Stokowski conducts Beethoven 5 & Schubert 8 - London Philharmonic (1969) скачать в хорошем качестве

Stokowski conducts Beethoven 5 & Schubert 8 - London Philharmonic (1969)

With the Beethoven 5th in 1931, Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra made the world's first 'long-playing' recording in what was an experimental attempt by RCA Victor to introduce 33.1/3rd LPs to the record buying public. The series was a failure, mainly due to the Great Depression. Even earlier than that, Stokowski had made the first American recording of Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony on a set of acoustic 78s in 1924. On 8 September 1969, at the age of 87, he programmed both works in a London Philharmonic concert at the Fairfield Hall in Croydon, a large town south of London. These performances were given in preparation for a "Phase 4 Stereo" LP coupling that was made during the next two days. For many of today's listeners, Stokowski's performances will doubtless sound old-fashioned, as the speedy 'historically informed' readings of such works still lay in the future. Even so, the TV commentator Bernard Keeffe was to describe the Beethoven 5th as "a stunning performance" and as will be seen, the Croydon audience loved it. There is also the story told by Daniel Barenboim, who visited Otto Klemperer at his London hotel on one occasion, only to find him slumped despondently in front of the television. When Barenboim asked what was the matter, Klemperer replied that he'd just been watching Stokowski conduct the Beethoven 5th. "Was it terrible?" Barenboim asked. "No!" roared Klemperer in reply: "It was very good!" Incidentally, note the orchestral layout, with the cellos and basses arranged along the back of the platform and the woodwinds down at the front on the right. This was typical of the seating position he often preferred in his concerts and substantially contributed to what critics called "The Stokowski Sound."