15 June 2020

Orff - Carmina Burana - Stokowski 1954




Leopold Stokowski's words:

"I believe that Orff's genius – combining as it does so magnificently all the resources of traditional occidental music with vigourous new conceptions of lyricism, romantic intensity, gigantic architectonics, rhythmic audacity, an extraordinarily personal blending of pagan and modern feeling, and the mature simplicity achieved only by a master – will be recognised by future generations as a major departure in the development of the art of music."


Third performance in USA.
The creation of this work was in Frankfurt in 1937, but the published score was not available in the United States until 1953. The USA premiere took place in a San Francisco concert (University of San Francisco's Schola Cantorum under Giovanni Camajani). Then, Thor Johnson conducted the second  at the Cincinnati May Festival (5 May 1954).


Stokoswki's "extremist" dynamics are also evident in the Houston recording (Capitol, EMI and so on); perhaps here we have a problem (yes: in Boston, not in Houston) with the microphones or with the distances.

However, since the sharp, powerful break after "O Fortuna", it is clear that Stoky has a lot to say about this score.
Also in this case I don't know "official" publications on CD or other format.



ORFF
Carmina Burana

Student soloists:

Ruth Ann Tobin sp
Gwendolyn Belle ms
Elmer Dickey tn
John Colleary br
Kenneth Shelton br

Newton Boys' Choir
Boston University Chorus,
Boston University Symphony
LEOPOLD STOKOWSKI

Boston, Symphony Hall
Live - 19 november 1954

FLAC





5 comments:

Guido said...

http://www.mediafire.com/file/qswy7q9wjxvpfvm/CBSTOK54.zip/file

Burtw47 said...

This Boston performance of the Carmina has only been issued on private German CD:
http://stokowski.tripod.com/
Click on Private CDs.

dgrb said...

Stokie sounds as if he's never heard Les Noces...

Anonymous said...

Thanks!

lparaire said...

Formidable ! Merci §