Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 ("Pathétique"); R. Strauss: Death and Transfiguration

Richard [1] Strauss (Composer), Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (Composer), Leopold Stokowski (Conductor), Hollywood Bowl Orchestra (Orchestra), Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), New York City Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra, New York City Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Leopold Stokowski
• Composer: Richard [1] Strauss, Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
• Audio CD (October 29, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Cala Records
• ASIN: B00000FDJ9
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #592,961 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting and entertaining account of these works..., November 13, 2002

By 

Some Guy from Ohio (Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 ("Pathétique"); R. Strauss: Death and Transfiguration (Audio CD)

Let me start by saying that I am an ardent admirer of Stokowski. He was truly a great conductor, both talented and creative. That said, these recordings are more like 1940's Hollywood film versions of these works than like the works themselves. The Hollywood Bowl and New York City Symphony Orchestras are NOT the Philadelphia Orchestra. The standard of ensemble playing here is entirely lower, and Stokowski has become more eccentric. Despite these shortcomings, the most important thing I can say about these renditions, is that they are not boring. I took the disc out of the box, with the intention of listening to a quick sample and moving on to other work, but I just couldn't turn it off. Whatever can be said about Stokowski, his recordings are always unique, and engaging. The sound is good for its age.

Update 04/17/2011: According to the liner notes, these recordings were taken from Victor Masterworks set M. 1105 recorded 25 July 1945 (Tchaikovsky) and set M. 1006 recorded 10 December 1944 (Strauss). There is no indication that these are live recordings. I believe they are studio recordings, and that this remastering was taken from the original 78 RPM shellac pressings. The original recordings are good for the mid-1940's, and the remastering is well done. These are not high fidelity recordings, but the sound is not bad.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pure Stokie, August 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 ("Pathétique"); R. Strauss: Death and Transfiguration (Audio CD)

Leopold Stokowski excelled in the romantic Russian repertoire, and his interpretation of Tchaikovsky's Symphony no. 6 "Pathétique" is blazing : the first movement is simply one of the best on record. Nowhere else will you find such a passionate, desperately romantic view. Even though Tchaikovsky is not my favourite composer, I had to surrender !

Stokowski is not one of the conductors one usually associates to the music of Richard Strauss : the names of Clemens Krauss, Willem Mengelberg or Rudolf Kempe come first. But Stokowski's interpretation of "Death and Transfiguration" is a good surprise.

The recordings on this disc are live and were made in 1944 and 1945. They were transferred from vinyls, which accounts for the light surface noise heard at the beginning of "Death and Transfiguration". But those vinyls were pretty clean and, most of the time, sound is very clear, especially in the symphony. Their old age shouldn't prevent any serious music-lover to get these recordings fast.