Cala CACD0548, 78:15 (www.calarecords.com) ****:
Record collectors recall vividly the RCA long-play LM 1706 “Ballet and Bizet” (rec. February-March 1952), Leopold Stokowski’s first inscription of Bizet’s youthful Symphony in C Major, composed in 1855, during Bizet’s seventeenth year. Working with hand-picked New York musicians, primarily from the Philharmonic, Stokowski achieved his expected luster and sensuousness in all parts, especially from James Chamber’s French horn and Robert Bloom’s oboe. Often touted as ballet music, the Symphony enjoys a youthful panache and rhythmic athleticism that Stokowski relishes, boldly accenting the pizzicati and legato passages, the latter of which gain organic flow from the free-bowing procedure that diminishes the pulse of uniform strokes. Nice work in the double-basses and violas for the Adagio’s fugato section. The Scherzo elicits a hurdy-gurdy affect, folksy and rustically affectionate. The Allegro vivace crackles with nervous excitement, an infectious pulse and intensity of expression matched only by Beecham in his EMI inscription. Stokowski’s string section carries us away with pungent, bold flourishes, aided by John Wummer’s able flute and the trumpet of William Vacchiano, each contributing to an enchanted, virile realization of lasting appeal.
A distinct reverberation and some shatter insinuates itself into the 29 February 1952 L’Arlesienne Suite No. 1 session, although it distracts us little from the militancy of the Prelude, the assertions of the brass and wind sections. Joseph Allard (of the NBC Symphony) provides the throaty saxophone solo that segues smoothly to the harp riffs, then to figures clearly inspired by Carmen’s passions in Act IV of the opera. Sweet strings and barking winds for the Menuet, wiry intertwining ensuing from winds and harp. The da capo is all air and light. The Adagio flows only steps away from Tristan or Mascagni, the serene Nocturne a paragon of the Stokowski Sound. Shiny languor permeates the final Carillon, whose last note resounds with us long after the last chord fades away. Suite No. 2 (5 March 1952) is an arrangement by Ernest Guiraud, who took the pageantry of the Minuet from La Jolie Fille de Perth; under Stokowski, it could be by Tchaikovsky. The Pastorale sings and dances–via John Wummer’s magic flute–in the Iberian spirit, Carmen’s cigarette factory in the background. Stokowski’s Intermezzo may insinuate more of Moussorgsgky than Bizet, but the colors are lush and melancholy, courtesy of Allard’s saxophone. The Farandole slams us with a meaty fist, only to beat an Indian tattoo and flute etude that whirl us off the map. The superimposition of the Prelude theme and Farandole riff prove an infectious moment of Stokowski polyphony.
Stokowski’s only recording of the complete Children’s Corner (2, 30 March 1949) was released as RCA LM 9023. Stokowski treat each of the six sections as an etude for orchestral color, the sonic separation attested to by a photo from the period that has his ensemble divided into four geometric, separate units. Lovely resonance throughout, along with that special insouciance that manages to balance the child and adult in us all. Great doublebass playing from Anselme Fortier in the Jimbo’s Lullaby; where’s his Mahler First? John Corigliano’s violin reminds us that Debussy supplied the music for the film Portrait of Jennie around the same period in history. Many thanks to the Leopold Stokowski Society for their promotion of these fine recordings, remastered pungently by Paschal Byrne and Paul Baily.
— Gary Lemco
