Leopold Stokowski

Leopold Stokowski ranks among the twentieth century’s most pivotal and transformative conductors. Renowned for the lush, alluring timbre his groups produced, he also devoted himself relentlessly to championing contemporary scores, introducing major pieces by Mahler, Prokofiev, and Rachmaninoff. Born in London on April 18, 1882, he trained at the Paris Conservatory before moving to the United States in 1905, where he took the post of organist and choirmaster at St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York City. In 1909 he launched his conducting career with the Cincinnati Symphony; three years later he assumed leadership of the Philadelphia Orchestra and elevated it to international prominence.

The ensemble’s debut recording, Brahms’ Hungarian Dance #5, appeared in 1917. Over the ensuing decades Stokowski amassed more than seven hundred discs, including the soundtrack for Walt Disney’s 1940 landmark Fantasia, in which he also performed. He further presented more than four hundred new works in either world or American premieres, among them Mahler’s Symphony #8, Prokofiev’s Symphony #6, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto #4, Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du printemps, and Vaughan Williams’ Symphony #9. Although his Bach transcriptions provoked frequent debate, they played a decisive role in broadening the composer’s audience.

Stokowski stepped down from full-time duties in Philadelphia in 1936 yet continued to lead portions of each season for several years afterward. In 1940 he established the All-American Youth Orchestra; from 1942 to 1943 he shared the podium of the NBC Symphony Orchestra with Arturo Toscanini. Later he declined permanent appointments but accepted short-term engagements with many of the globe’s foremost ensembles. In 1962 he created New York’s American Symphony Orchestra to nurture emerging musicians. His final recordings were completed in May 1977; Stokowski died on September 13 of that year at the age of ninety-five.