RELEASED SEPTEMBER 1999
One ground rule we adopted early on was to limit our choice of artists to those who were no longer actively performing, except for Maestros Sawallisch and Muti, (and Daniel Barenboim, who appears in an accompanying role for a couple items). All of the broadcasts and recordings from 1960 onward are in stereo. All selections are from previously unpublished live performances, except:
* = Commercial recording previously
released on CD
** = Commercial recording; first CD release
*** = Commercial recording; previously
unpublished
VOLUME 1: STOKOWSKI/ORMANDY
Disc 1
JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G minor**
Leopold Stokowski, conductor
Recorded October 24, 1917
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
Leopold Stokowski, conductor
Recorded November 21 and 30, 1931
JEAN SIBELIUS (1865-1957)
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43
Leopold Stokowski, conductor
Recorded December 18, 1964
Disc 2
PYOTR ILYCH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy-Overture
Leopold Stokowski, conductor
Recorded February 6, 1962
RICHARD WAGNER (1813-1883)
Love Music, from Tristan und Isolde,
Acts II and III (arr. Stokowski)**
Leopold Stokowski, conductor
Recorded February 25, 1960
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG (1874-1951)
Verkldrte Nacht, Op. 4 (1917 version)**
Eugene Ormandy, conductor
Recorded March 19, 1950
Disc 3
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF (1873-1943)
The Isle of the Dead, Op. 29
Eugene Ormandy, conductor
Recorded April 22, 1977
WALTER PISTON (1894-1976)
Symphony No. 7
Eugene Ormandy, conductor
Recorded February 10, 1961
KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI (b. 1933)
Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima
Eugene Ormandy, conductor
Recorded January 10, 1969
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)
Symphony No. 6, Op. 54
Eugene Ormandy, conductor
Recorded May 15, 1969
VOLUME 2: MUTI
Disc 4
HECTOR BERLIOZ (1803-1869)
Overture, Le Carnaval romain, Op. 9
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Recorded September 19, 1986
GIUSEPPE VERDI (1813-1901)
Overture to I vespri siciliani
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Recorded May 1, 1985
BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913-1976)
Four Sea Interludes, Op. 33a, from Peter Grimes
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Recorded February 28, 1975
EDGAR VARHSE (1883-1965)
Arcana
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Recorded February 1, 1985
OTTORINO RESPIGHI (1879-1936)
Pini di Roma
Riccardo Muti, conductor
Recorded October 5, 1998
VOLUME 3: SAWALLISCH
Disc 5
JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Variations on a Theme of Haydn, Op. 56a
Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor
Recorded May 2, 1997
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Fantasy in C minor, Op. 80, for piano, chorus, and orchestra
Wolfgang Sawallisch, piano and conductor
The Philadelphia Singers Chorale
David Hayes, artistic director
Recorded May 9, 1996
BOHUSLAV MARTINU (1890-1959)
Symphony No. 4
Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor
Recorded October 13, 1994
VOLUME 4: GUEST CONDUCTORS
Disc 6
RICHARD WAGNER (1813-1883)
Transformation Music from Parsifal, Act I
Fritz Reiner, conductor
Recorded November 28, 1931
SAMUEL BARBER (1910-1981)
Adagio for Strings
Klaus Tennstedt, conductor
Recorded November 21, 1985
GUSTAV MAHLER (1860-1911)
Symphony No. 5
Hermann Scherchen, conductor
Recorded October 30, 1964
Disc 7
CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
Prilude ` l'aprhs-midi d'un faune
Bruno Walter, conductor
Recorded March 1, 1947
MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937)
Suite No. 2 from Daphnis et Chloe
Charles Munch, conductor
Recorded March 7, 1963
BILA BARTSK (1881-1945)
Dance Suite for Orchestra
Istvan Kertisz, conductor
Recorded February 6, 1970
HECTOR BERLIOZ (1803-1869)
"Queen Mab" Scherzo, from Romio et Juliette, Op. 17, rehearsal and *recording
Arturo Toscanini, conductor
Recorded February 9, 1942
VOLUME 5: COMPOSERS AS CONDUCTORS
Disc 8
ZOLTAN KODALY (1882-1967)
Variations on a Hungarian Folksong ("The Peacock")
Zoltan Kodaly, conductor
Recorded November 23, 1946
IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882-1971)
Divertimento from Le Baiser de la fie
Igor Stravinsky, conductor
Recorded January 11, 1947
VIRGIL THOMSON (1896-1989)
Five Portraits**
Virgil Thomson, conductor
Recorded May 20, 1945
AARON COPLAND (1900-1990)
Lincoln Portrait
Aaron Copland, conductor
Marian Anderson, narrator
Recorded August 5, 1976
VOLUME 6: SINGERS
Disc 9
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791)
Exsultate, jubilate, K. 165
Beverly Sills, soprano
Eugene Ormandy, conductor
Recorded April 25, 1974
GAETANO DONIZETTI (1797-1848)
"Il dolce suono mi colpl di sua voce! ... Ardon gli incensi," from Lucia di
Lammermoor, Act II
Joan Sutherland, soprano
Leopold Stokowski, conductor
Recorded January 26, 1963
UMBERTO GIORDANO (1867-1948)
"Un dl all'azzurro spazio," from Andrea Chinier, Act I
Franco Corelli, tenor
Leopold Stokowski, conductor
Recorded January 26, 1963
GUSTAVE CHARPENTIER (1860-1956)
"Depuis le jour," from Louise, Act II**
Dorothy Maynor, soprano
Eugene Ormandy, conductor
Recorded October 20, 1940
CHARLES GOUNOD (1818-1893)
"Vous qui faites l'endormie" (Miphistophilhs' Serenade), from Faust, Act IV
George London, bass
Leopold Stokowski, conductor
Recorded January 20, 1962
JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)
"Von ewiger Liebe," Op. 43, No. 1***
Marian Anderson, contralto
Eugene Ormandy, conductor
Recorded January 8, 1939
RICHARD STRAUSS (1864-1949)
"Sie woll'n mich heiraten ... Un du wirst mein Gebieter sein," from Arabella,
Act II
Anneliese Rothenberger, soprano
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 23, 1971
RICHARD WAGNER (1813-1883)
"Starke Scheite schichtet mir dort" (Immolation Scene), from Gvtterddmmerung,
Act III
Birgit Nilsson, soprano
Leopold Stokowski, conductor
Recorded January 20, 1962
VOLUME 7: INSTRUMENTALISTS
Disc 10
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58
Josef Hofmann, piano
Eugene Ormandy, conductor
Recorded April 4, 1938
JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15
William Kapell, piano
Eugene Ormandy, conductor
Recorded December 11, 1945
Disc 11
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791)
Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, K. 453
Sviatoslav Richter, piano
Eugene Ormandy, conductor
Recorded January 29, 1970
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35
Michael Rabin, violin
William Smith, conductor
Recorded November 10, 1961
Disc 12
JEAN SIBELIUS (1865-1957)
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47***
Jascha Heifetz, violin
Leopold Stokowski, conductor
Recorded December 24, 1934
ALBAN BERG (1885-1935)
Violin Concerto
Leonid Kogan, violin
Eugene Ormandy, conductor
Recorded January 30, 1969
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS (1835-1921)
Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33
Jacqueline Du Pri, cello
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded January 23, 1971
CD 1: The Brahms was the first recording for both Stokowski or the Orchestra . . . The Beethoven comes from an experimental Bell Labs recording, and is complete. It's a much more fiery performance than the early Victor LP "Program Transcription" Stokowski recorded with the PO earlier that year. (Wait until you hear the horns sing out in the fourth movement!) . . . Stokowski made only a single mono recording of the Sibelius 2nd (with the NBC SO, 1954), so it's a treat to hear him with his old orchestra in stereo in this work.
CD 2: Tchaikovsky's "Romeo" was a Stokowski specialty, and this live performance is arguably finer than any of his three commercial recordings of the work . . .The gorgeous Wagner synthesis is the same one which appeared on the old Columbia stereo LP. Strangely, it's the only one of Stoki's "return" recordings with the Philadelphia not to have been previously issued on CD . . . The Schoenberg allows us to hear the fabulous Philadelphia strings in their full glory, in their sole recording of this work (under the conductor who made its *first* recording, in Minneapolis in the '30s).
CD 3: Although Ormandy re-recorded his Rachmaninoff repertoire over and over, he only left a single mono recording (Columbia, 1954) of "The Isle of the Dead." It's particularly good to hear him in one of his specialties in stereo . . . The Piston broadcast was the world premiere performance of the work, which was commissioned by the Orchestra and dedicated to it and Ormandy. It's a wonderful piece, and deserving of more hearings . . . The Penderecki may surprise people who associate Ormandy mainly with the "light Classics" his record labels often asked him to record. Here, it comes across as vivid atonal program music . . . Oddly, for all the Shostakovich he recorded, Ormandy never taped the 6th Symphony. (Indeed, after the premiere recording under Stokowski in 1940, the PO never recorded it again.) This release of a 1969 concert makes amends for the oversight.
CD 4: Several firsts for Muti's recorded repertoire, including the exciting Berlioz overture, the Britten, and the Varese (an appropriately hard-hitting performance from a conductor who recorded a similarly-inflected, memorable "Sacre" with the PO) . . . The Verdi is (IMO) the finest performance I've ever heard of the work . . . The Respighi comes from Muti's emotional return concert last October, after nearly six years away from Philadelphia, which I attended. The finale was built up into an overwhelming climax which left everyone in the Academy on their feet cheering for several minutes at the end.
CD 5: The Brahms is a marvellously-balanced performance, overall the most satisfying stereo version I've yet heard . . . The Beethoven gives us the rare chance to hear Sawallisch as piano soloist with orchestra. (Although he's recorded several chamber works at the keyboard, I believe this is his first "concerto") . . . The Martinu was premiered by the PO in 1945. Sawallisch gives this colorful score an energetic interpretation. If you're not familiar with Martinu, this symphony will turn you into a fan.
CD 6: The Reiner is another experimental high-fidelity Bell Labs recording from 1931. It's the earliest Reiner recording yet released . . . Tennstedt is heard in a gripping, emotionally exhausting Barber Adagio, a work one wouldn't usually associate with him . . . The Mahler comes from Scherchen's North American debut (and only performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra). It's an interpretation of extremes, both of dynamics and of tempi. (The fast sections are almost faster than it's humanly possible to play them, while the Adagietto unfolds over 15 time-suspended minutes.) True, there are cuts (in the 3rd and 5th movements); nevertheless, it's a performance unlike any other of this work you're ever likely to hear. Utterly original.
CD 7: Bruno Walter's "Faune" is more idiomatic than one would expect, with gorgeous solo playing by the great William Kincaid . . . Munch works his usual magic with one of his great Ravel showpieces . . . It was thought that Kertesz was being groomed as Ormandy's successor during the late-'60s, before the younger conductor's untimely death. We hear him hear in Bartok, one of his specialties, but in work he never recorded commercially . . . The Toscanini rehearsal (from the Victor recording session for the "Queen Mab" Scherzo) shows the conductor in a much different light than the stereotypical view. Here, he speaks in almost fatherly tones to the orchestra ("I know it is difficult, very difficult. *Try* it. It must be magic." He then goes on to tell them the story of Queen Mab. After the rehearsal, we hear the entire commercial recording, newly transferred from the metal parts by Ward Marston (who is responsible for all of the superb restoration work on this set).
CD 8: I nearly fell over when I found that that a broadcast existed with Kodaly conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra in one of his greatest orchestral works. He didn't leave many recordings, and none with an American orchestra, so this is doubly valuable . . . The Virgil Thomson is from his 1945 Columbia recording, newly transferred from the original lacquer masters, (and presented for the first time with the movements in their proper order) . . . The Copland presents a "dream team" of interpreters -- the composer at the podium, with the 79-year-old Marian Anderson, the "Lady from Philadelphia" herself, narrating.
CD 9: The Nilsson, Sutherland, Corelli and London tracks come from 1962-63 gala concerts conducted by the returning Stokowski. It's particularly wonderful to hear him joining Nilsson in the "Immolation Scene" -- two of the greatest Wagnerians of the century united . . . the Anderson Brahms song is an unpublished commercial recording from the same 1939 session as her "Alto Rhapsody" with Ormandy . . . Sills never recorded the complete Mozart work, so this is a valuable addition to her discography.
CD 10: The legendary Hofmann performance is featured here in its first CD appearance . . . The Kapell Brahms D Minor was not from a broadcast, but was recorded privately for the pianist during a tour appearance at Carnegie Hall with Ormandy conducting the PO. It presents the 23-year-old virtuoso in a work which he never recorded commercially, transcribed from the sole disc copy in the Library of Congress.
CD 11: Richter's Mozart is wonderfully satisfying; listen particularly to how he uses pauses so dramatically during the second movement . . . Filling out the disc, we have a rare chance to hear the legendary Michael Rabin in an exciting live performance of the Tchaikovsky concerto, recorded in stereo.
CD 12: This starts with one of the most eagerly-anticipated releases of all time (certainly, one of the most long-awaited): the December, 1934 premiere recording of the Sibelius Violin Concerto, with Heifetz, Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Taken down at the same session as the "Paganini Rhapsody" with Rachmaninoff (!), it was never issued, reportedly due to personality clashes between the conductor and soloist.
Heifetz ordered the masters destroyed; however, he kept his set of test pressings, which eventually wound up in the Stanford University Archive of Recorded Sound, (one of whose archivists hand-carried the unique discs by air to Ward's studio in suburban Philadelphia for transfer). It is, as one would expect, a blazing performance, fully worthy of issue. (Note that the first of the eight single-sided shellac test pressings had a half-moon shaped crack going almost up to the groove runout area. No state-of-the-art noise-reduction techniques could completely eliminate the residual thumps which can be heard during the first three minutes or so of the first movement -- and believe me, all the techniques were tried. However, it is the only source for the recording, and it's better to hear it in a flawed state than not to ever hear it at all, I think.)
Finishing up: The Berg Concerto documents a rare Philadelphia appearance by the great Russian violinist Leonid Kogan, in an impassioned performance of this 20th Century masterpiece with a sympathetic, idiomatic accompaniment from Ormandy . . . Finally, Jacqueline DuPre brings an incredible intensity to the Saint-Saens -- digging into the faster sections with ferocity, "singing" the more lyrical ones with a heartfelt passion. It makes for a wonderful end to the collection.
Reproduced with the permission of Mark Obert-Thorn,
Artistic Consultant for the Philadelphia Orchestra Centennial CD Collection
