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Stokowski's Last Recording - Bizet Symphony in C

1,736 views · Published 26 May 2018 · 5:49 · Indexed 21 October 2026

Channel: adam28xx · 2018 · Music

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Leopold Stokowski made his first recordings on acoustic 78rpm discs in  1917. Sixty years later, at the age of 95, he recorded an LP coupling of Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony and Bizet's Symphony in C. He had previously recorded the Bizet Symphony in 1952, following the great success a few years earlier of Balanchine's ballet to the same music. His re-recording was with the National Philharmonic, an 'ad hoc' recording ensemble featuring many of London's finest orchestral players. The sessions took place in EMI Studio 1, Abbey Road, and on 4 June 1977 the finale heard here was recorded in a complete unedited take. Producer Roy Emerson (pictured with Stokowski in a photo in the video) then thanked the orchestra and brought the session to a close. This 'take' was the very last time Stokowski conducted and despite planning more recordings, he died a few months later (13 September 1977) having become a truly legendary Maestro. (From Sony's 10-CD Boxed Set of Stokowski's complete Columbia stereo recordings.)

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