Stokowski - Great Recordings from the BBC Legends Archive

Leopold Stokowski's eminence as one of the truly great conductors of the 20th century, in a career which spanned six decades, is exemplified in this 6CD set. It features BBC performances in stereo of many of the symphonies and works he performed in concert during his final years and, in many cases, premiered on record in his early years.
Of the many outstanding reviews of these live concerts, the distinguished 'Times' critic William Mann wrote of the 1963 'Proms' premiere of Mahler's Symphony No. 2: "A performance which was superb by any standards, meticulously loyal, noble and deeply felt out of long and thoughtful experience."
Other symphonies in this collection received similar reviews: "Beethoven's 7th Symphony had resolute drive, dancing rhythms, clear textures and an irresistibly sweeping finale" wrote one critic, while another said that Stokowski's performance of the Berlioz 'Symphonie fantastique' "brought out, more than most, the extraordinary genius and originality of the work."
The set includes an interview in which Deryck Cooke discusses Mahler, Nielsen and Schoenberg with the maestro. There's also a non-BBC 'bonus' CD, not shown in the video, which features the Ravel "Fanfare" heard here and Franck's Symphony in D minor. This was one of the many basic repertoire works given their first American recordings by Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra in the 1920s and '30s. The 'bonus' disc is completed by a performance of Prokofiev's "Alexander Nevsky" which Stokowski had introduced to American audiences in 1943, this being one of his countless US Premieres.
6CD set ICA Classics: Catalogue No. ICAB 5180.
Note: the Dutch Radio performance of the Cesar Franck Symphony in this box can be heard via this link ...
• Stokowski conducts Fra...
The 'Toccata' from Vaughan Williams' 8th Symphony can be heard via this link ...
• Vaughan Williams: Symp...

[@MichaelLobue-q5f]

Thank you

[@allison1908]

Sounds like a great collection, especially the inclusion of Ravel's Fanfare. Thank you for sharing.

[@adam28xx]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@adam28xx]

Rob Cowan has reviewed it in the July 'Gramophone' and writes: "This is a wonderful set" so that's nice to know!