Stokowski London vs. Philadelphia

Greetings,

I'm hoping someone will give some thoughts on the Stokowski recordings of Wagner with London vs. Philadelphia. My first introduction to Wagner was the London 'Wagner Weekend' disc which stands out to me as wonderful in terms of both Stokowski's interpretation and LSO's playing. I'd like to get some more Wagner of my own (with the singing included) and so the new release of the Stokowski/Philadelphia recordings intrigues me, but I'd hate to buy it and find that it's not anywhere near the level of (for me, anyway) the LSO recording I already own. I'd assume the tempi, dynamics, etc. from Stokowski are somewhat consistent; what I'm more concerned with is the orchestra's performance and specifically the sound of the brass in the big climaxes. Also I'd like the singing to be halfway decent Thanks...

Regards, Matt LaFontaine Bloomington, IN

Another good Stoky Wagner is an LP made witht he Symphony Of the Air.

But for the best conducted Wagner you must listen to Toscanini. His last recordings are fine. Try:

Meistisinger act 3 prelude Lohengrin Act I prelude Dawn and Rhine Journey Death and Funeral Music Tristan prelude and Liebestod Parsifal Prelude and Good Friday

And get the video/dvd of Tanhauser Overture and Venusburg and an amazing Ride of the Valkyries that is white hot

Abbedd

'Matt LaFontaine' < This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it > wrote

There are four volumes of Stokowski's Wagner with the Philadelphia Orchestra on Pearl. These are as follows:

Vol.1 (Pearl GEMM CD 9448, one CD). Music from _Tannhäuser_ and _Parsifal_.

Vol.2 (Pearl GEMM CD 9486, one CD). Music from _Die Meistersinger_, _Lohengrin_, and _Tristan und Isolde_, plus three of the Wesendonck Lieder with soprano Helen Traubel.

Vol.3 (Pearl GEMM CDS 9076, two CDs) Music from the _Ring_ cycle. There are a few vocal numbers with soprano Agnes Davies, tenor Frederick Jagel, and baritone Lawrence Tibbett (this last is Wotan's Farewell).

Vol.4 (Pearl GEMM CD 9238, one CD) Music from _Rienzi_, _Tannhäuser_, _Die Meistersinger_, and _Tristan und Isolde_.

All taken from 78s. Transfers in vols.1 and 2 are by Ward Marston, those in vols.3 and 4 are by Mark Obert-Thorn. The recordings date from the late 1920's through 1940. If you want to hear Stoki's Wagner, this is essential stuff.

(NOTE: The centennial set of the Philadelphia Orchestra, available from the orchestra itself, contains a great many goodies

I can't, with my tin ear, tell you for sure, but Stokowski had a reputation for unpredictability.

Your assumption of consistency may be sadly wrong...