian Lace

Product Description

When Leopold Stokowski began his conducting career, the music of Wagner featured in his very first concert was and was to remain close to his heart for the rest of his life. In those early days, particularly through gramophone records, he introduced Wagner to a wide public with extended orchestral excerpts woven together as richly concieved tone poems and given the titles Symphonic Syntheses. In these performances by Jose Serebrier and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, these tone poems have a unique sumptuousness of sound and for those who love this evocative music gloriously played, there is much here to ravish the ear.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stokowski's and Wagner's 'Lush Life', October 22, 2007

By 

J Scott Morrison (Middlebury VT, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stokowski: Orchestrated Wagner Opera Tunes: Symphonic Syntheses, etc. (Audio CD)

I'll say this for Stokowski: he had no compunctions about gilding the lily. Wagner's orchestrations for his music dramas was (and still is) among the richest and lushest and most inventive of any in the repertoire. But for his symphonic presentations of Wagner's music Leopold Stokowski added here, subtracted there from the orchestration in order to make it, in his mind, more effective. For instance, to the skittering violins in the Magic Fire Music from 'Die Walküre' he added flutes and piccolos, making it more brilliant, for sure, but it's not exactly Wagner. Granted Stokowski came out of the era in which conductors often tampered with the orchestrations of the composers who came before them. For instance, Mahler re-orchestrated Schumann's symphonies. Still, when one comes to listen to Stokowski's 'symphonic syntheses' of Wagner's music one must to some extent put the sound of Wagner's own orchestration out of one's mind. If one does, one is greet with undoubtedly effective, even thrilling, sound. And that is what happens here in this recreation of several of Stokowski's efforts on Wagner's behalf. José Serebrier was, of course, Stokowski's assistant for a number of years and if I'm not mistaken this is his third recent CD of Stokowski arrangements; there were earlier CDs containing music of Bach, and of Russian music including Stokowski's 1939 orchestration of Mussorgsky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition.'

The big event on the present CD is Stokowski's 'symphonic synthesis' of three parts of 'Tristan und Isolde': the Prélude to Act I, the Liebesnacht, and the Liebestod. By far the longest section is the deliriously ecstatic Liebesnacht, almost twenty-one minutes long. It is a perfect lead-in to the even more ecstatic Liebestod. I cannot fault either Stokowski's arrangement -- here with tasteful assignment of vocal lines to various instruments, primarily Tristan's to the celli, Isolde's to the violins -- and certainly cannot fault the playing of the Bournemouth Symphony, who to my ears keep sounding better and better. (I did find myself wondering if Serebrier had the Bournemouth strings adopt free bowing as Stokowski did with the Philadelphia.) There is direct competition from Stokowski's own recording of the present material and all the rest of his Wagner recordings, available (with some hunting on the Internet) in a 5CD set of performances/transcriptions/arrangements, the 75-to-85-year-old sound beautifully remastered by the inimitable Ward Marston. This set is on the Andante label. Frankly, as wonderful as the Bournemouth is, they don't sound as lush as the old Philadelphia Orchestra, Stokowski's own orchestra for so many years. Still, to be honest the set is in ancient sound. (I grew up with many of these recordings, so they still sound like 'the real thing' to me, pace Maestro Serebrier.)

Still, for those who are not interested in searching out the Wagner/Stokowski recordings, or paying whatever price a 5CD set might command, or are interested only in the orchestral arrangements (as opposed to those plus sung excerpts from the operas on the Andante set), or who are put off by the idea of listening to ancient sound, refurbished though it be, this set then is the one to have. You will not be disappointed.

Scott Morrison

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Enjoyable Orchestral Collection of Wagner's Music, October 5, 2007

By 

Timothy Kearney (Haverhill, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stokowski: Orchestrated Wagner Opera Tunes: Symphonic Syntheses, etc. (Audio CD)

As a conductor, Leopold Stokowski not only saw it as an obligation to uphold musical excellence, but also to educate the public in general about music. Perhaps his best known attempts to do so would be his symphonic transcriptions of some of the world's greatest music. This collection includes some of his transcriptions of the operatic music of Richard Wagner.

The strongest of the arrangements in this collection would be the music from TRISTAN UND ISOLDE. He begins with the prelude to Act I and concludes with an arrangement of the familiar "Liebestod." The music sounds like a lush symphonic poem and alone makes the recording worthwhile. There is a similar arrangement of music from Act III of PARSIFAL, again containing some of the work's familiar themes. It does not have quite the impact of the TRISTAN arrangement, though it is respectful of the composer's genius. The arrangements of "The Entry of the Gods into Valhalla" from DAS RHEINGOLD, "The Ride of the Walkures" and the "Fire Music" from DIE WALKURE, are powerful and well performed, though I'll have to admit, I need the vocals, especially in the arrangements from "DIE WALKURE."

Orchestral transcriptions in general are no longer popular, and in some cases, are frowned upon by many musical purists. However, they do play an important role in introducing people to classical music. Most people who enjoy classical music and opera do not begin with Berg, Mahler, and the like. Light classics and transcriptions often capture a listener's attention and whet the appetite for something more. My guess is that Naxos' release of this collection at a reasonable price with an orchestra that clearly enjoys the performance will do exactly what the late Stokowski hoped his arrangements would do: introduce people top great music and hook them for life.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for Wallowing, July 7, 2009

By 

Karl W. Nehring (Ostrander, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stokowski: Orchestrated Wagner Opera Tunes: Symphonic Syntheses, etc. (Audio CD)

If you love to wallow in luxuriant orchestral sound, this is the disc for you. As if the music of Wagner were not already luxurious enough, Leopold Stokowski liked to pull together some the good stuff, add some more color to it, call it a "symphonic synthesis," and then turn the orchestra loose. His protégé José Serebrier leads the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in symphonic syntheses of music from Das Rheingold, Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal, and Die Walküre. The end result might be too much for some musical purists, but for most music-loving audiophiles, the result is sheer bliss. The liner notes are right on the money: "...these tone poems have a unique sumptuousness of sound and for those who love this evocative music gloriously played, there is much here that will ravish the ear." Hear, hear!