Leopold Stokowski

Leopold Stokowski (of its true name Antoni Stanisław Bolesławowicz ) is a British Leader , of Polish origin by his/her father and Irish by his/her mother, born the April 18th 1882 with London and dead the September 13rd 1977 with Nether Wallop in the Hampshire.

Biography

Initially organist, it begins his activity of leader in Cincinnati (Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra) in 1908, before directing the Orchestre of Philadelphia of 1912 to 1938. He off directs then the Symphony the Air (in the past NBC Symphony Orchestra ) and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and is invited to the head of the European orchestras most prestigious.

Its career of leader had one duration remarkable, since it directed formations of 1908 to 1972, year of its return on its native soil, while in 1976, it signed a contract for recordings which could have seen it directing an orchestra until the year of its hundred years, if death had not come to seize it the following year of an heart attack.

Orchestral arrangements

Very known for the freedom which it sometimes took to modify played works, it carried out many orchestral transcriptions of works of Johann Sebastian Bach, whose Toccata celebrates it and running away BWV 565 for organ in D mineu R. His transcriptions are still played today, in particular by the leaders Wolfgang Sawallisch, Matthias Bamert or Esa-Pekka Salonen.

It also composed of arrangements for the musical cartoon Fantasia (1940), of Walt Disney, in which it also appears, with the head of the Orchestre of Philadelphia, in the “intermediate” sequences.

Repertory

Its repertory is very vast, with a broad place given to the romantic repertory post. It in particular ensured first American of the Symphonie n° 8 of Gustav Mahler in 1916 or of Americas of Edgard Varèse in 1926.

Discography

Complete discography

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