It's so tiring to hear comments like "he's so old." If you were just listening to the music, and not watching the conducting, you would think this is one of the most beautiful readings of this music---it luxuriates in every color, every tone, and moment. It's masterful. Then look at Stokowski himself! He may be old and not super spry, but, Jesus, he knows exactly what he wants and he communicates that to the highly attentive orchestra. A great video. Thanks for sharing!
@darkprose Actually, I find the conducting also to be exhilarating and beautiful. His style is so crisp and well matched to the music compared to other conductors.
The passage at 1:23 and onwards is so wonderfully conducted and played. 2:07 tells the viewers that it was not a coincidence. I think anyone must see this video. Maybe not when they are young, if they can't help clicking on "dislike", but at some later age.
Maestro Stokowski was 90 when he conducted the music. If anybody lives that long, please listen to and view this performance again. If I live that long and there is still YouTube, I'll drop a line here then.
The old man takes this piece seriosly as the masterpiece that it is...and yes perhaps there is a bit too much attention to detail but how wonderful an antidote this fullsome interpretation is to the typically trite anemic pastel cliche that we are normally subjected to.
Every musician, no matter his style and which type of music he plays, should listen to this peace very carefully! That piece is the one that made the transition from Late Romantic to XX Century Music.
@tab2do - I agree. I'm so thankful to have the chance to get in touch with the past of music, films, concerts, etc., and so many times I could wish I lived in that time. We should appreciate our legacy more!
NOTHING can be compared to this music,nothing.It is remarkable how the human mind can produce such beauty,and yet such horrors at the same time.Thank god for the romantic minds of our world...
I love classic music very much and the first piece I ever heard and loved was "The Firebird" by Stravinsky conducted by Maestro Stokowski. Many years later I've heard the "original" Firebird and I was surprised. Meanwhile I think Leopold Stokowski was too waywardly. I mean: It's not allowed to modify or alienate an original masterpiece like he did.
@achim56nrw "I mean: It's not allowed to modify or alienate an original masterpiece like he did."
Yes it is, and Stokowski did it like no other.
You listen to a Toscanini or Karajan record, and you get a metronomic, authentic, precise performance. You listen to Stokowski, and he captures the work's soul.
it's funny how many views part 1 has, then you look at part 2 and see that it has less than a third of the views. why wouldn't everyone want to listen to the whole thing?
Excelente. Stokowski, tan criticado a veces, creó una atmósfera perfecta para una música tan delicada como difícil. Tempo adecuado. Lento, sereno, mágico. Gracias por subir este video
Some very strange things going on here with the strings playing in a totally different octave at the start of this piece and the harp cuts through the textures like cheesewire you have to admire the showmans grasp of the piece at his advanced age and the majesty of the performance. I really love it though!!!
Regarding the repeat of the 1st violin phrase at the octave at the beginning of this video (part 2) which 'cerchiamusic' pointed out, I also had to check the score when I heard this! But I must say, it is very effective!!
Listen for the repeat of the 1st phrase at the opening of this video. The 1st violins are doubled at the octave! I checked my score and its not there. Wonder what else he changed....
My ear can always tell when Stokowski has conducted a piece. You just know it when you hear it. Many virtuosi are recognized by their individual sound or style, but I can't think of ANY other conductor that has created such a recognizable signature sound like he has done.
This video brought me to the real world because of being split into 2 parts. Then I'm trying to go back to where I was. I suddenly think of the movie call somewhere in time. I am now just like Christopher lying on bed in the hotel trying to convincing myself that it was the passed time my existing at.
Goodness me what a find, I actually attended this concert all those years ago as a twenty year old. I can actually pick myself out in the front row of the audience.
I re-call this concert was a tremedous occasion, it was so popular I remember it was reprieved at the Albert Hall shortly after.
@dannypurtell: Please remember that "the best can be the enemy of the good"!!! OF COURSE others should be encouraged to perform and record this piece, as with all other pieces of great music!! The greatest performances ought to be there to encourage continued creation and performance, NOT to kill it!!!
This was like a beautiful dream - A lovely gesture from the maestro at the end asking the flute and oboe players to stand for applause. Such beautiful playing from that flautist.
Amazing love and detail given to this masterwork. And this doesn't even better his studio recording. If all conductors could make all the music they conduct sound as beautiful as Stokowski's work, we would have a revolution that could easily wash away the Maazels, Spanos, and Previns that continue to bore us to this day.
@novisibersk: I don't know about Maazel or Spano (never heard of him!), but I MUST disagree most emphatically regarding Prévin: he has conducted some superb Rakhmáñinov performances! For me, his recording of that Russian maestro's 2nd Symphony (1st supposedly-unabridged recording of the piece) is outstanding indeed, as is his collaborative work with Ashkenazy.
I imagine the hard birth of a fawn in winter. Struggling between life and death, before finally breathing life. The siblings of the fawn playing in the snow, as the mother worries about the newborn fawn. Then they stop and come in to see their newborn friend. Crying is not hard to do listening to this song. I want to draw this as a cartoon to fit the music.
@classifiedwaste71 Your description of the fawn touched me. I was lucky to work for an elderly lady whose husband was an original member of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and later, her husband. Everyone called Leopold "Stokie".
Anyway, I love your description, I would love to see it as a cartoon or animation to go with the music as well.
@Cherilynn100 Thank you very much. I will work on it and get back to you, when I finish. I have a great love for the creatures of the woods, and I wish to see them preserved.
L'art consumé du cabotin. Ce qui est paradoxal, c'est qu'en en faisant peu, même très peu, Stokowski en fait une tonne! Il était homme de spectacle et il est admirable jusque dans ses tout petits gestes, au moment des applaudissements, quand il demande aux flutistes de se lever pour les recevoir. Ces tout petits gestes, sans doute passés inaperçus de la salle au moment du concert, sont extraordinairement amplifiés par la caméra de la télévision. Lettre volée de Poe!
@Hadrien99 C'était aussi le pire des connards: Mon père était contre-bassiste au Scottish National Orchestra, et il disait que Stokowski était un génie mais qu'il détruisait les musiciens psychologiquement comme il l'avait fait à un corniste dans son orchestre et Stokowski lui a dit (un peu sarcastiquement surement) à la fin après une bonne séance d'humiliation, pour couronner le tout, que c'était en fait le meilleur corniste qu'il est jamais entendu!
that crescendo is my entire existence played out in sound... please excuse the drama but it is everything I have ever wanted to be... literally I wish I could BE that sound!
As someone who seems to be more than just a simple listener when it comes to music, I salute you, cause you seem to belong to the same cast. Those words got to me :)
Meh, prefer this one, the piece causes alteration in time perception in me, and this slow version hightens that. Karajan too polished and anal, though he is good with other things.
Si, è vero. A me ipnotizza anche con gli occhi aperti, una vera droga da idillio !!! Sembra come quando si è innamorati, o dopo essere finalmente guariti dopo una lunga malattia !!!
What a marvelous performance. Thank you, thank you.
Few ... any? ... conductors today would have the guts to slow the canonic tempo to allow the woodwinds and soloists time to really sing and the orchestra to develop those lyrical passages.
It is, after all, named "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun" NOT "Prelude to the Afternoon of the Indianapolis 500." ( tho' from most recordings and performances one would never know it.)
Really shows what a conductor can bring to an orchestra.
He was the man who built the Philadelphia Orchestra into the Orchestra it was in the 1950's. He was a Russian Organist and quite popular with the ladies in his day. He is the conductor in the original "Fantasia" Disney made all those years ago.
You're quite right that he was responsible for the "Philadelphia Sound" that was the envy of every other orchestra until Ormandy ruined it. You got one fact wrong though. Stoki was English (of Polish ancestry), not Russian. But Eastern European musicians were regarded as the upper crust of the classical music world when he was establishing his career. So he, quite literally, faked his famous accent to join them. The amazing thing is he kept it up until he died!
If you want a good example of the lengths to which musicians of his era would go to appear Eastern European, take Stoki's first wife as an example. She was an accomplished concert pianist; but she was saddled with an unfortunate name...Lucie Hickenlooper! She changed it to Olga Samaroff to join the "in" crowd.
Tienes razón, esa es una sensación frecuente con obras de Debussy... te llevan a mundos de ensueño... de fantasías de la imaginación. Sin duda Debussy fue el más grande genio de la música moderna... La Suite Bergamasque (Claro de Luna) y este Preludio de la siesta del fauno son de su etapa temprana, en la cual se puede apreciar claramente esta extraordinaria cualidad de su música.
Clear execution: seems that time is completely submitted to the great attention paid of each part. it's not a slow time, it's a wide time. Many great old conductors tend to broaden the borders of each voice/instrument in a way of relationship which can go beyond a "canonic" time.
Wow, youre right there .. a partic good film capture .. Please post the rest of this concert. I wonder what else they did .. (also, he was married to greta garbo, gents -some guy!) Encore please the rest .. if you would .. thx ..
¿Son cosas mías o los violines le han subido una 8ª a su melodía en el compás 69? He leído algo ahí abajo sobre adaptaciones de Stokowski, no sé si se referirá a este tipo de cosas. No creo que ese cambio haya mejorado la obra, la verdad es que se lo podía haber ahorrado.
wonderful page composed in 1894, with which initiates practically 20th century music according to many critics and gave the author the label of impressionist, here under the excellent conduction of that genius that was Stokowski
He reminds me of this old man who lived in my hometown. Its a small town, and he was extremely enthusiastic throughout his entire life about music and helping kids... I never would think he would have any enemies anywhere. I wish I could have seen or known about stravinsky way back when... I must have to check on him when I get a time machine. And the fact that he is russian is cool to me.
Incredible performances from all!!! Really a memorable form of conducting. Wonderful orchestra!!!! Bravo!!!! Got to love Debussy and Stokowski's adaptations!!! Honestly , WOWW!!!!
haha, yeah I agree. I personally would have trouble following him. But I think that in such a high-level Orchestra, the players listen and knows each other so well that they spontaneously play as a team. The conductor is like decoration. I'm sure they can play extremely well without a conductor, haha.
The orchestra plays magnificently, despite Stokowski's over-the-top rubati. The wind have fantastic breath control. I must say I prefer Charles Munch with the Boston Symphony which sounds rather more natural and flows better.
I Love the tension and controlled intensity that results from this interpretation. If this were any other piece, this interpretation would be torturously slow, but I've listened to a lot of sub-10 minute performances of Faun and this was by far the most moving to me, not despite his direction but because of it. I think the tempo suits his massive dynamic contrasts.
this man was a genius in that he understood how to translate for the orchestra what was in his head in a way that made sense in a practical, playable fashion for the players. this is why you see gestures from stokowski that may seem oddly different from what you expect from a conductor; but; which illicit such pleasing results. once he gained a rapport with an orchestra, he was able to bring his talents to bear through a conducting language that was all his own...even into his ninetieth decade!!
I am just amazed at the rhythmic clarity that man has esp at that age...never lost it...why can't any of the professional orchestra conducters conduct that clear anymore?
This is exquisite. an orchestra certainly can play the notes without a conductor; the conductor shapes the performance and interpretation. the flautist is Peter Lloyd, a wonderful player. The oboist is the great Roger Lord
Gee, what should have Stokie been doing at his age? Listening to his arteries harden at the old musicians' home? He was doing what all real musicians do. He was making music. I hope I'm still active in some way if I reach 90. Richter would have someone turn the pages for him at the piano in his last years. I don't recall the music-making being affected much. BTW, the music-making here is excellent. Thanks for posting.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
I question the music making you referring to. The musicians are clearly not thinking about music. They're trying to fit their notes into his beats, and they're doing a great job of it. However, I do not hear a kind of arc to a work that requires one. His mind is not working as fast at this age, and it GREATLY affects his music making. Richter was 80 when he last performed, and had great limitations because of his age, which he acknowledged and was severely depressed about just before he died.
I refer to the spirit behind the music-making, and not some pedantic elitism that some people try to force upon classical music. I don't expect Stokowski at 90 to be as sublime as he was in the 1950s when he recorded this for Capitol. I don't expect the Debussy to be as perfectly precise as if Boulez were conducting it. But I also know what to expect when Stokowski conducts Debussy -- at any age or with any orchestra. And in that sense, I enjoyed the performance.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
"Pedantic elitism" aside, it's very difficult for me to appreciate a performance where clearly everyone, including the conductor, is struggling to get from one beat to the next (and no, it's not the good kind of struggling). Ignorance is bliss, I suppose; however, this "pedantic elitism" that you speak of is the reason why this performance could have even taken place. It is the reason why there are orchestras at this artistic level.
I am not a musician, but it does not seem clear to me that he is "struggling" to get from one beat to another -- how do you perceive this? What is the difference between struggling and intentional languidness? Just listening to the music, with no images, could you discern this difference?
I have to agree with jose and jfrankley. I didn't see struggling here, I saw a different interpretation. At moments there was some un-tightness, but this interpretation had a slow, wide rubato (difficult to nail), which I really enjoyed. Stokowski, at 90 or whatever he was at this point, knew exactly what he was going for here and so did the orchestra.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
Gosh, this is so sad. He should not have been conducting at that age. Only a great orchestra like this could be able to play anything with that in front of them. He's hanging on by a thread, having to constantly refer to the score in front of him, and loses his place in almost every large beat. So sad.
What do you mean he should not have been conducting at that age! You distasteful person! I'd like to see you conduct like him, I'd like to see you play like that!
Before you start insulting people, which only makes you look very immature, perhaps you should read the dialogue I had with jfrankley55 on this very same page about this very topic. I am a member of what you would consider a major orchestra, and have performed this piece dozens of times with some of the world's most renowned conductors.
Whatever you say about Stokowski (attention all sophisticated music scholars), he certainly knew how to evoke deep emotions in the listener - you just have to suspend scholarly notions for a while.
well said. i always think of the cool mist of woods with orange sunlight raying through the trees and deer prancing around frolicking and lapping wada
This concert made my day... omg!! what a beautiful music!!! ;)
chilenoHDU 1 month ago
i have to go ... but i am so mesmerised!!!
MouseAndCo 4 months ago
that was horrible... it ended. Why does such ecstacy have to come to an end.
teichiboy 5 months ago
It's so tiring to hear comments like "he's so old." If you were just listening to the music, and not watching the conducting, you would think this is one of the most beautiful readings of this music---it luxuriates in every color, every tone, and moment. It's masterful. Then look at Stokowski himself! He may be old and not super spry, but, Jesus, he knows exactly what he wants and he communicates that to the highly attentive orchestra. A great video. Thanks for sharing!
darkprose 6 months ago
@darkprose Actually, I find the conducting also to be exhilarating and beautiful. His style is so crisp and well matched to the music compared to other conductors.
sacredlunatic 5 months ago
O.O *gasps* LEOPOLD?!
AdriaFloriDeSoc 6 months ago
@AdriaFloriDeSoc yes, leopold
MouseAndCo 5 months ago
reminds me of the Junglebook.
LinkEX 7 months ago
i have to play first flute in my orchestra for this at a concert soon! this is totally my model performance! amazing!
TheProphetEliza 7 months ago
The passage at 1:23 and onwards is so wonderfully conducted and played. 2:07 tells the viewers that it was not a coincidence. I think anyone must see this video. Maybe not when they are young, if they can't help clicking on "dislike", but at some later age.
Maestro Stokowski was 90 when he conducted the music. If anybody lives that long, please listen to and view this performance again. If I live that long and there is still YouTube, I'll drop a line here then.
aerozden 8 months ago
How beautiful. Perfection. Thankyou for uploading.
pjaliverpool 8 months ago
The old man takes this piece seriosly as the masterpiece that it is...and yes perhaps there is a bit too much attention to detail but how wonderful an antidote this fullsome interpretation is to the typically trite anemic pastel cliche that we are normally subjected to.
photo161 8 months ago
probably have heard this piece over 500 times now... cd's, records, here on You tube but everytime is really the first time
uneedtherapy42 11 months ago
Every musician, no matter his style and which type of music he plays, should listen to this peace very carefully! That piece is the one that made the transition from Late Romantic to XX Century Music.
pgv2007 11 months ago
And now think that 30 years ago you payed a lot of money to only hear this
Meanwhile today, it's right before you only some clicks away, that's amazing!
tab2do 1 year ago
@tab2do - I agree. I'm so thankful to have the chance to get in touch with the past of music, films, concerts, etc., and so many times I could wish I lived in that time. We should appreciate our legacy more!
goldie0800 9 months ago
この緻密なサウンドにやられました・・・。パート２の方が圧倒的。
良く知らないけど、このお爺さん凄い人では・・・？
tsuchan2106 1 year ago
NOTHING can be compared to this music,nothing.It is remarkable how the human mind can produce such beauty,and yet such horrors at the same time.Thank god for the romantic minds of our world...
VforVespa 1 year ago 2
Stoky, one of the best, ever. Merci !
CaptainBluebear08 1 year ago
Truly every expression, beat and feeling is contained in that wonderful pair of batonless arms!
physphilmusic 1 year ago
Just wondering, when was this recorded?
CanadianMusicChick 1 year ago
I love classic music very much and the first piece I ever heard and loved was "The Firebird" by Stravinsky conducted by Maestro Stokowski. Many years later I've heard the "original" Firebird and I was surprised. Meanwhile I think Leopold Stokowski was too waywardly. I mean: It's not allowed to modify or alienate an original masterpiece like he did.
achim56nrw 1 year ago
@achim56nrw "I mean: It's not allowed to modify or alienate an original masterpiece like he did."
Yes it is, and Stokowski did it like no other.
You listen to a Toscanini or Karajan record, and you get a metronomic, authentic, precise performance. You listen to Stokowski, and he captures the work's soul.
RogueRotting360 9 months ago 3
it's absolutelly beautiful!!! I hear it every day and love very much! The first flutist is great! I like the part with harp and flute1.14 - 1.35
Ryszarda100 1 year ago
he's is still so precise in his cueing and what he wants from the orchestra....well into his nineties!
bachboy111 1 year ago
it's funny how many views part 1 has, then you look at part 2 and see that it has less than a third of the views. why wouldn't everyone want to listen to the whole thing?
000TwistedFreak 1 year ago
@000TwistedFreak
i have to say that this should be one video. it should really be heard as one and i don't think it's hard to do.
bachboy111 1 year ago
@bachboy111 yep, couldn't agree more
000TwistedFreak 1 year ago
Excelente. Stokowski, tan criticado a veces, creó una atmósfera perfecta para una música tan delicada como difícil. Tempo adecuado. Lento, sereno, mágico. Gracias por subir este video
fjgonzaf 1 year ago
@fjgonzaf i can't agree more, concordo totalmente com você, excelente comentário. Saludos de Brasil.
polyjr 1 year ago
Very Lovely nice version of this piece. Stokowski was a great conductor. And he is as said 90 years here !! Bravo. True mastery.
Dionysosable 1 year ago
Clean!
xavipercu 1 year ago
Amazing, he's 90 years old in this video!
sirmattbelios 1 year ago
Some very strange things going on here with the strings playing in a totally different octave at the start of this piece and the harp cuts through the textures like cheesewire you have to admire the showmans grasp of the piece at his advanced age and the majesty of the performance. I really love it though!!!
philopus94 1 year ago
Debussy..
I love his music!
Goose pimples.
Simply2Good4You 1 year ago
Regarding the repeat of the 1st violin phrase at the octave at the beginning of this video (part 2) which 'cerchiamusic' pointed out, I also had to check the score when I heard this! But I must say, it is very effective!!
iwattguitar 1 year ago
Greatest MAESTRO of our times!
GGefter1 1 year ago
it looks like the notes are pouring, flowing out of his hands and fingers... incredible music...
Noloon 1 year ago
Listen for the repeat of the 1st phrase at the opening of this video. The 1st violins are doubled at the octave! I checked my score and its not there. Wonder what else he changed....
cerchiamusic 1 year ago
jesus christ this touched me so deeply
LacoDePucia 1 year ago
The melodies is very erotic
Bagas 1 year ago
debussy= hands down my fav composer of all time.
illspirit1965 1 year ago
My ear can always tell when Stokowski has conducted a piece. You just know it when you hear it. Many virtuosi are recognized by their individual sound or style, but I can't think of ANY other conductor that has created such a recognizable signature sound like he has done.
wonderbung 1 year ago
This video brought me to the real world because of being split into 2 parts. Then I'm trying to go back to where I was. I suddenly think of the movie call somewhere in time. I am now just like Christopher lying on bed in the hotel trying to convincing myself that it was the passed time my existing at.
v8cherry2000 1 year ago
I listen to this before I go to sleep.... knowing that I'm gonna have good dream
Bagas 1 year ago
Amazing!!
But the video was divided in the most beautiful part of the song :-(
brunlana 1 year ago
so beautiful
childrenofelohim777 1 year ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
and again, boring as hell
Hyonore 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Almost as good as Bugs Bunny in "Long-Haired Hare" ;-)
pchazzzz 1 year ago
Goodness me what a find, I actually attended this concert all those years ago as a twenty year old. I can actually pick myself out in the front row of the audience.
I re-call this concert was a tremedous occasion, it was so popular I remember it was reprieved at the Albert Hall shortly after.
JohnAGood 2 years ago 7
@JohnAGood How cool is that?
deserteacher 6 hours ago
@JohnAGood Where are you in the front row? I was twenty also that year!
deserteacher 6 hours ago
Comment removed
JohnAGood 2 years ago
I just took a conducting lesson.
ikmarchini 2 years ago 2
Is there really any point of anyone else trying to record this, because how can you improve on perfection :|
dannypurtell 2 years ago 20
@dannypurtell: Please remember that "the best can be the enemy of the good"!!! OF COURSE others should be encouraged to perform and record this piece, as with all other pieces of great music!! The greatest performances ought to be there to encourage continued creation and performance, NOT to kill it!!!
LJBSasha 1 year ago 3
@dannypurtell oh it's definitely not perfect, but who cares?
UturnatA2 1 month ago
This was like a beautiful dream - A lovely gesture from the maestro at the end asking the flute and oboe players to stand for applause. Such beautiful playing from that flautist.
plica06 2 years ago 3
@plica06: I'd also add the concertmaster and his assistant - lovely solos from them too!!
LJBSasha 1 year ago
Amazing love and detail given to this masterwork. And this doesn't even better his studio recording. If all conductors could make all the music they conduct sound as beautiful as Stokowski's work, we would have a revolution that could easily wash away the Maazels, Spanos, and Previns that continue to bore us to this day.
novisibersk 2 years ago 2
@novisibersk: I don't know about Maazel or Spano (never heard of him!), but I MUST disagree most emphatically regarding Prévin: he has conducted some superb Rakhmáñinov performances! For me, his recording of that Russian maestro's 2nd Symphony (1st supposedly-unabridged recording of the piece) is outstanding indeed, as is his collaborative work with Ashkenazy.
LJBSasha 1 year ago
Oh man, if Mr. Stokowski was alive today he would be, like, sooooo old.
fraserdaly 2 years ago 2
...
Abunchanada 2 years ago
soooooooo old.
fraserdaly 2 years ago
sensational
skaworld509 2 years ago
I imagine the hard birth of a fawn in winter. Struggling between life and death, before finally breathing life. The siblings of the fawn playing in the snow, as the mother worries about the newborn fawn. Then they stop and come in to see their newborn friend. Crying is not hard to do listening to this song. I want to draw this as a cartoon to fit the music.
classifiedwaste71 2 years ago
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mrpossibilities 2 years ago
@classifiedwaste71 Your description of the fawn touched me. I was lucky to work for an elderly lady whose husband was an original member of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and later, her husband. Everyone called Leopold "Stokie".
Anyway, I love your description, I would love to see it as a cartoon or animation to go with the music as well.
Cherilynn100 1 year ago
@Cherilynn100 Thank you very much. I will work on it and get back to you, when I finish. I have a great love for the creatures of the woods, and I wish to see them preserved.
classifiedwaste71 4 months ago
L'art consumé du cabotin. Ce qui est paradoxal, c'est qu'en en faisant peu, même très peu, Stokowski en fait une tonne! Il était homme de spectacle et il est admirable jusque dans ses tout petits gestes, au moment des applaudissements, quand il demande aux flutistes de se lever pour les recevoir. Ces tout petits gestes, sans doute passés inaperçus de la salle au moment du concert, sont extraordinairement amplifiés par la caméra de la télévision. Lettre volée de Poe!
Hadrien99 2 years ago
@Hadrien99 C'était aussi le pire des connards: Mon père était contre-bassiste au Scottish National Orchestra, et il disait que Stokowski était un génie mais qu'il détruisait les musiciens psychologiquement comme il l'avait fait à un corniste dans son orchestre et Stokowski lui a dit (un peu sarcastiquement surement) à la fin après une bonne séance d'humiliation, pour couronner le tout, que c'était en fait le meilleur corniste qu'il est jamais entendu!
Societyisfalling 2 years ago
breathe,eat, sleep, read Joesph Campbell, listen to Debussy...
41jimmyp 2 years ago 3
that crescendo is my entire existence played out in sound... please excuse the drama but it is everything I have ever wanted to be... literally I wish I could BE that sound!
41jimmyp 2 years ago 2
As someone who seems to be more than just a simple listener when it comes to music, I salute you, cause you seem to belong to the same cast. Those words got to me :)
mrpossibilities 2 years ago
how old is Stokowski here? look at the poetry in his hands... his cd of this is great but maybe... just maybe Karajan's is better
41jimmyp 2 years ago 5
Meh, prefer this one, the piece causes alteration in time perception in me, and this slow version hightens that. Karajan too polished and anal, though he is good with other things.
jazzmunky 2 years ago
@41jimmyp Stokowski was about 90 years old at that time (born 1882, performance 1972).
AristideCavCol 2 years ago
even if we find out there is no heaven... at least we had Debussy's transcendent music... this is beyond incredible...
41jimmyp 2 years ago 6
oh my god ...just close your eyes and you feel that you're transfered to a totally different world...it's like magic!
sepidehtje 2 years ago 28
@sepidehtje
Si, è vero. A me ipnotizza anche con gli occhi aperti, una vera droga da idillio !!! Sembra come quando si è innamorati, o dopo essere finalmente guariti dopo una lunga malattia !!!
darkblueangel1956 7 months ago
the entire performance literally sent chills up my spine... so passionate and also had to fight away a couple tears.
1337evan 2 years ago 3
I felt the same!! this performance is so beautiful and breath-taking....I literally couldn't breathe when I play this vid
crazysuperbobo 2 years ago 2
CAN'T GET ENOUGH!!! SUBLIME MUSIC!
Lavalampoflava 2 years ago 2
i love that the 'antique cymbals' at the end played far too early :P but otherwise great performance! i would like to sound like the lead flautist.
Tills87 2 years ago
anyone know which shampoo he used?
BernardProfitendieu 2 years ago 5
jajaja
jocko93 2 years ago
hehe.
that made me laugh to myself.
psalmnineteen 2 years ago
Leopold!
hiflysi 2 years ago
What a marvelous performance. Thank you, thank you.
Few ... any? ... conductors today would have the guts to slow the canonic tempo to allow the woodwinds and soloists time to really sing and the orchestra to develop those lyrical passages.
It is, after all, named "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun" NOT "Prelude to the Afternoon of the Indianapolis 500." ( tho' from most recordings and performances one would never know it.)
Really shows what a conductor can bring to an orchestra.
ATinNM 2 years ago 6
This is very sensual. I lose myself every time I hear it.
biggabob 2 years ago 3
This remains the best clip on you tube.
leontud 2 years ago 4
hahah, i liked when he asked for the flute solo guys to stand up
xDGiulianoxD 2 years ago 3
So that's Stokowski. Never heard or saw his conducting before, but now I know how awesome it is.
Alexjr1543 2 years ago 2
He was the man who built the Philadelphia Orchestra into the Orchestra it was in the 1950's. He was a Russian Organist and quite popular with the ladies in his day. He is the conductor in the original "Fantasia" Disney made all those years ago.
jel1955atgmail 2 years ago
You're quite right that he was responsible for the "Philadelphia Sound" that was the envy of every other orchestra until Ormandy ruined it. You got one fact wrong though. Stoki was English (of Polish ancestry), not Russian. But Eastern European musicians were regarded as the upper crust of the classical music world when he was establishing his career. So he, quite literally, faked his famous accent to join them. The amazing thing is he kept it up until he died!
slicerprime 2 years ago 3
If you want a good example of the lengths to which musicians of his era would go to appear Eastern European, take Stoki's first wife as an example. She was an accomplished concert pianist; but she was saddled with an unfortunate name...Lucie Hickenlooper! She changed it to Olga Samaroff to join the "in" crowd.
slicerprime 2 years ago 2
GRAN OBRA. NOS TRANSPORTA A OTRO MUNDO
jorgealbertobaron 2 years ago 2
Tienes razón, esa es una sensación frecuente con obras de Debussy... te llevan a mundos de ensueño... de fantasías de la imaginación. Sin duda Debussy fue el más grande genio de la música moderna... La Suite Bergamasque (Claro de Luna) y este Preludio de la siesta del fauno son de su etapa temprana, en la cual se puede apreciar claramente esta extraordinaria cualidad de su música.
Ray0X0 2 years ago
Clear execution: seems that time is completely submitted to the great attention paid of each part. it's not a slow time, it's a wide time. Many great old conductors tend to broaden the borders of each voice/instrument in a way of relationship which can go beyond a "canonic" time.
Klimt1986 2 years ago 2
...he's amazing...
mileneczka007 2 years ago
Profoundly wonderful.
PhilPhilUSA 2 years ago
Old men schould live,he can not stand conducting,realy...
andjelinajolie 2 years ago
I like this version a lot. It is VERY different from others I've heard.
murphy456 2 years ago
The most important piece of music ever...
in my opinion!
XerathBand 2 years ago
Stokowski is 90 years old here, and in control.
mortysand 2 years ago
Wow, youre right there .. a partic good film capture .. Please post the rest of this concert. I wonder what else they did .. (also, he was married to greta garbo, gents -some guy!) Encore please the rest .. if you would .. thx ..
culturehorse 2 years ago
Thanks for uploading this Priceless Gem!!! :))) It is a really great Interpretation!!
DanielLaszloKovacs 2 years ago
¿Son cosas mías o los violines le han subido una 8ª a su melodía en el compás 69? He leído algo ahí abajo sobre adaptaciones de Stokowski, no sé si se referirá a este tipo de cosas. No creo que ese cambio haya mejorado la obra, la verdad es que se lo podía haber ahorrado.
juanmaMCMLXXXII 2 years ago
wonderful page composed in 1894, with which initiates practically 20th century music according to many critics and gave the author the label of impressionist, here under the excellent conduction of that genius that was Stokowski
beethomozart 2 years ago
He reminds me of this old man who lived in my hometown. Its a small town, and he was extremely enthusiastic throughout his entire life about music and helping kids... I never would think he would have any enemies anywhere. I wish I could have seen or known about stravinsky way back when... I must have to check on him when I get a time machine. And the fact that he is russian is cool to me.
Very cool, thanks for the memory.
-Lightning_Po
lightningpo 3 years ago
Incredible performances from all!!! Really a memorable form of conducting. Wonderful orchestra!!!! Bravo!!!! Got to love Debussy and Stokowski's adaptations!!! Honestly , WOWW!!!!
got2bflawlesslove 3 years ago
Such clear conducting.
tacetviola 3 years ago
haha, yeah I agree. I personally would have trouble following him. But I think that in such a high-level Orchestra, the players listen and knows each other so well that they spontaneously play as a team. The conductor is like decoration. I'm sure they can play extremely well without a conductor, haha.
jhwang49 2 years ago
Comment removed
dygzig 3 years ago
Un faune
Fuglebolle 3 years ago
thanks!
TheGreatPerformers 3 years ago
awsome
momogu8 3 years ago 2
Why aren't both parts 1 and 2 together?
daavidnutt 3 years ago 4
Probably because youtube restricts the lenght of standard user account videos to 10 minutes.
mad00002 3 years ago
The orchestra plays magnificently, despite Stokowski's over-the-top rubati. The wind have fantastic breath control. I must say I prefer Charles Munch with the Boston Symphony which sounds rather more natural and flows better.
cynic150 3 years ago
I Love the tension and controlled intensity that results from this interpretation. If this were any other piece, this interpretation would be torturously slow, but I've listened to a lot of sub-10 minute performances of Faun and this was by far the most moving to me, not despite his direction but because of it. I think the tempo suits his massive dynamic contrasts.
thereisonlyonething 2 years ago
Maestro at his best. He conducts with only his hands and directs the orchestra so magically that I am mesmerized as I watch him
perform. He was magnificent!
hiloboy3450 3 years ago
MAN AT HIS BEST.
leontud 3 years ago
Amazing!!!!!
i'm playing this in an orchestra right now, but i never imagined the piece to be so beautiful until i heard this recording!
puppylove898 3 years ago
Wonderful, simply wonderful....
Walls2008 3 years ago
Jakie rzęsiste brawa xD
No no serce rośnie...
pandananas 3 years ago
Excellent.
Cajonto 3 years ago
The masterpiece of the art of Debussy. The beginning of '900 in music. Great Stokowski!!!
StarglissLetola 3 years ago
damn!so nice...
chotjunn 3 years ago
I imagine he's a good dancer..
flavourdan 3 years ago
this man was a genius in that he understood how to translate for the orchestra what was in his head in a way that made sense in a practical, playable fashion for the players. this is why you see gestures from stokowski that may seem oddly different from what you expect from a conductor; but; which illicit such pleasing results. once he gained a rapport with an orchestra, he was able to bring his talents to bear through a conducting language that was all his own...even into his ninetieth decade!!
slicerprime 3 years ago 2
I am just amazed at the rhythmic clarity that man has esp at that age...never lost it...why can't any of the professional orchestra conducters conduct that clear anymore?
iaintnot 3 years ago 5
Beautiful! The quality of the soloists is amazing - flute, oboe, harp, first violin. And see what a man can do at 90. An inspiration!
musicdivinemusic 3 years ago 3
Can't believe I've never listen to the whole piece before, but I must say the melody at the beginning reminds me of Venus from the Planets suite.
revoltz7 3 years ago
EL INICIO DEL IMPRESIONISMO MUSICAL
jorgealbertobaron 3 years ago
hey stupid your never too old to conduct Hwe was a genius something your mind cannot grasp
marksixtyone 4 years ago 8
I agree
OrchDork500 3 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
YOUR TO OLD TO BE CONDUCTING GRAMPS
Davidflapjacks 4 years ago
This is exquisite. an orchestra certainly can play the notes without a conductor; the conductor shapes the performance and interpretation. the flautist is Peter Lloyd, a wonderful player. The oboist is the great Roger Lord
idleruler 4 years ago 3
it just bring tears to my eyes, watching Stokowskis exit , loving is dying.
leontud 4 years ago 2
very beautiful interpretation
i like the gesture at 6:11
seanpierce 4 years ago
Does anyone know who the flutist is on this recording? Perhaps William Bennett?
LSO in 1972......
Whoever, this is remarkable.
gaubert69 4 years ago
read the comments of the 1st part
perplex33 3 years ago
Gee, what should have Stokie been doing at his age? Listening to his arteries harden at the old musicians' home? He was doing what all real musicians do. He was making music. I hope I'm still active in some way if I reach 90. Richter would have someone turn the pages for him at the piano in his last years. I don't recall the music-making being affected much. BTW, the music-making here is excellent. Thanks for posting.
jfrankley55 4 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
I question the music making you referring to. The musicians are clearly not thinking about music. They're trying to fit their notes into his beats, and they're doing a great job of it. However, I do not hear a kind of arc to a work that requires one. His mind is not working as fast at this age, and it GREATLY affects his music making. Richter was 80 when he last performed, and had great limitations because of his age, which he acknowledged and was severely depressed about just before he died.
showwould 4 years ago
I refer to the spirit behind the music-making, and not some pedantic elitism that some people try to force upon classical music. I don't expect Stokowski at 90 to be as sublime as he was in the 1950s when he recorded this for Capitol. I don't expect the Debussy to be as perfectly precise as if Boulez were conducting it. But I also know what to expect when Stokowski conducts Debussy -- at any age or with any orchestra. And in that sense, I enjoyed the performance.
jfrankley55 4 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
"Pedantic elitism" aside, it's very difficult for me to appreciate a performance where clearly everyone, including the conductor, is struggling to get from one beat to the next (and no, it's not the good kind of struggling). Ignorance is bliss, I suppose; however, this "pedantic elitism" that you speak of is the reason why this performance could have even taken place. It is the reason why there are orchestras at this artistic level.
showwould 4 years ago
I am not a musician, but it does not seem clear to me that he is "struggling" to get from one beat to another -- how do you perceive this? What is the difference between struggling and intentional languidness? Just listening to the music, with no images, could you discern this difference?
jcdraws 4 years ago
I have to agree with jose and jfrankley. I didn't see struggling here, I saw a different interpretation. At moments there was some un-tightness, but this interpretation had a slow, wide rubato (difficult to nail), which I really enjoyed. Stokowski, at 90 or whatever he was at this point, knew exactly what he was going for here and so did the orchestra.
EliteG5 4 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Gosh, this is so sad. He should not have been conducting at that age. Only a great orchestra like this could be able to play anything with that in front of them. He's hanging on by a thread, having to constantly refer to the score in front of him, and loses his place in almost every large beat. So sad.
showwould 4 years ago
I kinda agree but then again the conductor during the show is not really conducting anything. They could play without him.
Cox5806 4 years ago
Yes, they could, and they are... but a great conductor who is ALL there can have an incredible impact on a performance. It's not just for show.
showwould 4 years ago
What do you mean he should not have been conducting at that age! You distasteful person! I'd like to see you conduct like him, I'd like to see you play like that!
ThePiano1991 4 years ago
Before you start insulting people, which only makes you look very immature, perhaps you should read the dialogue I had with jfrankley55 on this very same page about this very topic. I am a member of what you would consider a major orchestra, and have performed this piece dozens of times with some of the world's most renowned conductors.
showwould 4 years ago
But it still doesn't make you correct in your analysis. I'm sure there are members of your orchestra that feel this performance is superb.
Keys22765 4 years ago 2
Very nice! Mellow and serene....ZZZZZzzzzzzzz
helmsdeep84 4 years ago
...and your comment is just so very contemplative, meditative, reflective...
civentura 3 years ago
VERY NICCCE!!!!! :DDD
judymin21 4 years ago
Mi obra clásica favorita de todos los tiempos, Debussy, genio eterno.
dulzonpodrido 4 years ago 2
This is the absolute best interpretation I have heard of this work. Stokowski was an amazing organist, conductor, and all around musician.
JRSoubasse 4 years ago 6
Whatever you say about Stokowski (attention all sophisticated music scholars), he certainly knew how to evoke deep emotions in the listener - you just have to suspend scholarly notions for a while.
lourak 4 years ago 11
The first great modern work for orchestra.
kokopeli27 4 years ago 2
A marvelous performance! Slow, languid, and suggestive, it takes me to other realms.
billyguns2 4 years ago 3
well said. i always think of the cool mist of woods with orange sunlight raying through the trees and deer prancing around frolicking and lapping wada
craigsunny198 3 years ago
Sublime.
aesthetic1950 4 years ago 4