Symphony of the Air and Chorus/Leopold Stokowski – HDTT CD-R 127, 43:40 ***:
Transferred from RCA 4-track stereotape are Leopold Stokowski’s renditions of Wagner, performed with the Symphony of the Air – actually the same NBC Symphony Orchestra that had been created for Arturo Toscanini. The most extensive track belongs to the Tannhauser excerpts, a graduated, nuanced realization of Wagner’s contest between sensuality and spirituality – which, under Stokowski, may be a distinction without a difference. The Stokowski sound, accomplished with the use of free bowing on the part of the orchestral strings, embodies Wagner’s ideal of endless melody in the continuity of his musical ensemble. Stokowski employs sopranos for the Rheinmaidens at the conclusion of the Gods’ Entrance in Das Rheingold. I only wish RCA had sought a Donner to intone the rainbow bridge that ushers forth at his bidding at the opening of the scene. Still, Stokowski’s scale is huge, on a par with that of Karajan but without sacrificing the warmth and passion of the moment.
What collectors will seek is Stokowski’s utterly gripping version of the Tristan Prelude to Act III, which emanates a tension competitive with Furtwaengler’s equally tragic account. The Shepherd’s Melody rises, the English horn intoning its bitter-sweet, bucolic mysticism with suave intensity. Has anyone ever noted that this tune appears at the climax of Tod Browning’s horror classic Freaks, just prior to the circus freaks’ vengeance on Olga Baclanova and Henry Victor? Even at under 45 minutes, this disc is a must-have restoration for Stokowski aficianados.
– Gary Lemco
