COMPOSERS: Bach,Beethoven,Debussy,etc,Franck,Rachmaninov,Tchaikovsky
LABELS: EMI
ALBUM TITLE: Collection: Stokowski Orchestral Transcriptions
WORKS: C sharp minor Prelude; E minor Prelude; D minor Toccata and Fugue
PERFORMER: Marjana Lipovsek (mezzo); Philadelphia Orchestra/Wolfgang Sawallisch
CATALOGUE NO: CDC 5 55592 2 DDD
Love them or hate them, you cannot ignore Stokowski’s orchestral transcriptions. In our purist age it is really quite startling to hear such favourites as ‘Sheep may safely graze’ and Rachmaninov’s C sharp minor Prelude being so liberally re-invented in terms of lavish orchestral textures. Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata (first movement) takes on the darkness of a noble tragedy, Chopin’s E minor Prelude resonates with Mahlerian pathos and as for Bach’s D minor Toccata and Fugue, the vastness of its misrepresentation beggars belief. But what a sound! Christopher Lambton
Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, Franck, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, etc
Love them or hate them, you cannot ignore Stokowski’s orchestral transcriptions. In our purist age it is really quite startling to hear such favourites as ‘Sheep may safely graze’ and Rachmaninov’s C sharp minor Prelude being so liberally re-invented in terms of lavish orchestral textures. Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata (first movement) takes on the darkness of a noble tragedy, Chopin’s E minor Prelude resonates with Mahlerian pathos and as for Bach’s D minor Toccata and Fugue, the vastness of its misrepresentation beggars belief. But what a sound! Christopher Lambton
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:08 pm