# Orchestral Transcriptions / Orchestrations



## Aggelos

Greetings my fellow forum members.

I would like to created a thread in which we can talk about anything that has to do with orchestrations, symphonic transcriptions and orchestral arrangements. 
It's hard and painful to track down albums that have symphonic transcrisptions, thus a thread where people post their precious knownledge will be helpful to all of us.

We can talk about rarities and curiosities, about orchestrations that you have heard and suprised you, about orchestral transcriptions that turn out to be satisfying, about rare CDs that feature majestic symphonic transcriptions, et cetera...

Allow me to start with a rare, an "unprocurable" gem.
http://www.lyrita.co.uk/cgi-bin/lyrita_build.pl?filename=SRCD0216.txt


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## Aggelos

Let me share some knowledge on CDs that have interesting orchestrations:









http://www.atmaclassique.com/en/albums/albuminfo.aspx?albumid=352









http://www.atmaclassique.com/en/albums/albuminfo.aspx?albumid=293









http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/June01/Mussorgsky_Pictures.htm









http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/June01/BorodinRequiem.htm

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2007/June07/Saint_Saens_Africa_cacds4031.htm
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2007/Jan07/Grainger_Warriors_CACD4033.htm









http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2000/oct00/Debussynight.htm









http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2000/oct00/debussyengulfed.htm

Mussorgsky-Leibowitz : "Night on Bald Mountain" in this one
http://store.acousticsounds.com/d/6...The_Power_of_The_Orchestra-Hybrid_Stereo_SACD

Does anybody have any remarks on these CDs? 
Any personal opinion?
http://www.amazon.com/Ravel-Orchest..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0N1J8W026ESJJHK8HFS8
http://www.amazon.com/Maurice-Ravel..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0N1J8W026ESJJHK8HFS8

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2006/oct06/Ravel_orchestrationa_DOM292995.htm
http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=8977
http://www.globerecords.nl/catalogue/popup.html?nr=44

Anyone knows a good recording for Mussorgsky-Shostakovich : "Songs and Dance of Death"?


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## Weston

Here is one that is hard to find in CD version but I think is available in mp3 versions, Franz Schubert Piano Sonatas Orchestrated:








http://www.amazon.com/Franz-Schuber...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1270397857&sr=1-1


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## Aggelos

Weston said:


> Here is one that is hard to find in CD version but I think is available in mp3 versions, Franz Schubert Piano Sonatas Orchestrated:
> http://www.amazon.com/Franz-Schuber...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1270397857&sr=1-1


Should be interesting.... Who's orchestrated Schubert's keybord works?

Talking about elusive CDs, I want to acquire this one, but....









http://www.amazon.com/Symphonic-Bac..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0GFGC7B2P5D68TNM3Z1R

*
Talking about Schubert orchestrations we have material by :
-Luciano Berio*









http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6872975/a/Berio:+Orchestral+Transcriptions.htm

*
-And by Leopold Stokowski*









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 9349

Also recommended









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 9930









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 10282









http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Aug05/Pictures_pines_2564619542.htm


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## Aggelos

http://www.calarecords.com/acatalog/info_CACD0529.html









http://www.concordmusicgroup.com/albums/The-Fantastic-Stokowski/

*
Rachmaninoff Preludes, orchestrated by Lucien Cailliet*








http://www.pristineclassical.com/LargeWorks/Orchestral/PASC183.php









http://www.pristineclassical.com/LargeWorks/Orchestral/PASC211.php









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 8825









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 9835

http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 9801
http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 10023
http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=GH 2333
http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 9100
http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 10538
http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 9792
http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 6693

http://www.pristineclassical.com/LargeWorks/Orchestral/PASC214.php
http://www.pristineclassical.com/LargeWorks/Orchestral/PASC196.php


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## JAKE WYB

regarding the scoenberg orchestration of brahms piano quartet in Gminor shown above 

- i found it disappointingly bland and lacking in any of the vigour of Brahms' original chamber version


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## Aggelos

JAKE WYB said:


> regarding the scoenberg orchestration of brahms piano quartet in Gminor shown above
> 
> - i found it disappointingly bland and lacking in any of the vigour of Brahms' original chamber version


You mean that particular recording (Neeme Jarvi) or in general??


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## JAKE WYB

Aggelos said:


> You mean that particular recording (Neeme Jarvi) or in general??


in general - seems like a wasted opportunity


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## Aggelos

JAKE WYB said:


> in general - seems like a wasted opportunity


Perhaps one could call it an "academic scholasticism".
However there are numerous recordings for Schoenberg's orchestration.
http://www.usc.edu/libraries/archives/schoenberg/as_disco/works/272.htm

http://www.usc.edu/libraries/archives/schoenberg/as_disco/works/worklist.htm#NoOpusNos


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## TWhite

There are always the Arbos orchestrations of Albeniz' rather monumental "Iberia" suite for piano, which sound like psuedo-Ravel. He only orchestrated five of the twelve works, but after listening to the piano originals (and having played a few of them), I'll stick with the originals. They 'sound' well on the piano--crisp and rhythmic--the orchestrations tend to 'flatten' them out, at least IMO. 

Tomj


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## Sid James

I'd actually say that Schoenberg's orchestrations are pretty good. Didn't some critic call his orchestration of the Brahms piano quintet the "Fifth Symphony?" Schoenberg also did other good orchestrations, for example, of Handel & Monn...


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## HarpsichordConcerto

Andre said:


> Schoenberg also did other good orchestrations, for example, of Handel & Monn...


Yes, I listened to samples of the Schoenberg arrangement of a Handel concerto grosso (Naxos recording, you suggested in another thread). Interesting and very modern sounds, while retaining the Handelian melody. It usually gets more fascinating when the period between original piece composition and transcription gets separated by a long period of time, as is this example here; Baroque by 20th century atonal composer.


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## Aggelos

TWhite said:


> There are always the Arbos orchestrations of Albeniz' rather monumental "Iberia" suite for piano, which sound like psuedo-Ravel. He only orchestrated five of the twelve works, but after listening to the piano originals (and having played a few of them), I'll stick with the originals. They 'sound' well on the piano--crisp and rhythmic--the orchestrations tend to 'flatten' them out, at least IMO.
> 
> Tomj


I concur. Stick to the original... Arbos did not impress me either.
However Stokowski's orchestration for "Festival in Seville" was lavish and sonorous.
http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 9349

Le me remind you Mahler's re-orchestration


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## Aggelos

_Guys stop your grinnin' and drop your linen.
We wiil get badass orchestral transcriptions at the forthcoming BBC proms!!_
http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2010/whatson/atoz_composer.shtml

*Prom 39: Bach Orchestral Transcriptions (Saturday 14 August 2010)*
* J. S. Bach, orch. Stokowski Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 (10 mins)
* J. S. Bach, orch. Henry Wood 'Suite No. 6' - Prelude; Finale (6 mins)
* Tarik O'Regan Latent Manifest (c5 mins)
(BBC commission: world premiere)
* Walton The Wise Virgins - suite (21 mins)
* Grainger Blithe Bells (4 mins)
* J. S. Bach, arr. Sargent Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068 - Air (6 mins)
* Alissa Firsova Bach Allegro (c5 mins)
(BBC commission: world premiere)
* J. S. Bach, arr. Bantock Chorale Prelude 'Wachet auf, ruft uns due Stimme', BWV 645 (5 mins)
* J. S. Bach, arr. Respighi Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 (13 mins)

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Litton conductor
http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2010/whatson/1408.shtml#prom39

*Prom 63: BBC National Orchestra of Wales (Thursday 2 September 2010)*
* Rameau Dardanus - suite (18 mins)
* Canteloube Songs from the Auvergne - selection (25 mins)
* Martin Matalon Lignes de fuite
(UK premiere) (18 mins)
** Musorgsky, arr. Henry Wood Pictures at an Exhibition* (30 mins)

BBC National Orchestra of Wales, François-Xavier Roth conductor
http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2010/whatson/0209.shtml#prom63

*Prom 67: Last Night of the Proms 1910 (5 September 2010)*
* Wagner The Flying Dutchman - overture
(11 mins)
* Beethoven Rondino for wind octet (7 mins)
** Paganini, arr. Pitt Moto perpetuo *(5 mins)
** Musorgsky, orch. Henry Wood The Peep-Show* (13 mins)
* Bizet L'Arlésienne - excerpts (20 mins)
* David Matthews/Vaughan Williams Dark Pastoral - based on the surviving fragment of the slow movement of Vaughan Williams's Cello Concerto (1942)
(BBC commission: world premiere) (c11 mins)
* Dvořák Rondo in G minor (8 mins)
* Beethoven Overture 'Leonore' No. 3 (13 mins)
* Thomas Mignon - 'Connais-tu le pays?' (4 mins)
** Dvořák, orch. Henry Wood Humoresque in G flat major, Op. 101 No. 7 *(4 mins)
* Wagner Kaisermarsch (10 mins)
** Wood Fantasia on British Sea-Songs* (18 mins)
* German Merrie England - 'Who were the Yeomen of England?' (4 mins)
* Forster Mifanwy (3 mins)
* Elgar Pomp and Circumstance March No. 4 in G major (5 mins)
* The National Anthem (2 mins)

BBC Concert Orchestra, Paul Daniel conductor
http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2010/whatson/0509.shtml#prom67

*
Prom 76: The Last Night of the Proms (Saturday 11 September 2010)*
* Jonathan Dove A Song of Joys
(BBC commission: world premiere) (c5 mins)
* Tchaikovsky Capriccio Italien (16 mins)
* *Tchaikovsky arr. Rysanov Rococo Variations (19 mins)*
* Parry Blest Pair of Sirens (11 mins)
* R. Strauss Verführung, Op. 33 No. 1
Freundliche Vision, Op. 48 No. 1
Ständchen, Op. 17 No. 2
Winterweihe, Op. 48 No. 4
Zueignung, Op. 10 No. 1 (18 mins)

* Chabrier Joyeuse marche (4 mins)
* Smetana Dalibor - 'Dobrá! Já mu je dám! … Jak je mi?' (3 mins)
* Dvořák Rusalka - Song to the Moon (6 mins)
* Vaughan Williams Suite for viola and small orchestra - Prelude; Galop (6 mins)* Wagner Lohengrin - Bridal Chorus (5 mins)
* Rodgers and Hammerstein Carousel - 'You'll never walk alone' (5 mins)
* Hans Zimmer Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - Hornpipe (3 mins)
* Arne Rule, Britannia! (8 mins)
* Parry, orch. Elgar Jerusalem (2 mins)
* Elgar Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D major ('Land of Hope and Glory') (8 mins)
* The National Anthem (2 mins)

BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jiří Bělohlávek conductor
http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2010/whatson/1109.shtml#prom76


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## Aggelos

More CDs with orchestrations & orchestral arrangements









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 8412









http://www.chandos.net/details06.asp?CNumber=CHSA 5077









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 5057

*I would like to inform you guys, that Aryeh Oron is creating a rigorous-sedulous list for J.S. Bach orchestral transcriptions :*
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Arran/L-Orchestra.htm

It is still under construction, thus if you need/want to contribute, send him an e-mail :
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/How.htm#Material


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## Aggelos

More CDs featuring orchestrations :









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 6648









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 9822









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 241-4









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 5004









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 10023









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 8309


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## Aggelos

How could I forget this one?








http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 5030

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classRev/2004/Aug04/Bach_conductors.htm









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 10388









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 10081

*Moreover, Bach-Wood Toccata & Fugue BWV 565*


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## Aggelos

Badass CDs!









http://www.minnesotaorchestra.org/music/re_pictures.cfm









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 5049


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## Aggelos

This is a badass CD. It has Handel-Elgar : "Overture in D Minor" with the ad libitum organ part added in the performance.








http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 6652









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 10073









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 10144M









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 7103


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## afterpostjack

Much of Ravel's orchestral music is actually piano music which he has transcribed to full orchestra. His results are always amazing, perhaps because he went for quality and not quantity.


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## Aggelos

Nuukeer said:


> Much of Ravel's orchestral music is actually piano music which he has transcribed to full orchestra. His results are always amazing, perhaps because he went for quality and not quantity.


I must admit that Mussorgsky-Ravel "Pictures" is a masterly work, but in the same time it is getting ridiculous already with the hundreds of existing recordings and the thousands of concerts for that work!...
I mean it is time we had ourselves introduced to other people's ideas for "Pictures at an Exhibition"! 
Please for Christ's sake!

In the meantime, I am still waiting for this CD to arrive, in order to listen to Ravel's orchestrations for Chabrier & Schumann


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## Earthling

This one is a beauty:










A delightful transcription for strings and continuo.


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## Earthling

Also, there is Copland's own orchestration of his stark Piano Variations, the *Orchestral Variations*. Ultimately I still prefer the original because the piano sounds so brittle, but the orchestral version is still spectacular. Appalachian Spring it is not!


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## Aggelos

[email protected] I have never heard any Copland music in my life, but I shall keep in mind the orchestral transcriptions.



Aggelos said:


> In the meantime, I am still waiting for this CD to arrive, in order to listen to Ravel's orchestrations for Chabrier & Schumann


This CD turned out to be plain fun. Chabrier-Ravel "Menuet Pompeux" is fascinating, clear forward percussion, nice rythm, humorous,. Also Ravel's Alborada very addictive. Schumann-Ravel is joyous, with elan and vitality.

I bought it because the guy wrote


> It is perhaps worth noting that this identical programme is available on a very fine sounding Reference Recording HDCD by Eiji Oue and the Minnesota Orchestra that also manages to include Ravel's Alborada del gracioso and Shéhérazade Overture.


http://www.sa-cd.net/showtitle/2970


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## Aggelos

http://www.classicrecords.com/item.cfm?item=SDBR 3070-200G



> This release is a compilation of Stokowski/Houston performances recorded at the Houston Civic Center by Bert Whyte and originally released in 1960. Compositions include Stokowski arrangements of "Wotan's Farewell" and "Magic Fire Music" from Wagner's "Die Walkure", "Mazurka in A minor", "Prelude in D minor" and "Waltz in C sharp minor Op. 64 No2" by Chopin.....











http://www.emiclassics.com/releasetracklisting.php?rid=30140









http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/cat/single?PRODUCT_NR=4776118









http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/cat/single?PRODUCT_NR=4776121









http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/cat/single?PRODUCT_NR=4776115
http://www.classicalcdreview.com/afied.html

*Purcell / Sir Henry Wood : New Suite*


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## Aggelos

*Dvorak / Sir Henry Wood : Humoresque in G flat *













http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Barbirolli+Society/SJB1023









http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2002/Apr02/Barbirolli_English.htm
http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Barbirolli+Society/SJB1022









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 5087


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## Aggelos

By Daniele CALLEGARI and Talent Dom records









http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=10220
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/t/tal81004a.php
http://www.lucbrewaeys.com/home.php









http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2006/oct06/Ravel_orchestrationa_DOM292995.htm
http://www.sa-cd.net/showtitle/2970


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## Aggelos

http://www.glossamusic.com/glossa/reference.aspx?id=217
http://www.sa-cd.net/showtitle/6907









http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2010/May10/Bach_Ormandy_PASC211.htm

Also, orchestrations that deserve to be recorded once in the history of digital recordings

Leonidas Leonardi
http://www.lucksmusic.com/cat-symph/showdetailMain.asp?CatalogNo=08431
http://www.lucksmusic.com/cat-symph/showdetailMain.asp?CatalogNo=11743

Lucien Cailliet 
http://www.lucksmusic.com/cat-symph/showdetailMain.asp?CatalogNo=12141
http://www.lucksmusic.com/cat-symph/showdetailMain.asp?CatalogNo=08536

Leo Artok
http://www.lucksmusic.com/cat-symph/showdetailMain.asp?CatalogNo=09467

Hans Kindler
http://www.lucksmusic.com/cat-symph/showdetailMain.asp?CatalogNo=09208

Clifford Demarest
http://www.lucksmusic.com/cat-symph/showdetailMain.asp?CatalogNo=08930

Alexander Goedicke
http://www.lucksmusic.com/cat-symph/showdetailMain.asp?CatalogNo=01537

Leo Weiner
http://www.lucksmusic.com/cat-symph/showdetailMain.asp?CatalogNo=06555


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## Aggelos

Wonderful stuff









http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2010/July10/Jose_Serebrier_8505086.htm









http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/Jan01/Bach_Transcriptions.htm









http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/Apr99/wagner.htm
http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 9686









http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2002/Jan02/Symphbaroq.htm
http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 9930









http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2000/aug00/bachtranscription.htm
http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 9835









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 9259
http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Pag...as+Bamert.+Chandos+CHAN9259+(70+minutes:+DDD).


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## Aggelos

http://www.allegro-music.com/online_catalog.asp?sku_tag=HLE37527
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Debussy-Pré...=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1302290899&sr=1-2


> A special release compiled of previous acclaimed Hallé releases includes the complete orchestrations by composer Colin Matthews of the 24 Debussy Preludes. Previous releases of Matthews' Debussy orchestrations coupled with La Mer (HLE 7513) and Jeux (HLE 7518) were received with universal acclaim, with the former winning a highly prestigious Diapason d'Or award in France. This set includes the world premiere recordings of Mathews' stunning orchestrations of the Debussy Preludes, along with a Postlude written by the composer especially for this project, presented together for the first time at a special price.











http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Warner+Classics/2564686074
http://www.warnerclassicsandjazz.com/release.php?release=5917
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/w/war686074a.php

A few more orchestrations that deserve to be recorded once in the history of digital recordings.
*Hans Kindler*
http://www.lucksmusic.net/cat-symph/showdetailMain.asp?CatalogNo=08594
http://www.lucksmusic.net/cat-symph/showdetailMain.asp?CatalogNo=09767

*Lucien Cailliet*
http://www.lucksmusic.net/cat-ed/showdetailMain-ed.asp?CatalogNo=41002
http://www.lucksmusic.net/cat-symph/showdetailMain.asp?CatalogNo=12138

*Damrosch*
http://www.lucksmusic.net/cat-ed/showdetailMain-ed.asp?CatalogNo=57518#
http://www.lucksmusic.net/cat-symph/showdetailMain.asp?CatalogNo=07347


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## 1648

René Leibowitz' re-orchestration/arrangement of Night on Bald Mountain is excellent, as is his arrangement of Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 for double orchestra. That one is not available on CD from what I know, at least not officially. Leibowitz was a prolific orchestrator, Rudolf Kolisch - Schoenberg's brother in law and right-hand violinist - particularly cherished his orchestration of Schubert's Violin Fantasy, D. 934, which he lovingly dubbed "Schubert's Violin Concerto". As far as I know it has never been recorded, I don't even know if it still exists.

Berio's orchestration/reflection on the Schubert symphony fragments, D. 936a has already been mentioned, it's one of my favorite arrangements ever - I prefer the Berio/LSO recording though. It also sports one of the most tasteful cover artworks in the classical record market:










One of the best Schubert discs ever in my humble opinion, gorgeously sung, played and conducted, a fine survey of various Romantic and early Modern arrangements by Berlioz, Offenbach, Brahms, Reger, Webern (the best of the bunch as far as I'm concerned) and Britten:









Rameau transcriptions have a long tradition as well, this one - arranged for and played on period instruments - is particularly recommendable, in many ways Rameau's unique sense of harmony and counterpoint emerges more clearly when there is no clash between the more percussive sounds of the harpsichord and the "singing" of the strings:


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## Aggelos

1648 said:


> René Leibowitz' re-orchestration/arrangement of Night on Bald Mountain is excellent, as is his arrangement of Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 for double orchestra. That one is not available on CD from what I know, at least not officially. Leibowitz was a prolific orchestrator, Rudolf Kolisch - Schoenberg's brother in law and right-hand violinist - particularly cherished his orchestration of Schubert's Violin Fantasy, D. 934, which he lovingly dubbed "Schubert's Violin Concerto". As far as I know it has never been recorded, I don't even know if it still exists.


Actually Leibowitz's Passacaglia was recorded in the '60s, but it's not available on CD as you said.




His orchestration of Toccata & Fugue BWV 565 is also for double orchestra, but I don't think that it has ever been recorded.
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Leibowitz-Rene.htm
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Arran/OT-Leibowitz.htm
Yes Mussorgsky-Leibowitz Night on Bare Mountain is breathtaking. Very sonorous, bombastic percussions in there. Moreover, Leibowitz extends the finale by adding his own ideas.


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## 1648

Yes, I know the Passacaglia was recorded for Reader's Digest in the early 60s. As for the Mussorgsky tone poem, though his interpretation differs greatly from Mussorgsky's own orchestral version I think his take on it is much closer to the original composer's idiom than Korsakov's limp orchestration of it.


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## Aggelos

Ya, for a composition that evokes a devilish/demonic feast, the Rimsky-Korsakov orchestration might sound a slightly limp, tepid and spruce. It needs more grotesque, infernal and ferocious anarchy. That being said, both Stokowski and Leibowitz deliver this.
I think the Leibowitz orchestrations deserve a digital recording, in any case . Had there been digital recordings, I would have enjoyed Leibowitz's idiosyncratic-idiomatic orchestrations to the extreme.
What do you think? What are the chances of them being recorded digitally?

Actually I am looking forward to these guys as well (to listen them). Hopefully recordings will emerge some day. 
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Arran/OT-Boessenroth.htm

http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Arran/OT-Sanders-FG.htm

http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Arran/OT-Esser.htm


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## 1648

Zero, though that's not much of an issue for me - I prefer Wilkinson's engineering to just about any modern digital recording.


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## Aggelos

Zero? Why? Give us some hope.... I believe both Bach-Leibowitz transcriptions were published.
And who is Mr. Wilkinson? Actually if they digitally re-master the thingie, I trust it will sound OK.

Bro, what do you think about Goedicke, Leonidas Leonardi and the others? What are the chances to see a new CD by Chandos with them in it?
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Arran/OT-Leonardi.htm
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Arran/OT-Goedicke.htm
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Arran/OT-Hubay.htm
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Arran/OT-Abert-JJ.htm
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Arran/OT-Vactor.htm


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## 1648

Kenneth Wilkinson engineered most of the Leibowitz/RPO recordings made for Reader's Digest, RCA's digital remasters of the Night on Bare Mountain arrangement sound better than just about all recent recordings.


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## Aggelos

I think I subscribe to your view. Let's hope that someday, this Vinyl will be remastered.
People have pointed out the good remastered sound quality of this particular SACD 









http://www.sa-cd.net/showtitle/6107


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## 1648

Aggelos said:


> I think I subscribe to your view. Let's hope that someday, this Vinyl will be remastered.
> People have pointed out the good remastered sound quality of this particular SACD
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.sa-cd.net/showtitle/6107


 I have a non-SACD Japanese pressing with the same cover artwork, it sounds absolutely brilliant.


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## Aggelos

Yes I know, prior to the SACD release, there was a remastered CD. I remember me wanting to grab it from amazon.fr.
But isn't this is little bit funny/ironic. If those analogue recordings (ADD remastered) sound better than the contemporary 24bit/96Khz recordings, then why did we have to switch to digital recordings in the first place?

Apropos of Rene Leibowitz, do you any other OTs of his? Cumulatively, I know the following :
-Franck / Leibowitz : Panis Angelicus
-Mussorgsky / Leibowitz : Night on the Bald Mountain
-J.S. Bach / Leibowitz : Toccata & Fugue BWV 565 for double orchestra
-J.S. Bach / Leibowitz : Passacaglia BWV 582 for double orchestra

All the above works have been orchestrated by Leopold Stokowski as well.









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 9445
http://www.classicalcdreview.com/muss.html


> Chandos' sound is their very best, wonderfully capturing this multitude of colorful sounds with a fine sense of space and presence. A fabulous CD!



















*http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CHAN 9349*


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## Aggelos

Some very sympathetic, charming, sweet, evocative orchestral transcriptions!

-Debussy/Stokowski : Engulfed Cathedral





-Buxtehude/Stokowski : Sarabande and Courante





-Handel/Stokowski : Dead March from Saul





-Mozart/Stokowski : Turkish March





-Stostakovich/Stokowski : United Nations March





-Rachmaninoff/ Edmund Rubbra : Prelude In G Minor Op. 23 No 5





-J.S. Bach / William R. Smith : Fantasia & Fugue in G Minor BWV 542




http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Arran/OT-Smith-WR.htm

-J.S. Bach / Sir Edward Elgar : Fantasia % Fugue BWV 537


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## Huilunsoittaja

Do you ever think a composer/conductor could go too far in orchestrating too many works? As in, they orchestrate works that aren't actually fit for it, ex. some piano music.


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## Aggelos

I think this guy here has gone too far in orchestrating too many works.








Have a look!
*http://www.mola-inc.org/Stokowskicatalog.htm*

But as the reviewer points out, the OTs are more meant for fun and exuberance. Some of them are true indulgences, whereas others are worth the occasional hearing.
Only a few OTs can become very successful and gain acclaim (Mussorgsky-Ravel, Bach-Webern, Mussorgsky/Rimsky-Korsakov, Brahms-Schoenberg, et al). The rest are not taken seriously by many people. But as Henry Fogel writes 


> Why have we become such purists? What went wrong in our musical world that it is practically forbidden (I'm not sure by whom, but believe me, it is nonetheless forbidden) to perform Bach orchestral transcriptions--not to mention a Pavane and Gigue by William Byrd--in a concert hall today.
> 
> Listening to this recording caused me to realize what the purists have inflicted on the rest of us. First of all, organ recitals are rare things. In fact, even good organs are rare things. The transcription offers us a way of hearing great organ music that we might not ever encounter in a live performance. But the transcription is more than that. It is an alternative version, decked out in different colors. (Some of Stokowski's transcriptions of music other than Bach's are not of organ or even keyboard music.) Just as a play or movie derived from a book is a perfectly valid other way of experiencing the book, so a transcription is a perfectly valid way, in and of itself, of experiencing music that is based on an original that sounds different....................
> http://www.artsjournal.com/ontherecord/2009/08/whither_the_transcription.html


Thus, I believe we are "allowed" to listen to OTs. It's not a bad thing to do. *I mean, how dare "they" to forbid us not listening to OTs!!!* 



> *This collection of Henry Wood orchestrations is just plain fun*. Perhaps the best of them overall is the Granados Spanish Dance No. 4, which features imaginative writing for the harp and some beautifully judged scoring for the woodwind section. To be frank, Wood is not a great orchestrator; he's more of an "arranger". This becomes immediately apparent in considering Pictures at an Exhibition..........
> http://www.classicstoday.com/review.asp?ReviewNum=11282











http://www.lyrita.co.uk/cgi-bin/lyrita_build.pl?filename=SRCD0216.txt
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2007/Aug07/Henry_Wood_SRCD216.htm
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2007/Sept07/Wood_SRCD216.htm


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## Vaneyes

The names Sussmayr, Ravel, Cooke, and Payne immediately come to mind when thinking about composers who've changed or added to other people's work. Four favorite related recordings...


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## Aggelos

Rachmaninoff / Lucien Cailliet : 3 Preludes [Belwin-Mills Publishing Corp]




Instrumentation : 3,3,4,3 - 4,3,3,1 - timp, perc, - hp - str.

Weber-Johnstone 





Clarke / Sir Henry Wood : Trumpet Voluntary 





Chopin / Leopold Stokowski : Funeral March





Bach-Stokowski : Andante Sostenuto 





Handel-Stokowski 





Mussorgsky "The Great Gate of Kiev" - Douglas Gamley's orchestration




Douglas Gamley conducts his own orchestration of the finale from "Pictures at an Exhibition," with the New Symphony Orchestra, the Men's Chorus of the Ambrosian Singers, and the organ of Kingsway Hall, London.


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## kv466

I was lucky enough to find my Bachbusters this morning, looking through a mess I'd created...as I approaced the end of this magnificent recording, I found myself hearing what is my favorite performance of the Bach Tocatta and Fugue in d minor and thinking of how weird it is that my fav is not on a traditional instrument at all...this led me to expore many organ possibilities, only leaving me at the conclusion that an orchestral piece would be best...so I began to score all the different instruments and techniques I would use in recreating such a masterpiece...Leopold just never did it for me and, if anything, made it far less attractive...I like all the Rene talk in here...good call...but, still...so many possibilities exist for this piece of music that has reached the conciousness of so many people in so many places...I dream of creating an orchestral version that has the humanity and dynamic and precision of the Dorsey recordings. Gratzie signore.


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## Aggelos

The Bach organ works, such as the Toccata & Fugue and Passacaglia & Fugue, have many possibilities hence the existence of so many orchestral transcriptions

Borodin / Stokowski : Requiem


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## Aggelos

By the way, I have found that Rene Leibowitz has the following transcriptions hitherto.

-J.S. Bach / Rene Leibowitz : Toccata and Fugue In D Minor BWV 565 (for double orchestra) [Boelke - Bomart / Mobart Music Publishers]
Orchestra I: 2,1,2,2 - 2,2,1,1 - str.
Orchestra II: 2,2,2,2 - 2,2,1,1 - str.

-J.S. Bach / Rene Leibowitz : Passacaglia and Fugue BWV 582 (for double orchestra) 
-Franck / Rene Leibowitz : Panis Angelicus
-Mussorgsky / Rene Leibowitz : Night on Bald Mountain

-Mozart / Rene Leibowitz : Fantasia for double string orchestra (originally for mechanical organ) [Boelke-Bomart Inc. ]
-Schoenberg / Rene Leibowitz : Three Songs Op. 48 (for low voice and orchestra) [Boelke-Bomart Inc. ]
Instrumentation : 1,1, 2+1, 1, - 1,1,1,0 - hp - pf.

-Schubert / Rene Leibowitz : Fantasia in C Major (originally for violin and piano) [Boelke-Bomart Inc.]
Instrumentation : 2,2,2,2 - 2,2,3,1 - pf - str

-Schubert / Rene Leibowitz : Fantasia in F Minor (originally for piano 4-hands) [Boelke-Bomart Inc.]
Instrumentation : 2,2,2,2 - 2,2,3,1 - timp - str

Marc Antonio Cesti / Leopold Stokowski : Tu Mancavi a Torentarmi


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## Aggelos

Rachmaninoff / Leonidas Leonardi : Chanson Georgienne Op. 4 No 4





*Leonidas Leonardi FTW!*

Brahms: Piano Quartet in G minor (orch. Schoenberg) - Finale - Robert Craft conducts





Borodin "Nocturne" (arr. Sargent) - Stokowski conducts





Bach-Stokowski: Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor


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## Aggelos

Debussy "Night in Granada" (orch. Stokowski) - Geoffrey Simon conducts





Tchaikovsky "At the Ball" (orch. Stokowski) - Marjana Lipovsek, mezzo-soprano





As far as I am concerned,* Leonidas Leonardi* has the following Orchestral Transcriptions :
-J.S. Bach / Leonidas Leonardi: Overture from Cantata XXVI, Ach wie fluchtig, ach wie nichtig BWV 26 [Elkan-Vogel Inc. ]
-J.S. Bach / Leonidas Leonardi: Prelude and Fugue In E Minor "Cathedral", BWV 533 [Elkan-Vogel Inc. ]
-J.S. Bach / Leonidas Leonardi: Toccata & Fugue In D Minor, BWV 565 [Elkan-Vogel Inc. , c1936]
-J.S. Bach / Leonidas Leonardi : Chaconne for 9 solo instruments and orchestra [Elkan-Vogel Inc.]

-Dietrich Buxtehude / Leonidas Leonardi : Prelude BuxWV 142 In E minor [Fleisher Collection, 1935]
-Scheidt Samuel / Leonidas Leonardi : Cantiones sacrae, Vater unser im Himmelreich [Fleisher Collection]
-Rachmaninoff / Leonidas Leonardi : "Do Not Sing, My Beauty" in A Minor, Op.4 No4 [Breitkopf & Haertel, c1923]
-Rachmaninoff / Leonidas Leonardi : "Christ is Risen" in F Minor, Op. 26 No6 [Breitkopf & Haertel, c1923]
-Rachmaninoff / Leonidas Leonardi : "I Have Grown Fond of Sorrow" in G Minor, Op.8 No4 [Breitkopf & Haertel, c1923]
-Rachmaninoff / Leonidas Leonardi : "The Island" in G Major, Op. 14, No2 [Breitkopf & Haertel, c1923]
-Rachmaninoff / Leonidas Leonardi : "How Painful for Me" in G Minor, Op.21 No12 [Breitkopf & Haertel, c1923]
-Johann Nicholas Hanff / Leonidas Leonardi : Two chorale-preludes, for strings (Auf meinen liben Gott -- Ein' feste Burg) [Fleisher Collection, 1935]
-J.K. Vogler / Leonidas Leonardi : Jesu Leiden, Pein und Tod [Fleisher Collection]
-Johann Gottfried Walther / Leonidas Leonardi : Lobe den Herren, den machtigen Konig der Ehren [Fleisher Collection]
-Frescobaldi Girolamo / Leonidas Leonardi : Concerto in G Minor for Orchestra [Elkan-Vogel Inc.]
http://www.lucksmusic.com/cat-symph/showdetailMain.asp?CatalogNo=11743
http://www.lucksmusic.net/cat-symph/showdetailMain.asp?CatalogNo=08431

As far as I am concerned, *Fabien Sevitzky *has the following Orchestral Transcriptions :
http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Arran/OT-Sevitzky.htm

-J.S. Bach / Fabien Sevitzky : Aria (for string orchestra)
Instrumentation : str.

-J.S. Bach / Fabien Sevitzky : Chorale Prelude, "Herzlich Tut Mich Verlangen" [Carl Fischer Inc.]
Instrumentation : str.

-J.S. Bach / Fabien Sevitzky : Chorale Prelude, "Sleepers Awake"
Instrumentation : 2, 2+1, 2+1, 2+1 - 4,3,3,1 - timp,perc, - hp -str.

-J.S. Bach / Fabien Sevitzky : The Giant Fugue (Chorale Prelude : Wir All Glauben An Einen Gott)
Instrumentation : 2, 2+1, 2+1,2 - 4,3,3,1 - timp - str.

-J.S. Bach / Fabien Sevitzky : Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring (for string orchestra)
Instrumentation : str.

-J.S. Bach / Fabien Sevitzky : A Mighty Fortress is Our God
Instrumentation : 2, 2+1[Eb cl], 1, 1 - 0, 0, 0, 0 - hp - str.

-J.S. Bach / Fabien Sevitzky : Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor
Instrumentation : 2+1, 2+1, 2+1, 2+1 - 4, 3, 3, 2 -timp, perc -hp - str.

-J.S. Bach / Fabien Sevitzky : Prelude (from the Well-Tempered Clavichord) [Franco Colombo Publications]
Instrumentation : 2,3,3,2 - 4,3,3,1 -perc - str.

-J.S. Bach / Fabien Sevitzky : Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565
Instrumentation : 3[1.2.pic], 3[1.2.Eh], 3[1.2.bcl], 3[1.2.cbn], - 4,3,3,1 - tmp, perc, cel - hp - str.

-J.S. Bach / Fabien Sevitzky : Ye Are Not the Flesh (for chamber orchestra)
Instrumentation : str.

-W. Pogojeff / Fabien Sevitzky: Prelude [Fleisher Collection, 1929]
-Kreisler Fritz / Fabien Sevitzky: Prelude & Allegro in E Minor (In the style of Pugnani) [Fleisher Collection]
-Sgambati Giovanni / Fabien Sevitzky : Vecchio Minuetto [Boston Birchard, c1934]
-Handel / Fabien Sevitzky : Allegro, Sarabande & Gigue [ G. Ricordi, c1941]
-Handel / Fabien Sevitzky : Concerto for strings
-McCollin Frances / Fabien Sevitzky : All glory, laud and honor [Fleisher Collection]
-Fabien Sevitzky : Russian folk song for string orchestra [Fleisher Collection]
-Rimsky-Korsakov / Fabien Sevitzky : Flight of the Bumble-Bee (for string orchestra) [Carl Fischer, c1932]
-Glinka Mikhail / Favien Sevitzky : Kamarinskaja, fantasia on two Russian folk-songs [Carl Fischer, c1935]
-Galliard Johann Ernst / Fabien Sevitzky : Sonata for chamber orchestra [G. Ricordi, ©1941]
-Haydn Joseph / Fabien Sevitzky : Largo from Quartet Op. 76, No 5
-Wagner Richard / Fabien Sevitzky : The Ring of Nibelungen (Symphonic Suite) [Franco Colombo Publications]
-Borodin / Fabien Sevitzky : Chorus from "Prince Igor" (for string orchestra) [Carl Fischer Inc.]
-Brahms / Fabien Sevitzky : An eine Aeolsharfe, Op. 19 No 5 (for voice and strings)
-Brahms / Fabien Sevitzky : Sapphische Ode, Op. 94 No 4 (for voice and strings)
-Brahms / Fabien Sevitzky : Vergebliches Standchen Op. 84 No 4
-Brahms / Fabien Sevitzky : Von Ewiger Liebe Op. 43 No 1 (for voice and full orchestra)


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## Aggelos

Bach-Stokowski : "Wir glauben all' an einen Gott" 




In September 1972, Leopold Stokowski, then 90 years old, journeyed to Prague where he conducted the Czech Philharmonic in two concerts that featured several of his own Bach transcriptions. From these we hear his version of "We all believe in one God," originally a Chorale Prelude for organ that is also known as the 'Giant Fugue'. Stokowski continued conducting and making records for a further five years and died at the age of 95.

Handel "Water Music" - Leopold Stokowski's orchestration 




Stokowski's colourful edition of 8 movements from Handel's "Water Music" was recorded by the BBC Philharmonic under Matthias Bamert. We hear 5 numbers (Allegro; Bourree; Hornpipe; Andante; and a final Allegro). The superb oboe solo in the 'Andante' is played by Christopher Blake. (From a 'Chandos' CD.)

Stokowski's own Purcell "Suite" - Stokowski conducts 




For a 1954 TV programme, Stokowski conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra in his own "Suite" of music by Purcell: 
(a) Trumpet Tune 'The Cebell'
(b) Echo Pastorale 'The Fairy Queen'
(c) Hornpipe 'The Fairy Queen'
(d) When I am Laid in Earth 'Dido and Aeneas'
(e) Largo and Allegro 'The Fairy Queen'.

Bach / Lucien Cailliet : Little Fugue in G Minor, BWV 578




Arthur Fiedler conducts the Boston Pops Orchestra.


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## Aggelos

Mussorgsky "Pictures at an Exhibition" - 'The Old Castle' *(orch. Lawrence Leonard)*





Brahms-Sargent "Academic Festival Overture" - Andrew Davis conducts





Tchaikovsky "Barcarolle" - Morton Gould conducts




Tchaikovsky's "Barcarolle" from 'The Seasons' (also known as "June" from 'The Months') originally for piano solo, *is here arranged and conducted by Morton Gould* on an old RCA Camden stereo LP.

Corelli "Adagio" for Strings - Golschmann conducts 




The "Adagio" from Corelli's Violin Sonata, Op.5 No. 5, is here given *a sumptuous full string orchestra treatment by Amadeo de Filippi.* It comes from a 1945 78rpm recording made by Vladimir Golschmann and the St. Louis Symphony.





Finlandia, op. 26, No. 7, Composed by Jean Sibelius
*Arranged by Henry Sopkin*
Saratoga Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Mr. Scott Krijnen





Toccata, Composed by Girolamo Frescobaldi
*Transcribed for orchestra by Hans Kindler*
Saratoga Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Mr. Scott Krijnen

Smetana: "From My Life" (Polka) - George Szell's orchestration 




"From My Life" (Smetana's String Quartet in E minor) was orchestrated by George Szell in the 1940s. The 2nd movement heard here depicts Smetana's "merriment of youth and love of dance music." Geoffrey Simon and the London Symphony on Chandos.

*"The Stars and Stripes" Ballet Suite, the music of John Philip Sousa arranged by Hershy Kay.* The National Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by Henry Lewis. Decca Phase Four LP from 1976.









Ouvertüre "1812", op. 49 (Finale)
Cathedral Choir and Children's Choir of St. Ambrose
Central Band of the Royal Air Force
Guns of the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery
Russian Church Bells
New Philharmonia Orchestra
Igor Buketoff




Igor Buketoff (1915-2001) created an arrangement of 1812 Overture sometime around 1960, in which he incorporated choral forces to sing the words to these tunes. So, we hear the opening sung a cappella (instead of being played by the strings, per Tchaikovsky's score), and the addition of the choir in the finale.


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## Aggelos

J.S. Bach / Lucien Cailliet : Toccata and Fugue in D Minor BWV 565




2011 New World Youth Symphony Orchestra end of the year concert at the Hilbert Circle Theatre in Indianapolis, Indiana. Sorry, the recording started a few seconds in. Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, Arranged by Lucien Cailliet. Conductor: Mrs. Susan Kitterman
http://www.lucksmusic.com/catdetailview_symph.asp?CatalogNo=12141

"The Volga Boat Song" - Sir Henry Wood conducts (orch. Henry Wood)




Sir Henry Wood, founder of the Proms in London, conducts his Symphony Orchestra in his own arrangement of this traditional Russian folksong. From a 78rpm disc made in 1930.

"Right Away!" Polka - Sargent conducts (orch. Walter Goehr)




Eduard Strauss's "Right Away!" Polka, in an orchestration by Walter Goehr, is heard here in a 78rpm recording made in 1944 by Dr. (later Sir) Malcolm Sargent and the Liverpool Philharmonic.


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## Aggelos

Frescobaldi / Hans Kindler : Toccata "In the Style of Frescobaldi"





In 1925, the cellist Gaspar Cassado published what purported to be a cello-and-piano arrangement of a 'Toccata' by Frescobaldi. However, as Cassado's Wikipedia biography points out, he was the author of "several musical hoaxes" and this was one of them. It was in fact his own composition. He had simply taken his cue from Fritz Kreisler, who had played works supposedly by Vivaldi, Tartini and others that he himself had written in their style. *Another famous cellist, Hans Kindler, took up conducting and made an orchestral version of this piece*. He was unaware that it was by Cassado, who never owned up to his hoaxes (unlike Kreisler) so Frescobaldi's name appeared on his score. The splendid recording Kindler made of this music dates from 1940 and is heard here on a Biddulph CD (WHL 063)

Mussorgsky "Night on Bald Mountain" - Sir Adrian Boult conducts





Sir Adrian Boult made only one recording of any of Mussorgsky's music: this 1960 performance of "Night on Bald Mountain" for Reader's Digest. Its producer, Charles Gerhardt, 'tarted up' the Rimsky-Korsakov score with a few ideas of his own, notably in the percussion (added side-drums, cymbal crashes and gong strokes) as well as deleting the recurring brass 'fanfare' motifs familiar in the Rimsky edition. Sir Adrian seems to have enjoyed letting his hair down, what little of it there was!. (Chesky CD 53.)

Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 - Hans Kindler conducts





*Hans Kindler conducts his own orchestration of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 *"Carnival in Pest" in a recording he made with the National Symphony Orchestra in 1945. Dutch-born Kindler had begun his musical career as a cellist but later took up conducting and founded the NSO in 1931. This is the only recording yet made of his own arrangement of the Liszt piano piece. (From Biddulph CD WHL 063)


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## Aggelos

Bach's Fugue in G minor (the "Little" or "Shorter" Fugue for organ) was orchestrated by Leopold Stokowski and is here played by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Jose Serebrier, his one-time Assistant Conductor. (From a 'Naxos' CD).





Astor Piazzolla's "Libertango" is one of his best known numbers. It is played here by the 24 members of The London Cello Sound, plus rhythm section, under the direction of Geoffrey Simon. (Cala CACD0109).





The "Nocturne" from Borodin's String Quartet No. 2 in D *is played here in an unfamiliar but evocative orchestration by Nikolai Tcherepnin.* The Philharmonia Orchestra is conducted on this 1959 'Russian Concert Favourites' LP by Anatole Fistoulari (SXLP 30119).





This bravura toe-tapping showpiece was discovered after Louis Gottschalk's death in 1869 in versions for piano solo and for piano duo. *It is heard here in Hershy Kay's exhilarating orchestration* in which Reid Nibley is accompanied by the Utah Symphony under Maurice Abravanel. (Vanguard Classics CD 08 4051 71).





Cyril Scott's famous piano piece "Lotus Land" is heard here* in an orchestral version played by the New York Philharmonic under Andre Kostelanetz*. It comes from a 1950s Columbia LP entitled 'Grand Tour' (CL 981).


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## jdavid

I have heard a televised broadcast of the Op. 131 transcribed for string orchestra - some time ago, however, I do not believe it was Bernstein.


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## Aggelos

Mussorgsky-Stokowski "A Night on Bare Mountain" - Jose Serebrier conducts




Leopold Stokowski's version of "A Night on Bare Mountain" was featured in Walt Disney's 'Fantasia.' It is played here by the National Youth Orchestra of Spain under Jose Serebrier, former Associate Conductor to Stokowski. It comes from a concert that was filmed in Chester Cathedral in 2007 and released on Naxos DVD 2.110230.

Bach: Toccata in F major (orch. Esser) - Albert Coates conducts




*Bach's Toccata in F major for organ (BWV 540) was orchestrated in 1859 by Heinrich Esse*r (1818-1872). For a performance at the Three Choirs Festival in 1908, Sir Edward Elgar supplied a new concert ending to the piece. This recording was made in 1932 by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Albert Coates. (From 'Biddulph' CD BID 83069/70.)

Sibelius "Berceuse" from 'The Tempest' - Charles Gerhardt conducts




This miniature masterpiece comes from Sibelius's Incidental Music to a 1926 production of Shakespeare's ''The Tempest' and is played by the National Philharmonic under the direction of the record producer / conductor / arranger Charles Gerhardt (from a 'Menuet' CD entitled "Romantic Favorites").

Vivaldi: Concerto Grosso in D minor - Stokowski's Symphonic Transcription




Vivaldi's Concerto Grosso in D minor, originally for strings and harpsichord, *was transcribed by Leopold Stokowski for a huge symphony orchestra. The instrumentation required is as follow*s: 2 flutes; piccolo; 2 oboes; cor anglais; 2 clarinets; bass clarinet; 2 bassoons; contra-bassoon; 5 horns; 4 trumpets; 4 trombones; 2 tubas; tam-tam; harp; timpani; and strings. In this spectacular recording (purists beware!) the BBC Philharmonic is conducted by Matthias Bamert, a one-time assistant conductor to Stokowski. There are three movements: (i) Allegro; (ii) Largo (featuring a superb duet for flute and oboe); and (iii) Allegro. (From a 'Chandos' CD

Mussorgsky-Wood "The Great Gate of Kiev" - Leonard Slatkin conducts




In the 1991 BBC Proms season at the Royal Albert Hall, Leonard Slatkin devised a version of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" in which each 'picture' and 'promenade' was by arranged by a different orchestrator (Ravel, Stokowski, Ashkenazy, Tushmalov, Leonidas Leonardi, Gortchakov, etc.). *The sequence concluded with Ravel's version of "The Great Gate of Kiev" but as an encore, Slatkin and the Philharmonia Orchestra played it again in the arrangement by Sir Henry Wood, founder of the Proms*.

Purcell-Stokowski "Dido's Lament" - Andrew Davis conducts




*Leopold Stokowski's string orchestra version of "Dido's Lament"* ("When I am Laid in Earth" from Henry Purcell's 'Dido and Aeneas') was played at the Last Night of the 1995 Proms by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Andrew Davis in London's Royal Albert Hall.

Chopin "Grande Valse Brillante" - Britten's orchestration




Benjamin Britten spent the early years of World War II in America and to make ends meet accepted a number of commissions. One of these was a new version of "Les Sylphides" for the Ballet Theatre in New York. *Britten's sequence of orchestrated Chopin piano pieces (Preludes, Nocturnes, Mazurkas, etc.) concludes with the "Grande Valse Brillante" heard here.* It comes from an early 1950s LP by the Ballet Theatre Orchestra under Joseph Levine in what seems to be the only recording yet made of Britten's scoring


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## Aggelos

"Greensleeves" - Rene Leibowitz conducts





"Greensleeves" is best-known in Vaughan Williams's version but here *it is beautifully arranged for strings and harp by Rene Leibowitz.* He conducts the New Symphony Orchestra of London on a Readers Digest "Concert Favourites" LP.

Bach "Italian Concerto" - Orchestral Version




Bach's "Italian Concerto" in F major (BWV 971) is usually played on the harpsichord or piano. However, in 1936, *Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt recorded a delightful orchestral version with the Berlin Philharmonic.* Those old 78s (heard here) seem to be the only recording of the work in full orchestral form, as opposed to a smaller arrangement for chamber group. This particular version was made by the conductor himself. (From Biddulph BID 83069/70)

Sousa "The Stars and Stripes Forever" - Stokowski conducts




John Philip Sousa's military band march "The Stars and Stripes Forever"* is here given the full symphonic treatment by Leopold Stokowski in his own brilliant orchestration*. He was already in his 90s when he made this recording with the National Philharmonic, a specially assembled orchestra of top-flight London musicians, and it comes from the 'EMI Classics' CD "Stokowski Showcase."

Bach-Elgar: Fantasia and Fugue in C minor - Elgar conducts




The "Fantasia" from this 1926 recording has already been uploaded here on its own. A comment underneath that upload asks "Where is the Fugue?" so the transcription is now presented here in its entirety. Sir Edward Elgar conducts the Royal Albert Hall Orchestra on this historic recording. (From a 'Biddulph' CD).

Pierne "March of the Little Fauns" - Ormandy conducts




This jaunty little piece comes from Gabriel Pierne's ballet "Cydalise and the Satyr" (1923) and is played by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy.


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## SixFootScowl

Aggelos said:


> http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/June01/Mussorgsky_Pictures.htm


Thanks to your post above, I just ordered a used copy of the Pictures as a piano concerto. I have a really nice one by the Shostakovich Trio:

Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky, arranged for piano trio by Grigory Gruzman. LIVE recording with the Shostakovich Trio: Mikhail Bezverkhny (violin), Misha Kats (cello) und Grigory Gruzman (piano). Listen here:


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## Aggelos

TallPaul said:


> Thanks to your post above, I just ordered a used copy of the Pictures as a piano concerto.


Wise decision! Although the Cale CDs are under-appreciated, the present unique content...

Novacek "Moto Perpetuo" - Douglas Gamley conducts




Ottokar Novacek's "Moto Perpetuo" (or "Perpetuum Mobile") for Violin is his most famous piece. *It is heard here in an orchestration by Douglas Gamle*y who conducts the Sinfonia of London on this 'Vocalion' CD.

Novacek "Perpetuum Mobile" - Stokowski conducts




Ottokar Novacek (1866-1900) was a Hungarian violinist and composer whose "Perpetuum Mobile" (or "Moto Perpetuo") is his most famous violin piece. Stokowski described it as " a kind of 'etude' which has a dark, sometimes sinister, but always very imaginative quality." *On this 1976 recording, made when he was 94 years old, Stokowski conducts the National Philharmonic in his own arrangement.* (From a 'Cala' CD.)

Bach-Stokowski "Air on the G String" - Serebrier conducts




Here's another sublime Stokowski arrangement - the "Air on the G String" (the 'Aria' from Bach's 3rd Orchestral Suite) superbly played by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Jose Serebrier, a former Associate Conductor to Stokowski (from a 'Naxos' CD).


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## mleghorn

I really like the orchestral version of Brahms' Intermezzo Op. 118 #2 -- which is called "The Black Swan". You can get it on Naxos, with Gerhard Schwartz and the Seattle Symphony. This orchestral rendering is breathtakingly beautiful.


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## Aggelos

This Gavotte comes from the Sonata No. 6 in E major for Solo Violin. *It was transcribed for full string orchestra by Sir Henry Wood* and recorded in the 1950s by George Weldon and the London Symphony Orchestra on a Columbia LP (33SX1045).





For the 1895 revival of "Swan Lake," composer/conductor Riccardo Drigo interpolated several new dances into the score. These were his own orchestrations of several charming Tchaikovsky piano pieces. The "Valse-Bluette" is one of them and it is played here by the Chicago Symphony under Morton Gould.





This is one of 24 works for Violin and Piano in Cesar Cui's "Kaleidoscope" collection. *It is heard here in the sumptuous arrangement by Carmen Dragon*, who conducts the Capitol Symphony Orchestra on this 1950s "Full Dimensional Stereo Sound" LP.





Many musicians have arranged the music for the ballet "Les Sylphides" and *in 1962 Sir Malcolm Sargent followed in their footsteps by making his own orchestrations of the various Chopin piano pieces which make up the score*. After conducting his own version at Covent Garden that year he immediately made this recording. *From it we hear the final two numbers: the Waltz in C sharp minor and the 'Grande Valse Brillante' in E flat major*





Leopold Stokowski conducts the National Philharmonic in Saint-Saens's "Danse Macabre." The recording was made in 1975 with a specially constituted recording orchestra of top London players and freelance session musicians. Several months earlier, Stokowski had celebrated his 93rd birthday. The violin solo was played by Sydney Sax.(From an EMI Classics CD.)

Paganini "Moto Perpetuo" (arr. Stock) - Martinon conducts - YouTube
*Paganini's "Moto Perpetuo" for Violin was orchestrated by Frederick Stock,* conductor of the Chicago Symphony from 1905 to 1942. They play it here under Jean Martinon, their music director from 1963 to 1968, in a recording made in 1966. Note Stock's clever quotations from Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony in this brilliant arrangement.

Revueltas "Sensemaya" (First Recording) - Stokowski conducts - YouTube
Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940) was a Mexican composer whose most famous piece is "Sensemaya", a tone-pone depicting the ritual killing of a tropical snake. This vivid miniature tone-poem received its first recording in 1947 with Leopold Stokowski conducting his Symphony Orchestra. (An RCA 78rpm disc).

Mussorgsky "Pictures at an Exhibition" - Mikhail Tushmalov's orchestration (1891) - YouTube
*This was the first orchestration of "Pictures at an Exhibition" and was made by Mikhail Tushmalov, a pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov*. It was not absolutely complete, since it omitted all but the first of the 'Promenades' as well as several of the 'Pictures'. The ones that remain are 'The Old Castle', 'Ballet of the Chicks', 'Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle', 'Market Place in Limoges', 'The Catacombs', 'Baba Yaga' and 'The Great Gate of Kiev'.This version was given its first performance in 1891 with Rimsky-Korsakov conducting. Its only recording to date has been by the Munich Philharmonic under Marc Andrae on the BASF label.

Rachmaninov "Vocalise" - Norman Luboff Choir; Stokowski conducting - YouTube
In this haunting version of Rachmaninov's "Vocalise," the wordless female chorus of the Norman Luboff Choir is accompanied by the New Symphony Orchestra of London under Leopold Stokowski. The orchestral accompaniment was arranged by Walter Stott (he was called Wally Stott in the 1950s 'Goon Show' days on the radio) but after a visit to Scandinavia for a delicate operation in the 1970s he became Angela Morley. (From an RCA / BMG recording made in 1960).

Bach "Wir glauben all' an einen Gott" - Stokowski's wind band arrangement - YouTube
Stokowski made several Bach arrangements for wind band, including the Chorale-Prelude "Wir glauben all' an einen Gott." It is played here by the United States Marine Band and comes from a concert given in Cincinnati in 1998, Timothy W. Foley conducting.

Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (arr. Sidney Torch) - Barry Wordsworth conducts - YouTube
This well-known piano piece here receives what is probably its most over-the-top orchestral arrangement. Sidney Torch (1908-1990) was a British pianist, conductor, arranger and composer of light music. He was particularly associated with the BBC Concert Orchestra and it is they who play this dazzling version of Liszt's famous Rhapsody under Barry Wordsworth's baton. (From a Carlton Classics CD made in 1995.)

Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor - Camarata's orchestration - YouTube
This version of Bach's famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor starts off with the organ, played by Leslie Pearson, but when the orchestra comes in the arrangement owes quite a lot to Stokowski's transcription.* It was made and conducted by Tutti Camarata (1913-2005) who began his musical career as a jazz trumpeter in New York*. After World War II he became a composer and record producer. During the 1960s and '70s he arranged and conducted a number of Decca/London popular classical LPs in 'Phase 4 Stereo' with the Kingsway Symphony Orchestra, so called because it was an 'ad hoc' band of top London musicians which recorded in the famous Kingsway Hall.

Pablo Casals (arr. Stokowski) "O Vos Omnes" - Philip Jones Brass Ensemble - YouTube
O Vos Omnes," part of the Roman Catholic Liturgy for Holy Week, was set for mixed choir by Pablo Casals in 1932. *Leopold Stokowski arranged it for brass* and it received its only recording (so far) by the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble on an Argo LP in 1979.

Liszt (arr. Gamley): Etude de Concert No. 3 - Abbey Simon, piano - YouTube
In this version of Liszt's Concert Study in D flat, *Douglas Gamley supplied an orchestral accompaniment to the piano original.* The solo part is played by Abbey Simon, with Gamley himself conducting the Sinfonia of London on a 1958 stereo Columbia LP entitled "Philharmonic Pops."

Handel (arr. Stokowski) "Pastoral Symphony" ('Messiah') - Serebrier conducts - YouTube
Leopold Stokowski eloquently arranged the "Pastoral Symphony" (or "Shepherds Christmas Music") from Handel's 'Messiah' for woodwinds and strings. It is beautifully played by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, conductor Jose Serebrier, on a Naxos CD devoted to Stokowski Transcriptions.

Bach-Stokowski: Toccata and Fugue in D minor - Sir Andrew Davis conducts - YouTube
*Leopold Stokowski's orchestral transcription of Bach's Toccata and Fugue for organ is probably the most famous of all Bach arrangements.* It was splendidly played at the First Night of the 2000 Proms in London's Royal Albert Hall by the BBC Symphony Orchestra. For this performance, Sir Andrew Davis followed in Stokowski's footsteps by conducting without a baton. As will be seen, he clearly enjoyed the experience.

Stokowski "Traditional Slavic Christmas Music" - Serebrier conducts - YouTube
In his own notes to this recording, Jose Serebrier writes: "Stokowski's own 'Traditional Slavic Christmas Music' is based on Ippolitov-Ivanov's 'In a Manger' which in turn is based on a traditional Christmas hymn. Stokowski's orchestration, which he first performed in 1933, interpolates string and brass choirs (no woodwinds in this score) and has a certain magic, and not suprisingly, an organ-like quality." (From a Naxos CD).

Bach (arr. Vaughan Williams) "Giant" Fugue - Leonard Slatkin conducts - YouTube
*Ralph Vaughan Williams arranged Bach's "Giant" Fugue (otherwise known as the Chorale Prelude "Wir glauben all' an einen Gott") for string*s. A former pupil of his, Arnold Foster, Music Master of Westminster School, simplified the string writing so as to make it easier for his students to play and received a co-credit on the score. Leonard Slatkin conducts the BBC Philharmonic in this splendid 1999 Chandos recording.

Mussorgsky "A Night on the Bare Mountain" (Choral Version) - Rozhdestvensky conducts - YouTube
This version of "A Night on the Bare Mountain" comes from Mussorgsky's unfinished opera "The Fair at Sorochyntsi" (or "Sorochintsy Fair"). In the opera, it was intended as a dream sequence which incorporated parts for a solo baritone (sung here by David Wilson Johnson) and chorus (the BBC Singers and BBC Symphony Chorus). This performance comes from a Proms concert given in the Royal Albert Hall in 1981. It is sung in English, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gennadi Rozhdestvensky. Rimsky-Korsakov based his own purely orchestral edition of "Night on Bald Mountain" on this version of Mussorgsky's music. (A BBC Radio Classics CD.)

Mussorgsky "Night on the Bare Mountain" - Original Version - YouTube
The familiar version of "Night on the Bare Mountain" is the work of Rimsky-Korsakov, who not only shortened Mussorgsky's original score but also re-orchestrated it, added passages of his own, changed the harmonies, and largely re-composed the whole work. Mussorgsky's own orchestral composition was never played in his lifetime, though he also made a choral version for interpolation in his opera "Sorochintsy Fair" (recently uploaded). We hear now the first recording of Mussorgsky's original score in a performance by the London Philharmonic conducted by David Lloyd-Jones on a 1971 Philips LP. The sleeve notes state that the title on the manuscript is "St. John's Night on the Bare Mountain" and that there are four sections to the music: (i) Assembly of the Witches; (ii) Satan's Journey; (iii) Black Mass; (iv) Sabbath.

Handel "Love in Bath" - Beecham conducts - YouTube
In 1945, Sir Thomas Beecham introduced a 45-minute 'Balletic Entertainment' he'd devised which was set in 18th century Bath. *The score features his own delightful arrangements of assorted arias, choruses and dances in Handel's operas*. We hear two numbers - a Hornpipe, which ends with a flourish of 'Rule Britannia', and the ballet's Finale in which Handel's famous 'Largo' makes an appearance. This Seraphim LP dates from 1959.

Carl Stix "Playful Game" - Kostelanetz conducts - YouTube
The notes to this 1970 Columbia LP states: "Carl Stix is one of the mystery men of music. He appears in no extant music encyclopedias in any accessible language. He was probably German. *The rest is silence - except for a few delightful works such as the 'Spielerei' recorded here in all it pizzicato charm, as arranged by Eugene Ormandy*." Googling reveals that this seems to have been the only piece by Stix ever published (it was his Opus 140!) though another composition, the Intermezzo from his 'Dream Visions', was recorded twice on old 78rpm discs by the Florentine Quartet. His 'Spielerei' (also known as 'Child's Play') now makes its You Tube debut!

Fibich "Poeme" ('My Moonlight Madonna') - Kostelanetz conducts - YouTube
Fibich's "Poeme" provided the melody for the popular 1930s song "My Moonlight Madonna." *Andre Kostelanetz conducts his own orchestral version of the original* on this old Columbia LP (with apologies for the ticks and scratches!)

Mussorgsky-Stokowski "A Night on Bare Mountain" - YouTube
Leopold Stokowski recorded his own version of "A Night on Bare Mountain" several times. This recording (on a Cala CD) dates from 1953 and is played by a specially-selected orchestra of New York musicians, including many from the New York Philharmonic. *Stokowski based his orchestration on Rimsky-Korsakov's edition of the score and used it in Walt Disney's "Fantasia" (1940).* In addition to Mussorgsky's own original orchestral and choral versions, *this piece has also been edited or arranged by Rene Leibowitz (and recorded by him) as well as Charles Gerhardt (his version was recorded by Sir Adrian Boult) and several others, including Gottfried von Einem and Henry Sopkin*.

Rossini-Respighi "La Boutique Fantasque" - Sargent conducts - YouTube
*Respighi selected and orchestrated an assortment of Rossini piano pieces for Diaghilev's production of the ballet "La Boutique Fantasque" ("The Magic Toy Shop") in 1919*. Sir Malcolm Sargent arranged and edited his own Concert Suite from the complete ballet score and we hear four numbers from the recording he made with the Royal Philharmonic on an LP first issued in 1962.

Percy Grainger "Country Gardens" - Carmen Dragon conducts - YouTube
*This delightful arrangement by Carmen Dragon of one of Percy Grainger's most popular pieces* comes from a stereo LP entitled "Invitation to the Dance" issued in 1959. The orchestra is the Capitol Symphony.


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## moody

Aggelos said:


> I must admit that Mussorgsky-Ravel "Pictures" is a masterly work, but in the same time it is getting ridiculous already with the hundreds of existing recordings and the thousands of concerts for that work!...
> I mean it is time we had ourselves introduced to other people's ideas for "Pictures at an Exhibition"!
> Please for Christ's sake!
> 
> In the meantime, I am still waiting for this CD to arrive, in order to listen to Ravel's orchestrations for Chabrier & Schumann


Stokowski did it and so did Henry Wood, maybe you got this above I really can't be bothered to study a whole lot of sleeves. But in any case I've always preferred the original piano version, Ravel's orchestration is very exciting and very expert but it's Ravel.


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## moody

Aggelos said:


> The Bach organ works, such as the Toccata & Fugue and Passacaglia & Fugue, have many possibilities hence the existence of so many orchestral transcriptions
> 
> Borodin / Stokowski : Requiem


You mention Fabien Sevitzky, of course his real name was Fabien Koussevitzky but to avoid confusion with his uncle Serge the great conductor of the Boston Symphony he altered it.He too was a double bass player and later became a distinguished conductor in the USA. He always included a work by an American composer in all his concerts.


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## moody

1648 said:


> Zero, though that's not much of an issue for me - I prefer Wilkinson's engineering to just about any modern digital recording.


 I prefer analogue sound to any digital engineering,


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## moody

Aggelos said:


> Greetings my fellow forum members.
> 
> I would like to created a thread in which we can talk about anything that has to do with orchestrations, symphonic transcriptions and orchestral arrangements.
> It's hard and painful to track down albums that have symphonic transcrisptions, thus a thread where people post their precious knownledge will be helpful to all of us.
> 
> We can talk about rarities and curiosities, about orchestrations that you have heard and suprised you, about orchestral transcriptions that turn out to be satisfying, about rare CDs that feature majestic symphonic transcriptions, et cetera...
> 
> Allow me to start with a rare, an "unprocurable" gem.
> http://www.lyrita.co.uk/cgi-bin/lyrita_build.pl?filename=SRCD0216.txt


Did you really mean that it's unprocurable, because it is available in the UK through Presto.


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## moody

I noted the von Otter schubert song transcriptions recordings. Hermann Prey made two LP's for RCA in 1977/8 with the conductor Gary Bertini. I must say that I prefer a man in most of these songs, as wonderful as Ms. von Otter always is. transcriptions by Liszt, Brahms, Reger, Berlioz, Offenbach, Felix Mottl, Webern, Britten, Felix Weingartner. They are an eye opener (ear opener) and should be reissued if they haven't been. Erlkonig done by Liszt and Berlioz !!

From the sublime to the ridiculous, Arthur Fiedler with his Boston Pops recorded a whole bunch of Beatles' songs brilliantly plus "Consider Yourself (Bart) and "Those Were the Days" (Raskin), I've always loved this.Much better than listening to the veritable boys themselves.

Morton Gould and his orchestra played his transcriptions of Kurt Weill songs on an RCA LP ,one side titled New York ,the other Berlin--this side is really sleazy and has that Chistopher Isherwood and also "Cabaret" feeling, superb.

You included Stokowski's 1975 "Danse Macabre" , surely that is not a transcription, but it is the best version.
He arr. The Stars and Stripes , he made a Boris Godunov synthesis ,also Tristan und Isolde love music acts 2 and 3.

Tchaikovsky transcribed two composers' music to make Mozartiana and Rossiniana, he also orchestrated his The Seasons piano suite--Oh,Oh, no he didn't Alexander Gauk did .( I hope the great Tchaikovsky champion isn't looking in)
Yuri Turovsky transcribed his String Quartet No.1, Op.11.

Berio did The Art of Fugue and Boccherinni's " Ritirate Notturna Di Madrid",Brahn's Clarinet Sonata No,1, Mozart Variations on " Ein Madchen Oder Weibchen " (didn't everybody?) and Purcell's Hornpipe !!?


Dutch composer Henk De Vlieger made orchestral arrangements of "Die Meistersinger", "Tristan und Isolde", "Parsifal" and " The Ring". Neeme Jarvi--Chandos.

Grant Hossack's ballet "The Prodigal Son" is based on Scott Joplin's music .


Hershey Kay's ballet "Cakewalk" based on Gottschalk's music, also his ballet "Tarantella " based on Gottschalk's Grand Tarantella For Piano and Orchestra, " Stars and Stripes" based on Souza's music.

Gottshalk orchestrated his own Fantasy On the Brazillian National Hymn for piano and orchestra for orch. alone.


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## Aggelos

moody said:


> You mention Fabien Sevitzky, of course his real name was Fabien Koussevitzky but to avoid confusion with his uncle Serge the great conductor of the Boston Symphony he altered it.He too was a double bass player and later became a distinguished conductor in the USA. He always included a work by an American composer in all his concerts.


Bro, I need Fabien Sevitzky orchestral transcriptions! Someone has to record them in digital glory!
And Leonidas Leonardi. I love these dudes!:tiphat:


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## Aggelos

Mussorgsky / Peter Breiner : Bydlo





Ippolitov-Ivanov / Stokowski : In a Manger




Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov (1859-1935) arranged an old Russian carol for choir and piano and this in turn was orchestrated for brass and strings by Leopold Stokowski. He published it as 'Traditional Slavic Christmas Music,' though for the recording made by Matthias Bamert, his one-time Assistant Conductor, the carol's title was reinstated. We hear the strings and brass of the BBC Philharmonic in this recording by Chandos.

Bless This House' - Carmen Dragon conducts




This celebrated song, with words by Helen Taylor and music by May Brahe, dates from 1927. In this 1959 recording, made in EMI's Abbey Road Studio 1, London, Carmen Dragon conducts the Royal Philharmonic in his own purely orchestral arrangement. Presumably for contractual reasons, the orchestra was designated the Capitol Symphony, since it was on the 'Capitol' label that the LP was originally released. (With all due acknowledgements to the 'Angel' CD entitled 'America the Beautiful' from which this track comes.)

Mussorgsky "Capriccio" ('Pictures from the Crimea') - Geoffrey Simon conducts




The 'Pictures from the Crimea' are three of Mussorgsky's piano pieces as orchestrated by Walter Goehr. The third of them, the "Capriccio" heard here, is one of two 'Reminiscences' of a visit that Mussorgsky made to the Crimea region of Southern Russia in 1879. In this colourful recording, Geoffrey Simon conducts the Philharmonia (With all due acknowledgements to Cala Records.)

Shostakovich "Tea for Two" ('Tahiti Trot') - Sinaisky conducts




After Shostakovich and Nikolai Malko had listened to an old 78rpm disc of Vincent Youman's "Tea for Two" in 1927, Malko bet Dmitri 100 roubles that he couldn't come up with an orchestration of the song, entirely from memory, in less than an hour. Shostakovich went into the next room and returned 45 minutes later, having made his own orchestration, and duly won the bet. In its new guise, the piece was called 'Tahiti Trot' and here it is, as played at the 1997 Proms by the BBC Philharmonic under Vassily Sinaisky.

Rimsky-Korsakov 'Flight of the Bumble Bee' - George Malcolm, harpsichord; Sinfonia of London 




Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Flight of the Bumble Bee' comes from his opera "Tsar Saltan." It is played here in an arrangement by Don Banks, with George Malcolm on the harpsichord and the Sinfonia of London conducted by Robert Irving. (From a 1958 HMV LP entitled "Philharmonic Pops.")

Sousa-Stokowski 'Stars and Stripes Forever' - Wayne Marshall conducts 




Stokowski's rousing orchestration of Sousa's most celebrated march was the last item on an all-American programme given in 2000 by the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Wayne Marshall.

Mussorgsky 'Night on Bare Mountain' - Gottfried von Einem's edition 





Mussorgsky's 'A Night on the Bare Mountain' exists in several versions. There's the composer's own original orchestral score, as well as the choral version he used in his opera 'Sorochintsy Fair.' Rimsky-Korsakov's edition has been the most widely played and recorded over the years, with Stokowski's version, familiar from Walt Disney's "Fantasia," being a close runner-up. Rene Leibowitz made his own arrangement with a completely new ending, while Charles Gerhardt heavily edited the Rimsky score and engaged Sir Adrian Boult to record his arrangement for Reader's Digest. All these different versions are on You Tube.

The edition heard here, prepared by the Austrian composer Gottfried von Einem (1918-1996) "offers an alternative working of material that had undergone a number of changes at the hands of its original composer, and had, therefore, been left in some final disorder." (From the notes to the Marco Polo CD on which Alfred Walter conducts the North German Radio Orchestra, the Mussorgsky track being uploaded here with all due acknowledgements.) It starts off in a familiar vein, using the Rimsky score as its basis, but towards the end Gottfried von Einem's imagination takes over ... and we don't get the usual quiet ending!

Bach-Stokowski 'Mein Jesu' - Tortelier conducts 




Stokowski's arrangement for strings of Bach's song 'Mein Jesu' sounds particularly beautiful in this performance, due to the acoustics where it was played. It was recorded in Liverpool Cathedral by the strings of the BBC Philharmonic under Yan Pascal Tortelier in July 1993 and broadcast the following December. It is one of Stokowski's simplest yet most affecting transcriptions.

Duparc "Extase" - Stokowski conducts 




Stokowski's catalogue of orchestral transcriptions of works originally written for other mediums runs to about 200 titles. One of these arrangements is of a song for voice and piano by Henri Duparc entitled "Extase." This performance dates from 1972 and is played by the London Symphony Orchestra under the 90-year-old Stokowski on a Cala CD of French music.
On your pale breast my heart is sleeping
In a slumber sweet like death
Exquisite death, death perfumed
By the breath of my beloved
On your pale breast my heart is sleeping

Purcell 'Dido and Aeneas' Suite - Ormandy conducts




Purcell's opera "Dido and Aeneas" provided music for a sumptuous Orchestral Suite arranged in 1939 by Lucien Cailliet, a distinguished woodwind player in the Philadelphia Orchestra as well as its resident 'house arranger.' Cailliet's Suite was recorded on 78s that year under Eugene Ormandy's direction, so the sound is very historic indeed. In addition, the playing style is totally unlike what we hear today in 'authentic performances' of baroque music on ancient instruments, so please be warned! Even so, some listeners may think it is worth resurrecting here. The Suite begins with the opera's Overture (a Lento followed by an Allegro moderato) and concludes with 'When I am laid in Earth' at about 10:40.

Weber orch. Weingartner 'Invitation to the Dance' - Susskind conducts 




Weber's 'Invitation to the Dance,' originally for solo piano, is best known in an orchestration by Berlioz. However, the conductor Felix Weingartner made an even more colourful arrangement in which the two main themes are frequently combined in counterpoint. Weingartner's own 78s of it are uploaded on You Tube but here is a splendidly vivid 1960s stereo recording made by the Bournemouth Symphony under Walter Susskind. This music was used for the ballet "Le Spectre de la Rose" in which a young girl, asleep in a chair and cradling a rose, imagines that it comes to life in the form of a virile young man who leaps in through her open window and dances with her while she dreams. Stills of various dancers are used, including Nijinsky, who created the Rose.

Rachmaninov orch. Sir Henry Wood: Prelude in C-sharp minor 




Sir Henry Wood was an inveterate transcriber of piano works and his orchestration of Rachmaninov's most famous Prelude dates from 1913. The splendid recording heard here was made by the London Philharmonic conducted by Nicholas Braithwaite. 





Purcell "Hornpipe" from 'King Arthur' (arr. Herbage) - Stokowski conducts




Julian Herbage was an English musicologist with special interest in 17th & 18th century music from which he prepared many suites and editions of his own. He also presented 'Music Magazine' on BBC radio and during the early 1950s invited Stokowski to appear on the programme. The Maestro repaid the compliment by recording for an early Capitol stereo LP this little "Hornpipe" from Herbage's string orchestra Suite of Music from Purcell's opera 'King Arthur.'

Two Dutch Tunes of the 16th Century - Kindler conducts 




The Dutch virtuoso cellist Hans Kindler abandoned the cello for a conducting career after the First World War and in 1931 founded the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, D.C. For his debut concert with them he played three 16th Century Dutch Tunes which he'd orchestrated. Ten years later he recorded two of them: "In Times of Stress" and "See How Strong This Struggling Nation." This old 1941 78rpm disc was re-released some years ago, along with others from the same period (their copyright having long expired) on a Biddulph CD, in transfers by Mark Obert-Thorn (WHL 063).

Bach orch. Cailliet "Little" Fugue - Fiedler conducts 




Bach's "Little" Fugue in G minor was orchestrated by Lucien Cailliet (1891-1985), a woodwind player and 'house arranger' for the Philadelphia Orchestra as well as being a conductor and composer in his own right. He made a great many arrangements, including one of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" commissioned in 1937 by Eugene Ormandy. The Bach transcription heard here is brilliantly played by the Boston Pops under Arthur Fielder and comes from an RCA CD of other Bach works.

Debussy "La Cathedrale Engloutie" ('The Engulfed Cathedral') - Sir Henry Wood's orchestration 




Sir Henry Wood's transcription of Debussy's famous piano prelude dates from 1919 when he first introduced it at one of the Proms Concerts which still bear his name today. His scoring requires a large orchestra that includes a gong, tubular and mushroom bells, two harps and organ. Wood made his version as a memorial tribute to Debussy who had died the previous year. (From a 'Lyrita' CD on which Nicholas Braithwaite conducts the London Philharmonic.)

Rachmaninoff "Tarantella" (Suite No. 2) arr. for Piano and Orchestra 




This "Tarantella" comes from what might be called Rachmaninoff's 5th Piano Concerto! In its original form it is the Suite No. 2 for Two Pianos but we hear it in a transcription for Solo Piano and Orchestra. This arrangement was made by Lee Hoiby (1926-2011) and recorded by him in 1968 with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lawrence Foster. (From a 'Desto' LP; also reissued on a 'Citadel CD'.)


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## Aggelos

Tchaikovsky-Stokowski "Solitude" ('Again, as before, alone') 




Stokowski so liked Tchaikovsky's last song 'Again, as before, alone,' that he transcribed it for symphony orchestra and made several recordings under the title "Solitude". We hear the last of these, with the 93-year-old Maestro himself conducting the National Philharmonic Orchestra in the West Ham Central Mission in 1975. Situated on the outskirts of London, it was often used for recordings, as the engineers particularly liked its acoustics

Shostakovich-Stokowski: Prelude in Eb minor - YouTube
Stokowski was one of Shostakovich's foremost champions, giving the US Premieres of several of his symphonies and also making the first American recordings of Symphonies Nos. 1, 5, 6 and 11. In 1935, Stokowski orchestrated one of Shostakovich's 24 Preludes for Piano, turning it into a brief but dramatic miniature tone poem. The recording heard here was made in England with a specially selected orchestra of top London players, the Maestro having by then turned 94 years old.

Stravinsky "Happy Birthday" ('Greeting Prelude') - Slatkin conducts - YouTube
In 2000, the BBC Symphony Orchestra celebrated its 70th anniversary with a special concert at the Barbican Hall in London. Leonard Slatkin had just been appointed its new Chief Conductor and he marked the occasion by introducing and conducting Stravinsky's version of "Happy Birthday."

Bach-Stokowski 'Ich ruf zu dir' - Philadelphia Orchestra 




Stokowski recorded most of his Bach arrangements on old 78rpm discs but with the advent of the stereo LP he re-recorded many of them in sumptuous sound. This example dates from 1960 when he returned to conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra after nearly 20 years absence. It comes from a complete set of Stokowski's stereo recordings for Columbia.

Tchaikovsky 'Andante Cantabile' - Sargent conducts - YouTube
Tchaikovsky's 'Andante Cantabile' from his String Quartet No. 1 moved Tolstoy to tears at its first performance. It is played here by the BBC Symphony under Sir Malcolm Sargent. It comes from a 1959 recording and is heard in an arrangement for string orchestra by Adolf Schmid.

Bach-Klemperer 'Bist du bei mir' - Slatkin conducts - YouTube
Otto Klemperer arranged this song for strings in 1935. It comes from the Anna Magdalena Bach Notebook, though modern scholarship attributes the melody not to Bach but to an opera called 'Diomedes' by Gottfried Stolzel that was first performed in 1718. It is played here by the BBC Symphony under its then Chief Conductor, Leonard Slatkin.

Handel-Elgar: Overture in D minor - Sargent conducts - YouTube
This music occurs twice in Handel's catalogue: as the Overture to the second of his twelve Chandos Anthems and again in the fifth of his Six Concerti Grossi of 1734. Elgar orchestrated it in 1923 and the recording heard here, played by Sir Malcolm Sargent and the Royal Philharmonic, dates from 1959 and is thus out-of-copyright under the 50-year expiry rule (UK / EU) which governs sound recordings. Also out of copyright is Handel's music, while Elgar's went out of copyright in 2005.

Chopin "Fantasie-Impromptu" - Carmen Dragon conducts - YouTube
Chopin's "Fantasie-Impromptu" in C# minor is here brilliantly realised by conductor / arranger Carmen Dragon and the Hollywood Bowl Symphony on a 1950s Capitol recording.

Mussorgsky orch. Wood 'Pictures at an Exhibition' - Complete Proms Performance - YouTube
Sir Henry Wood's version of 'Pictures at an Exhibition' dates from 1915. It was only the second orchestration of Mussorgsky's piano set, the first being that by Mikhail Tushmalov, a pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov. Like the Tushmalov version, Wood's is not complete, since he omits all but the first 'Promenade' and makes considerable changes and abridgements to the music throughout. However, when the Ravel version appeared a few years later, Wood's disappeared from view while Ravel's became the pre-eminent transcription of the work, still retaining its place today at the head of over 30 orchestrations by other composers and conductors.
For a Proms concert in 2010 at London's Royal Albert Hall, Sir Henry Wood's arrangement was given a rare revival by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under its Associate Guest Conductor, Francois-Xavier Roth. Gordon Jacob once described Wood's orchestration as "superior in picturesqueness to Ravel's," with its astonishing array of orchestral effects. On the other hand, as the announcer says at the end, it is very "over the top." No wonder the Proms audience went wild!


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## Aggelos

Schumann 'Dedication' ('Widmung') - Douglas Gamley, piano / arranger 




Schumann's song 'Widmung' (Dedication') was arranged for piano and orchestra by Douglas Gamley. He is the piano soloist on this 1960s 'Music for You' stereo LP on which the New Symphony Orchestra is conducted by Eric Hammerstein.

Debussy-Stokowski 'Night in Granada' - Philadelphia Orchestra 




Leopold Stokowski returned to conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1960 after an absence of nearly twenty years. He gave further concerts there over the next few years and one of them from 1962 has been released in its entirety on CD, the copyright in the broadcast having expired. The most atmospheric item on the programme was Stokowski's own evocative orchestration of Debussy's piano piece "La Soiree dans Grenade" ('Night in Granada') marred here and there, unfortunately, by one or two bronchial members of the Philadelphia audience!

Chopin-Stokowski: Prelude in D minor 




Stokowski orchestrated several of Chopin's piano pieces and here is the stormiest of them all. It's the Prelude in D minor that culminates the composer's Opus 28 set. Stokowski was 94 when he recorded a sequence of his orchestral arrangements with the National Philharmonic Orchestra and it is from those that this number comes.

Rachmaninoff-Respighi 'The Sea and Seagulls' - Lopez-Cobos conducts 




In 1929, Serge Koussevitzky had the idea that some of Rachmaninoff's 'Etudes-Tableaux' for piano solo would sound well if orchestrated and he suggested Respighi for this task. Rachmaninoff himself was delighted with the idea and suggested five of the pieces, additionally supplying Respighi with various programmatic ideas and titles. The first number in the set is "The Sea and Seagulls" and it is heard here in a performance by the Cincinnati Orchestra under Jesus Lopez-Cobos.

Bach-Wood 'Lament' - Slatkin conducts 




Sir Henry Wood's 'Suite No. 6' is a set of six Bach transcriptions, arranged from various sources, that includes this heartfelt 'Lament.' It is the 'Adagio' from Bach's 'Capriccio on the Departure of His Most Beloved Brother' in Bb major, BWV 992. In this recording, the BBC Symphony is conducted by Leonard Slatkin. (With all due acknowledgements to Chandos Records.)

Bach-Skrowascewski - 'Toccata and Fugue BWV 565' - Slatkin conducts





Rachmaninoff-Cailliet - 'Three Preludes' - Ormandy conducts


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## Mahlerian

A lot of great transcriptions mentioned here so far, but I don't think anyone has mentioned Stravinsky's of Bach's Canonic Variations BWV 769.


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## bigshot

Stokowski's transcriptions are an interesting case. The first recordings with the Philadelphia are spectacular, but for some reason none of the stereo versions are as good, especially the ones conducted by people other than Stokowski himself. Bamert/BBC comes the closest.


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## Aggelos

I think I see an eye to eye with you on the Bamert matter. Arguably, Bamert and Chandos were more effective-efficacious than other conductors and/or labels. Looking forward to Yamada Kazuki's interpretation on Exton though.

http://www.octavia.co.jp/shop/exton/005768.html









Franck 'Panis Angelicus' - Rene Leibowitz, conductor / arranger 




Franck's setting of the hymn 'Panis Angelicus' ('The Angelic Bread') is here played by the New Symphony Orchestra of London in an arrangement by the conductor Rene Leibowitz. It comes from a 1960s LP entitled 'Concert Favourites' and is uploaded by special request. The words have been added for any aspiring singer who wishes to sing along!

*Two recommended discs*








http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=G9 8006









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=NA 3023
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.553023


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## Aggelos

Debussy-Caplet 'Clair de lune' ('Moonlight') - Robert Irving conducts 




Debussy's most famous piano piece 'Clair de lune' has been orchestrated by several musicians, the version heard here having been made by his close friend and associate, Andre Caplet. It was featured on a 1959 LP entitled 'Famous Evergreens' on which the Sinfonia of London was conducted by Robert Irving. This, and another Irving LP called 'Musical Merry-Go-Round,' was reissued in a 2-CD set by 'Vocalion,' to whom all due acknowledgements are made. Both LPs consisted largely of orchestral arrangements of short works such as this.





n 1969, during one of his annual summer trips to Europe, Leopold Stokowski gave a televised studio performance of his own orchestration of Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor with the Saarbrucken Radio Symphony Orchestra. This has already been uploaded here but was done so in two parts. However, I feel this sublime music needs to be seen and heard without a break, so I have re-uploaded it for that reason.





Another little piece that heralds the month of March comes from Tchaikovsky's "The Seasons." It bears the sub-title 'Song of the Lark' and in this 1951 recording the piano solo original has been arranged for orchestra by Morton Gould. It comes from the Pristine Audio 'XR Remastering' reissue (PASC 191) and is uploaded here with all due acknowledgements.





Tchaikovsky's 'Humoresque' for piano, Opus 10, No. 2, was arranged for orchestra by Stravinsky in his ballet 'The Fairy's Kiss' and by Stokowski as a concert 'encore.' Sir Malcolm Sargent also made his own transcription and recorded it with the Royal Philharmonic in 1963 for the Reader's Digest, to whom all due acknowledgments are made.





Andre Kostelanetz conducts the New York Philharmonic in his own arrangement of Schumann's 'Traumerie' ('Dreaming') from an old LP entitled 'Promenade Favorites'.





Elgar's 'Salut d'Amour' started life as a piece for Solo Violin and Piano but soon became one of his most popular miniatures, appearing in a wide variety of arrangements. The version heard here was arranged by Carmen Dragon for string orchestra and recorded by the Capitol Symphony under his own direction for a sumptuous 'Full Dimensional Stereo Sound' LP in 1961





In 1972, 90-year-old Leopold Stokowski travelled to Prague to conduct the Czech Philharmonic in two concerts, the same programme for each. He was already very frail and suffered a heavy fall on the way which caused him to miss the first rehearsal. However, he persisted in going ahead with the aid of crutches and part of one of the concerts was televised. The first half of the programme consisted of several of his own Bach arrangements and here is one of them, the Prelude No. 8 in E flat minor from The Well-Tempered Clavier. Incidentally, sitting alongside the conductor's podium, down on Stokowski's right, was Ainslee Cox, his Assistant Conductor, on hand to help the Maestro if any difficulties occurred.

Mussorgsky-Stokowski 'Pictures at an Exhibition' - U.K. Premiere - YouTube
Leopold Stokowski was the first major foreign conductor to appear at the London 'Proms' concerts following a decision to make them more 'international.' Hitherto they had been mainly conducted by such British musicians as Sir Henry Wood and his successor Sir Malcolm Sargent but from 1963 onwards more and more non-British conductors have taken part.
For his Proms debut at the Royal Albert Hall, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra on 23 July 1963, Stokowski was asked by William Glock, the BBC's Controller of Music, to conclude the concert with his own orchestration of Mussorgsky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' in its UK Premiere. The programme also included Britten's 'Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell' and Beethoven's 7th Symphony, both of which have been released on CD by BBC Legends.

Two recommended releases. 
Featuring the Lucien Cailliet powah and the Peter Breiner might!









http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2012/Oct12/Debussy_orchestral_v8_8572584.htm
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.572584









http://www.theclassicalshop.net/Details.aspx?CatalogueNumber=CV 5143


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## Aggelos

Maurice Ravel - Jeux d'eau (orchestral version by C. Viacava) 





Ravel: La vallée des cloches [arr. Percy Grainger]





Bach-Wood 'Prelude in E' - Litton conducts 




Sir Henry Wood orchestrated six short pieces by Bach and combined them into what he called "Suite No. 6 for Full Orchestra." This was a kind of follow-up to Bach's own Orchestral Suites and also a "Suite No. 5 for Strings" that Wood had created out of the composer's organ sonatas. The Finale of the "Suite No. 6" is the 'Prelude' from the Partita No. 3 for Solo Violin. It was played at the 2010 BBC Proms by the Royal Philharmonic under Andrew Litton in a concert devoted entirely to Bach Transcriptions.





Felix Mottl arranged several delightful orchestral suites from the stage works of 18th century composers, including Gretry's 'Céphale et Procris,' a 'ballet-heroique' based on an ancient Greek legend and first performed in 1773. From an RCA LP made in the 1970s by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Robert Pikler we hear two numbers, a Tambourin and a Gigue





From a 1950s Andre Kostelanetz LP devoted to his own orchestrations of Chopin's piano music, we hear the 'Raindrop' Prelude, Opus 28 No. 15. The sleeve-note tells the story that the composer, ill and feverish while on holiday in Majorca, listened to the rain falling outside, imagining that one day it would be beating on his coffin. It is this image, according to his girlfriend George Sand, that he sought to express in this music





This music comes from Mussorgsky's music-drama 'Khovantchina' evoking Russian political life at the end of the 17th century. Stokowski's orchestration of the Act 4 Entr'acte is more vividly scored than Rimsky-Korsakov's and depicts Prince Galitsin being led into exile. This track comes from a 'Stokowski Spectacular' CD made for Pye-Nixa with the National Philharmonic in 1975 when the Maestro was 93 years old.





One of Beethoven's most popular piano pieces is here played by the Philadelphia Orchestra, conductor Eugene Ormandy, in an arrangement made by his assistant conductor at the time, William Smith.





This number was one of the biggest hits of British song-writer Tolchard Evans, in particular being an international best-seller for Eddie Fisher in the 1950s. Here it is in a typically vivacious orchestral arrangement by Carmen Dragon from a 1950s Capitol 'Full Dimensional Stereo Sound' LP. The lyrics have been added for anyone who wishes to sing along. This upload is dedicated to a close relative living in Spain. I hope she enjoys it!





Sir Thomas Beecham made a number of arrangements of Handel's music that included a 45-minute 'Balletic Entertainment' entitled "Love in Bath." During his last visit to America in late 1959, he conducted a number of great US orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony. From a televised concert with them comes a Suite from "Love in Bath" which concludes with a dashing 'Hornpipe' and a flourish of 'Rule Britannia' that was Beecham's own idea. This video is an example of very early colour TV recording, so is not up to today's standards.





Stokowski orchestrated some of Schubert's 'German Dances' for Piano, Opus 33, quite early in his career, having recorded them on an acoustic 78rpm disc in 1923. On that recording they were entitled 'Viennese Dances' but for his 1949 remake they became 'Tyrolean Dances.' Here's that 1949 recording, made with an 'ad hoc' Symphony Orchestra selected from the NBC Symphony, New York Philharmonic and freelance session pool.





"Andaluza" is the fifth of the twelve 'Danzas Espanolas' that Enrique Granados wrote for solo piano between 1892 and 1900. We hear it in the orchestration by Ricard Lamote de Grignon, another Spanish composer, in a 1958 recording made by Artur Rodzinski and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.


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## mtmailey

These symphonies were done well by someone:ELGAR symphony 3,SCHUBERT symphonies 7+10,TCHAIKOVSKY e-flat symphony


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## spradlig

In general I don't care for transcriptions, but a lot of Debussy's piano music (Petite Suite, Danse, etc.) has been transcribed well for orchestra, by Ravel, Andre Caplet, and perhaps Debussy himself, and I like the transcriptions I have heard.


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## Rehydration

I like the Children's Corner, transcribed by Andre Caplet, and Ravel's transcription of Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky, but that's pretty much all I've heard.
Unless you want LSO transcriptions, which I know quite a few of . . .


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## Aggelos

http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/cat/4791074













http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2014/Feb14/Mussorgsky_pictures_8573016.htm
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2014/Mar14/Mussorgsky_pictures_NBD0036.htm





For his first CD, the Philadelphia Orchestra's new conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin pays a splendid tribute to Leopold Stokowski with several 'Stokowski Transcriptions'. Also on the CD is a terrific performance of Stravinsky's 'Rite of Spring,' a 20th-century masterwork which Stokowski introduced to America in the 1920s. Here's Stokowski's own personal tribute to the great Russian composer: a 'Song without Words' originally written for soprano and piano, here arranged by the great Maestro for woodwinds and strings.





One of Rachmaninoff's most famous Preludes *is here orchestrated by Andre Kostelanetz*. It comes from an old LP of the composer's piano music given splendid orchestral form by one of America's most famous and successful 'coss-over' conductors, equally at home in the classics as in Broadway show-tunes and popular hits





Stokowski made a 5-movement Suite of various pieces by Purcell of which the most celebrated is "When I am Laid in Earth" from 'Dido and Aeneas.' It is played here by the Brussels Philharmonic in a splendid Tribute CD to Stokowski by Richard Egarr who admires the great maestro immensely. The whole CD is well worth acquiring by Stokowski collectors! It includes Bach, Palestrina and Cesti arrangements, as well as Egarr's own version of Handel's 'Water Music' Suite.





Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor has been orchestrated many times, with Leopold Stokowski's version being the most famous and Sir Henry Wood's the most over-the-top. At the other extreme from both of those *is the one made by Alois Melichar*, an Austrian composer / conductor who made many recordings for Polydor in the 1930s. His light-weight arrangement of Bach's organ masterwork was recorded in 1939 with the Berlin Philharmonic and is heard here in a transfer by Mark Obert-Thorn for the Biddulph label.





There have been several orchestral versions of Bach's mighty Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, notably those by Respighi and Stokowski. Here is another colourful transcription to add to the list. *Sir Andrew Davis conducted his own arrangement* for the first time with the San Francisco Symphony in 2004. The performance uploaded here took place when Sir Andrew and the BBC Symphony Orchestra visited Bad Kissingen in Germany and is taken from the radio broadcast of 11 May 2006 with all due acknowledgements. Incidentally, the video features a few pictures of Bad Kissingen itself. It might also be noted that at just over 11 minutes, this is one of the speediest Passacaglia and Fugues around!





In 1972, Leopold Stokowski, then aged 90, gave a concert with the American Symphony Orchestra da Camera at New York's Town Hall. For an encore, he turned to the audience and told them that when he was a student he had composed something and would they like to hear it, providing they weren't in a critical mood. Someone called out "Play it!" so Stokowski delighted the audience with this little piece for strings, which he entitled 'Reverie,' and thanked the audience at the end for their politeness!





Here is a real rarity! In his youthful years, Leopold Stokowski composed several pieces of music, including a 'Symphony.' Unfortunately, the full score of this work went missing or was stolen from his library many years ago. However, a set of orchestral parts for Movements I and II survived and it was from these that a new full score was reconstructed after his death.

There is no extant documentation about this work, so it is only speculation as to how, when or where it came about. For example, it could have been a student exercise in orchestration dating from his time at London's Royal College of Music. However, it is more likely that it was composed after he'd arrived in America in 1905 to become organist and choirmaster at St. Bartholomew's Church in New York City prior to taking over the Cincinnati Orchestra in 1909.

It is also not clear without the original full score if there were to be more movements, nor indeed if Stokowski ever gave Movements I and II a 'read-through' once he'd become an orchestral conductor. Still, what remains is a very interesting work of about 15 minutes which, although not deserving the word 'Symphony,' shows that Stokowski, even at the start of his career, had a sure command of large instrumental forces. It is a kind of mini-tone poem with many evocative orchestral effects and when it had its first public performance in 2009, given by the Royal College of Music Sinfonietta under Robin O'Neill, critic Colin Anderson wrote that it was "an atmospheric piece, suggesting Debussy and Chausson, with an ear to Wagner, a nod to Impressionism, and ideas suggesting Stravinsky and Rachmaninov."

Lewis Foreman also commented on its "wonderful, brooding atmosphere," adding that "if it was written after the outbreak of the First World War it would have to count as one of the great war works with all those muted trumpets (bugles?) and tolling bells sounding over desolate landscapes."

Here then is Stokowski's 'Symphony' in its first professional performance and first radio broadcast, given by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conductor Roberto Minczuk, on 18 June 2013. It should be noted that due to their brevity there is no pause between the two movements, so that it effectively emerges as a continuous piece.





In 1917, Sir Thomas Beecham conducted an extraordinary double-bill at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, which consisted of Puccini's "La Boheme" followed by an operatic production of Bach's Cantata "Phoebus and Pan." Evidently many members of the audience failed to stay the course, so they missed out on what one critic described as the "light serenity" of the Bach production that was heightened by the inclusion of a 20-minute ballet sequence.

For this dance segment, Beecham commissioned Eugene Goossens, his young assistant conductor, to orchestrate Bach's French Suite in G for Harpsichord (BWV 816). It consists entirely of dance movements so was a highly appropriate interpolation, particularly as Goossens' arrangements turned out to be quite delightful. However, he changed their running order and replaced the "Loure" in Bach's 5th French Suite with the "Menuet" in the 3rd.

Goossens did in fact make a single 12" 78rpm disc of some of the movements, heavily abridged to fit the two sides, with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1931. However, his Suite in G was broadcast in its entirety some years ago and is heard here in that performance played by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin, its then Chief Conductor.

The movements are (i) Courante; (ii) Allemande; (iii) Bourée; (iv) Menuet; (v) Gavotte; (vi) Sarabande; (vii) Gigue.


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## bigshot

Is that Stoki/Stravinsky recording the Fantasia edit of Rite of Spring? If so, I don't see any reason for the edit to exist without the visuals. Stoki never performed it in concerts that way. He followed Stravinsky's score as far as I know. No transcription there.

Also, it's odd how Bach gets such short shrift on that album cover.


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## Aggelos

bigshot said:


> Is that Stoki/Stravinsky recording the Fantasia edit of Rite of Spring?
> 
> Also, it's odd how Bach gets such short shrift on that album cover.


Booklet notes say its the 1947 revised version. No Stokowski tinkering/fiddling whatsoever on the Rite of Spring (for this DG recording).

Since this is the regular Bachowski orchestrations, it's understandable that Bach gets little attention on the cover (quite unfairly IMO).


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## bigshot

How are the performances of the Bach transcriptions on that recording? I love the StokiBach, but the recordings by Sawallisch with the Philadelphia were as bland as warm milk. Bambert/BBC was OK, but no one seems to do Stoki like Stoki.


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## Aggelos

For me the Matthias Bamert series on Chandos is my personal favourite, except for their first entry (Symphonic Bach Vol 1). As a whole, the series is unparalleled! For some reason Bach Vol 1 felt somehow tepid and lukewarm, perhaps Bamert was somehow restrained and cautious on his handling of the Stokowski transcriptions. But the other 5 discs of the series were fantastic with lovely engineering.
I wish there were more form Chandos.

As for Yannick Nezet-Seguin and his renditions of the Stokowski transcriptions, I think the outcome is very pleasing and jolly gratifying. And the engineering is stupendous, it provides a rich, lush and detailed sound.
I think that if one loves Bachowski, this disc should be purchased without any second thoughts.
I definitely prefer this to Serebrier's efforts on Naxos ( the engineering was mediocre there)

The two reviewers seem to argue about the value of this disc...
http://audaud.com/2013/12/stravinsky-the-rite-of-spring-pastorale-bach-arr-stokowski-toccata-and-fugue-in-d-fugue-in-g-passacaglia-and-fugue-in-c-philadelphia-orch-yannick-nezet-seguin-dgg/
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/d/dgg791074a.php


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## MoonlightSonata

Who do you think is the greatest orchestrator ever? I think Ravel.


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## mtmailey

I heard many times a version of toccata & fugue in d minor for full orchestra it sounded better than the organ version.


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## Aggelos

Two orchestrations for Bach's Chaconne (Mvt. 5 from Partita for solo violin No. 2 in D minor) by Natan Rakhlin and Pavel Rivilis.

Bach / Natan Rakhlin : Chaconne
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyS38VvS7OI‎
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natan_Rakhlin

Bach / Pavel Rivilis : Chaconne (инструментовка «Чаконы» И.-С. Баха для симфонического оркестра)
http://classic-online.ru/ru/production/52151

http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ривилис,_Павел_Борисович

http://old.rsl.ru/view.jsp?f=1003&t=3&v0=%D0%A0%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%81%2C+%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BB+%D0%91%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87&f=1003&t=1&v1=&f=4&t=2&v2=&f=21&t=3&v3=&f=1016&t=3&v4=&f=1016&t=3&v5=&cc=a1&s=2&ss=1003&ce=4


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## Aggelos

Bach-Cailliet 'Little Fugue' - Reiner conducts 




Lucien Cailliet was a principal woodwind player with the Philadelphia Orchestra as well as a composer and arranger in his own right. He made many transcriptions for orchestra, including his own version of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" as commissioned by Eugene Ormandy. His arrangement of Bach's "Little Fugue" in G minor is played here by the Pittsburgh Symphony in a 1946 78rpm recording, long out-of-copyright, conducted by Fritz Reiner. (From a Biddulph CD reissue )


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## Aggelos

Fritz Kreisler's 'Tambourin Chinois' for Violin and Piano was given superb *orchestral colouring by the Australian composer / conductor / arranger Douglas Gamley.* It is heard on a 1958 'Sinfonia of London' LP entitled "Philharmonic Pops" in which he shared the conducting honours with Robert Irving. Apologies incidentally for the clicks but this LP seems not yet to have been transferred to CD!





This Stokowski transcription is of the 'Adagio' from Bach's Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major (BWV 564). It is played by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Robert Pikler and comes from a 1982 Chandos Records CD.





In Gluck's opera "Armide," the sorceress of the title is in love with a knight of the First Crusade who, in Armide's enchanted castle, is serenaded by this pastoral 'Sicilienne.' In the opera, this music is played by a solo flute and pizzicatio strings. In Stokowski's 1957 recording heard here, it is arranged for strings only, playing arco not pizzicato.





"June" from Tchaikovsky's piano suite 'The Seasons' (also known as 'The Months') is sub-titled 'Barcarolle' *and is played here in Alexander Gauk's orchestration* by the Detroit Symphony under Neeme Jarvi. 
The 'character pieces' in Tchaikovsky's set are accompanied by 'poetic epigraphs,' of which the following is the one for 'June':
"Let us go to the shore; there the waves will kiss our feet.
With mysterious sadness the stars will shine down on us."





Johann Mattheson (1681-1764) was an exact contemporary of J. S. Bach though he is less well-known today. Jose Serebrier, Stokowski's one-time Associate Conductor, recorded two CDs of Stokowski's Bach Transcriptions and also included several of the Maestro's arrangements of other baroque composers. From the second CD we hear a sublime 'Air' from Mattheson's Harpsichord Suite No. 5, beautifully arranged and played by the Bournemouth Symphony under Serebrier's sensitive direction.





From the 1958 LP 'Philharmonic Pops' we hear a brief burst of can-can music from the Leonide Massine ballet "Gaitie Parisienne." *It is in Manuel Rosenthal's orchestration *of music from Offenbach's operetta "La Vie Parisienne." Robert Irving conducts the Sinfonia of London.





Albeniz's 'El Corpus en Sevilla' comes from his solo piano suite "Iberia" and also has the alternative title 'Fête-dieu à Seville.' It was orchestrated by Enrique Arbos and also by Leopold Stokowski, who recorded his own version on a 78rpm disc in 1928 with the Philadelphia Orchestra. At that time, Artur Rodzinski was Stokowski's assistant conductor and when he came to record this same piece himself in 1958 with the Royal Philharmonic, he opted for Stokowski's transcription. Unaccountably, the original LP and the EMI CD reissue (heard here) credited Arbos with the arrangement, not Stokowski, so this upload duly puts the record straight!





Vaughan Williams from the USA in this lively 'Phase 4 Stereo' recording from 1978 by the Boston 'Pops' Orchestra under its long-time conductor Arthur Fiedler. The three short movements are 'Seventeen Come Sunday,' My Bonny Boy' and 'Folk Songs from Somerset.' Originally composed for military band, *it was arranged for symphony orchestra in 1924 by Gordon Jacob,* one of Vaughan Williams's pupils.





This is the Chorale 'Jesus Christus, Gottes Sohn' from Bach's "Easter Cantata" as transcribed by Leopold Stokowski and played by the BBC Philharmonic under his one-time Assistant Conductor, Matthias Bamert. It comes from a 'Bach Transcriptions' Chandos CD.





From a 'Full Dimension Stereo Sound' recording entitled "La Belle France," made in 1957 but still sounding pretty spectacular even today, we hear Jose Padillo's "Paree!" *played by the Capitol Symphony Orchestra under arranger / conductor Carmen Dragon.* It comes from a CD reissue on the Pristine Audio label that also includes another sonically splendid Carmen Dragon LP entitled "L'Italia."





In 1972, Leopold Stokowski visited Prague to conduct two concerts with the Czech Philharmonic. By now a very frail 90-year-old, the Maestro's taxing programme (played on two successive evenings) consisted of six of his Bach Transcriptions, followed after the interval by Elgar's "Enigma Variations" and Scriabin's "Poem of Ecstasy," plus a couple of encores. It was recorded 'live' in 'Phase 4 Stereo' and for the first concert the TV cameras were on hand to capture Stokowski for almost the last time in his long career.
The programme opened with his own transcription of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, a work he had first performed and recorded in the 1920s. He had played it many times over the years but this is the last film to show him conducting his most famous Bach arrangement in public.
Stokowski soon gave up concerts altogether, due to his clearly evident frailty, but continued to make records until he was 95. His final studio recording of the Toccata and Fugue in D minor was made with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1974 for RCA / BMG.





For a Proms concert in London's Royal Albert Hall in 1991, Leonard Slatkin introduced his own edition of Mussorgsky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition.' It featured the various 'Promenades' and 'Pictures' in different arrangements by an assortment of orchestrators. Ravel's version is the best known *but other arrangers of Mussorgsky's piano work were Leopold Stokowski, Sir Henry Wood, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Mikhail Tushmalov, Lawrence Leonard, Lucien Cailliet, Sergei Gorchakov and Leonidas Leonardi (Leonidas yay!!) , all of whom were featured in Slatkin's performance*. As an encore, he brought the house down with Sir Henry Wood's version of 'The Great Gate of Kiev.'
The television relay of the concert was preceded by a short documentary which featured Slatkin discussing the work with pianist Joanna MacGregor, as well as contributions from Vladimir Ashkenazy and Lawrence Leonard, two of the arrangers featured in his compendium.





Sir Henry Wood's "Suite No. 6" was devised as a kind of successor to J. S. Bach's own Orchestral Suites. Its six movements come from a variety of sources and the first of them is the Prelude in C sharp minor from Book 1 of the Well-Tempered Clavier. Wood's scoring is fleet and gossamer and rather suggestive of Mendelssohn. This track comes from Leonard Slatkin's Chandos CD of Bach arrangements made by assorted conductors.





In this delightful recording of the 'Italian Concerto,' Bach has been taken at his word. Conductor Yoav Talmi has retained the harpsichord orginal and added scintillating orchestral colouring around it. As a 'sampler,' here is the final movement "Presto" in the recording made on the 'Atma Classique' label in which Alexander Weimann is the keyboard soloist and the Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec is conducted by the arranger.


----------



## Aggelos

This piece comes from a set of 'Spanish Dances' for solo piano by Enrique Granados, here glitteringly orchestrated by Douglas Gamley. He conducts the National Philharmonic on a Readers Digest LP.





Carmen Dragon conducts the Capitol Symphony in his own arrangement of Leoncavallo's celebrated song 'Mattinata.' For those who wish to 'sing along' the words are down below. This track comes from an LP issued in 1958.





Rachmaninoff's most famous piano Prelude was orchestrated by Sir Malcolm Sargent and recorded in 1931 by the London Symphony in the Queen's Hall (shown in the video but blitzed during World War 2). This rare 78rpm disc has now made its CD debut on the 'Guild Historical' label in all-Rachmaninoff programme that includes a superb account of the 2nd Piano Concerto played by Cyril Smith (GHCD 2423).





In 1969, Stokowski conducted the Saarbrucken Radio Symphony in a TV studio concert that included his own transcription of Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor. As a young student he had spent many summers in Germany where he studied conducting under Artur Nikisch and attended the rehearsals of Mahler's 8th Symphony, a work he introduced to America several years later. He retained his command of the German language even at the age of 87, as here, after many years spent in America. The complete performance has also been uploaded here.





Brahms's Hungarian Dance No. 1 in G minor was provided with a dashing new orchestration by Don Banks for a 1958 LP entitled "Philharmonic Pops" on which the Sinfonia of London was conducted by Robert Irving.





Ravel's "Five O'Clock Foxtrot" comes from his opera "L'enfant et les sortileges" and is played here in a delicious orchestration by Christopher Palmer. Geoffrey Simon conducts the Philharmonia on a Cala CD (CACDS4027).





Although Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's solo piano work 'Pictures at an Exhibition' remains top of a very long list of its arrangements, Stokowski's is a strong follow-up and often a second choice amongst many conductors. Here is an excerpt from a recent CD of Stokowski's version splendidly played by the Japan Philharmonic under Kazuki Yamada. Curiously, in 'The Old Castle', the score asks for a cor anglais to play the main solo part but Stokowski, in an apparent nod to Ravel, also suggests a saxophone as an alternative. It is that instrument which Yamada chooses in his performance as heard here. (From 'Exton' OVCL-00489 with all due acknowledgments).





For the finale of a patriotic war-time musical entitled "Thousands Cheer," MGM re-used a vocal number that Shostakovich had originally written for a 1932 Soviet film called "Counterplan." In the 1943 Hollywood movie it was given a new title "United Nations on the March" and sung by Kathryn Grayson and a large chorus. Leopold Stokowski, a staunch champion of Shostakovich, immediately arranged it as a purely orchestral "March" for general concert use. In 1954, during the United Nations Day celebrations in New York, Stokowski's version was played by the Symphony of the Air conducted by Hugh Ross. That same performance is heard here, with the Schola Cantorum joining in lustily at the end, singing Harold J. Rome's lyrics.





Sir Edward Elgar's superb orchestration of Bach's Fantasia and Fugue in C minor was a highlight of the Last Night of the 2000 Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Sir Andrew Davis conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra.





In 1960, Leopold Stokowski and the New York Philharmonic gave the US Premiere of the 'Symphonic Suite on Azerbaijan Folk Tunes' by Fikret Amirov. Two days later came the work's first American broadcast, newly released on a 'Guild' CD, and from it we hear Stokowski conducting the first of its four colourful movements. Also on the programme was Shostakovich's 1st Symphony and both works, along with music by Vaughan Williams and Robert Kurka, are on this splendidly recorded collection ('Guild Historical' GHCD 2415).

The entire Azerbaijan suite as conducted by Niyazi


----------



## hpowders

Leonard Bernstein made a successful transcription of the Beethoven C# minor string quartet, which he recorded.


----------



## Gaspard de la Nuit

I wish someone would orchestrate and record all of Bach's WTK, I might actually enjoy listening to them then. 

In one of the orchestration books I have, it came with a CD that had a few examples of orchestrated Bach...it sounded SO much more dramatic.


----------



## GKC

hpowders said:


> Leonard Bernstein made a successful transcription of the Beethoven C# minor string quartet, which he recorded.


And opus 135, too.


----------



## Aggelos

Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra began making records in 1917 by the old "acoustic" method with the players grouped round a large horn. Stokowski later remarked that these old 78s were "just awful" so he was delighted when electrical recordings made with microphones were introduced in 1925. Here is an acoustic 78 of one of his early transcriptions, a Tchaikovsky piano piece (Opus 40, No. 6) recorded in 1924. It has appeared on a Pristine Audio CD devoted entirely to acoustic 78s (PASC 441) but as will be heard, it is not a Hi-Fi recording!





Fritz Kreisler wrote a number of violin pieces which he initially passed off as the work of earlier composers, though he later came clean and admitted he'd composed them himself. One such piece was this 'Prelude and Allegro' in the style of Gaetano Pugnani, a celebrated 18th century violinist. In the 1940s, Fabien Sevitzky, a nephew of the great conductor Serge Koussevitzky, began making records with the Indianapolis Symphony, of which he was music director, and among them was his own splendid orchestration of this Kreisler piece. The upload heard here comes from an RCA Victor 78rpm disc, so it is not up to modern standards!





Stokowski's own string arrangement of "When I am Laid in Earth" from Purcell's 'Dido and Aeneas' was recorded for the first time in 1950. The Maestro chose top New York string players for the recording, including Leonard Rose who has a brief solo in the piece. The recording has just made its CD debut on the 'Pristine Audio' label (PASC 442).





Published on 21 April 2015 to mark the Queen's birthday in 1926. Sir Arthur Bliss became Master of the Queen's Music in 1953 and in that capacity wrote ceremonial music for many state occasions. On this 1972 recording of his own arrangement of the British National Anthem, Bliss conducted the Royal Choral Society and London Philharmonic in the Royal Albert Hall.





Stokowski formed several orchestras during his long career, one of which was the All-American Youth Orchestra. In this 1941 78rpm recording they play the Maestro's own arrangement of a well-known piano piece by Schumann - his 'Traumerei' ('Dreaming') from 'Children's Scenes' Opus 15. (From 'Music and Arts' CD-1287).





To mark Easter 2015, here is Leopold Stokowski's transcription of the chorale 'Jesus Christus, Gottes Sohn' from Bach's "Easter Cantata" played by the Sydney Symphony under Robert Pikler. (Chandos CHAN 6532).





Anton Rubinstein's 'Romance' for Piano may be familiar as "If You Are But A Dream," as sung by Frank Sinatra, or as an even older song called "Night," recorded on old 78s by any number of singers of the past. Here it is arranged for orchestra by Carmen Dragon and played by the Capitol Symphony Orchestra (Capitol Stereo LP SP 8413 'Serenade').





Debussy's slow waltz for piano is played in an arrangement for strings and harp by the Capitol Symphony under Carmen Dragon. It comes from a 1960 Capitol Stereo LP entitled "A Concert Gala" (SP8511).





Debussy's piano prelude 'La Cathedral Engloutie' (known as 'The Submerged Cathedral' or 'The Engulfed Cathedral') was given evocative orchestral form by Leopold Stokowski during his Philadelphia years. Prior to that he had been conductor of the Cincinnati Orchestra, which plays it here under Erich Kunzel's baton. The music depicts an ancient legend in which a sunken cathedral rises from the sea, its priests chanting and its bells tolling, then gradually submerges itself in the ocean depths once more. From a Telarc CD which, it should be noted, has a very wide dynamic range!





This poignant Prelude (Opus 28, No. 4) was one of several Chopin piano pieces which Leopold Stokowski transcribed for orchestra. It is played here by his own 'Symphony Orchestra' (a specially-assembled group of New York musicians) in a 1950 recording reissued by Pristine Audio (PASC 188) as one of the 'encores' to a 1953 recording of Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony.





From a concert entitled 'Oriental Promise,' given at the 2014 Proms in London's Royal Albert Hall, comes Sir Thomas Beecham's arrangement of a well-known piece by Handel. Sascha Goetzel gives the downbeat but then lets the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic get on with it by themselves!





Morton Gould's album "Jungle Drums," from which this track comes, is an excellent example of the 'Living Stereo' LPs that were issued in the mid-1950s and which even today do not show their age.





Bach's 'Mein Jesu' comes from his 'Schemelli Song Book' and was arranged for strings by Leopold Stokowski. It is played here in a 1941 US Columbia recording by the All-American Youth Orchestra, created the previous year by Stokowski and featuring the finest young players he'd discovered by open audition throughout the United States. Unfortunately it did not become a permanent band due to America's entry into World War 2 and the consequent call-up of the orchestra's young male instrumentalists. (From Cala Records CACD0527.)





From an album of Christmas music, here is 'Silent Night' played by the Hollywood Bowl Symphony under conductor / arranger Carmen Dragon.





In a 1969 concert for school-children, Leonard Bernstein demonstrated the many different ways that Bach can be performed, ranging from the organ, via a Moog Synthesiser, to a rock group. A highlight of the programme was Stokowski's arrangement of Bach's 'Little Fugue' in G minor and for this performance, the Maestro himself conducted the New York Philharmonic.


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## Aggelos

In Tchaikovsky's "The Seasons," twelve character pieces for solo piano, 'July' is sub-titled "Song of the Reaper." Neeme Järvi and the Detroit Symphony play it *in the orchestral version by Alexander Gauk.*

'Suo Gân' - Traditional Welsh Lullaby - George Weldon arranger / conducor 




This beautiful Welsh lullaby *was arranged by conductor George Weldo*n who here conducts the Philharmonia on a 1960s LP called 'A Holiday in Britain.'





When Eugene Ormandy began taking over the reigns of the Philadelphia Orchestra from Leopold Stokowski, he followed in the former Maestro's footsteps by conducting many orchestral transcriptions. These he commissioned from the orchestra's 'house arranger' and principal clarinet, Lucien Cailliet. *Here is Cailliet's splendid orchestration of the Preludio in Bach's Solo Violin Partita No. 3 (BWV 1006)*. It was recorded in 1937 and can be heard, along with other Cailliet transcriptions, on Pristine Audio PASC 444.

'Drink to me only' - Fairhaven Singers 




This well-known Traditional English Song is sung here by the leading UK chamber choir, the Fairhaven Singers, *in a beautiful arrangement by their conductor Ralph Woodwar*d. It comes from a 'Guild' CD that features a wide variety of commissioned choral works under the title "Into the Star"





*Stokowski's string orchestra arrangement of the Prelude No. 2*4 from Book 1 of the Well-Tempered Clavier is one of his simplest Bach transcriptions. It is played here by the Bournemouth Symphony strings under Jose Serebrier's direction

Mendelssohn 'Songs Without Words' - Sir Henry Wood conducts 




With the annual Proms underway, it is time to take a moment to remember Sir Henry Wood, their conductor for nearly half a century until his death in 1944. *Here are two of Mendelssohn's 'Songs Without Words' arranged for orchestra*: "Spring Song" and "The Bees' Wedding." Wood recorded them in 1929 with the New Queens Hall Orchestra.

'The Anniversary Song' ('Waves of the Danube') - Paul Weston and his Orchestra 




'Waves of the Danube' is a popular Romanian waltz composed by Ion Ivanovici in 1880. Al Jolson made it famous in 1946 as 'The Anniversary Song' when he and Saul Chaplin adapted it for the movie 'The Jolson Story' where Jolson provided the songs on the soundtrack and was impersonated on screen by Larry Parks. Paul Weston was one of the foremost American composer / conductor arrangers from the 1930s to the 1970s and his orchestral version of 'The Anniversary Song' heard here was a big hit in 1961. (From Guild Light Music GLCD 5230.)

Tchaikovsky 'September' ('The Seasons') - Morton Gould arranger / conductor 




Tchaikovsky's 'The Seasons' (or 'The Months') is a sequence of short character pieces for piano that have received several orchestrations. *Here is 'September' (sub-titled "Hunter's Song") from Morton Gould's orchestration in a 1951* 'public domain' recording reissued by Pristine Audio on PASC191.





*Leopold Stokowski's orchestration of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition*" for solo piano has been taken up by several conductors in preference to Ravel's. Here is Stokowski's version, as played by the National Youth Orchestra of Spain under José Serebrier, Stokowski's one-time Associate Conductor at the American Symphony Orchestra. It was recorded in Chester Cathedral in 2007 and comes from a splendid Naxos DVD (Catalogue No.: 2.110230).
To emphasis the 'Slavic' aspect of the music, Stokowski omitted the two French scenes ('Tuileries' and 'Limoges'). We therefore hear: Promenade; Gnomus; Promenade; The Old Castle; Bydlo; Promenade; Ballet of the Chickens; Goldenberg and Schmuyle; Catacombs; Com mortuis; Hut on Fowl's Legs; Great Gate of Kiev.

Schubert orch. Liszt: 'Erlkönig' - Hermann Prey / Munich Philharmonic 




Many songs for voice-and-piano sound so much better when the monochrome piano accompaniment has been arranged for orchestra. Here is a classic example. *Schubert's famous song 'The Erl King' ('Der Erlkönig') was orchestrated by both Berlioz and Liszt and it is the latter's version which is heard her*e. Hermann Prey, baritone, is accompanied by the Munich Philharmonic under Gary Bertini on this 1977 LP.

Bach 'Come, Sweet Death' - Ormandy arranger / conductor 




'Komm, süsser Tod' - Eugene Ormandy conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra in his own transcription of this poignant sacred song by Bach. It comes from a 1954 LP (now 'public domain') reissued on CD by Pristine Audio (PASC211).

Tchaikovsky 'Andante Cantabile' - Stokowski arranger / conductor 




In 1942, to mark the 80th birthday of the distinguished German-born American conductor and composer Walter Damrosch, Leopold Stokowski and the NBC Orchestra of Hollywood played Stokowski's own string orchestra arrangement of the 'Andante Cantabile' from Tchaikovsky's String Quartet No. 1 in D.

Shostakovich: Prelude in Eb minor - Stokowski arranger / conductor 




Stokowski was one of Shostakovich's foremost champions in the USA and as well as conducting several of his symphonies he also arranged for orchestra this brief Piano Prelude, Opus 34, No. 14. This performance comes from an all-Russian concert given in London's Royal Albert Hall in 1969 by the Royal Philharmonic. (Legends BBCL 4069-2).

Grainger 'Londonderry Air' - George Weldon conducts 




Percy Grainger's arrangement of the traditional 'Irish Tune from County Derry' (otherwise known as the 'Londonderry Air' or 'Danny Boy') is here played by the Philharmonia Orchestra under George Weldon's baton on an early 1960s LP.

"La Marseillaise" - Carmen Dragon arranger / conductor 




This is just a small tribute to Paris with Carmen Dragon's arrangement of the French National Anthem. On this 1957 recording he conducts the Capitol Symphony Orchestra. It comes from a selection of French pieces and has been issued on CD by 'Pristine Audio' (PASC 185).

Bach-Stokowski 'Siciliano' - Matthias Bamert conducts 




Many of Stokowski's Bach arrangements were simplicity itself. Here is one example, a transcription for strings of the lilting 'Siciliano' in Bach's Violin Sonata No. 4. The BBCPO is conducted by Matthias Bamert on this 1993 Chandos CD (CHAN 9259).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New releases









http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2015/Sep/Cailliet_arrangements_PASC444.htm
http://www.audaud.com/lucien-caillet-studio-recordings-1936-1946-works-of-bach-purcell-turina-caillet-mussorgsky-ormandyreinerstokowskifiedler-pristine-audio/









http://www.mdt.co.uk/leibowitz-rene-the-art-of-italiana-leibowitz-scribendum-13cds.html
http://www.scribendumrecordings.com/our-shop/4583959841/sc510-13cd---the-art-of-leibowitz/10114478

The Bach-Leibowitz Passacaglia and Fugue BWV 582 has been issued on a CD by Urania Records. But I don't hear that the transfers are good. They might have taken them from a Vinyl and not from the original tape masters.
http://www.uraniarecords.com/wordpress/?p=1377
The same for Scribendum. They didn't manage to get The Passacaglia and Fugue on disc. I would like to hear his orchestration for Toccata and Fugue one day, but the chances are slim of it to receive a recording....

As far as I am concerned, Leibowitz has the following orchestral transcriptions.
-Franck / Rene Leibowitz : Panis Angelicus
-Mussorgsky / Rene Leibowitz : Night on Bald Mountain
-Traditional / Rene Leibowitz : Greensleeves & Londonderry Air

-Mozart / Rene Leibowitz : Fantasia for Mechanical Organ KV 594, for double string orchestra [Boelke-Bomart Inc.]
http://www.schott-france.com/shop/9/show,303112.html

-Schoenberg / Rene Leibowitz : Three Songs Op. 48 (for Low Voice and Orchestra) [Boelke-Bomart Inc.]
Instrumentation : 1,1, 2+1, 1, - 1,1,1,0 - hp - pf.

-Schubert / Rene Leibowitz : Fantasia in C Major (originally for violin and piano D.943) [Boelke-Bomart Inc.]
Instrumentation : 2,2,2,2 - 2,2,3,1 - pf - str
http://www.schott-france.com/shop/9/show,308325.html

-Schubert / Rene Leibowitz : Fantasia in F Minor (originally for piano 4-hands Op.103) [Boelke-Bomart Inc.]
Instrumentation : 2,2,2,2 - 2,2,3,1 - timp - str
http://www.schott-france.com/shop/9/show,319689.html

- J.S. Bach / Rene Leibowitz: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor BWV 565
Instrumentation : pic.2(2.pic).2(2.ca).Ebcl.1.bcl.2.cbsn-4.2.2.btbn.1-timp.perc(tri, cym, tam-t, tamb, b.d)-hp.pno(cel)-str
http://www.schott-france.com/shop/Sheet_Music/orchestra/2682321/2263327/show,303087.html



> Leibowitz was also known as an orchestrator. His arrangement and recording of Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor for double orchestra is just one of the unique achievements of his in this area. His most famous orchestration is his re-orchestration and recording of Mussorgsky's Night on Bare Mountain. Apparently the maestro had reservations regarding several aspects the famous Rimsky-Korsakov version. He even made a special trip to Russia to study all the available manuscripts before creating his own rendition. Leibowitz completely eliminated the fanfares, as well as implemented many other orchestral and musical changes. Leibowitz's version ends with a huge crescendo, and is quite powerful.
> 
> http://www.angelfire.com/music2/reneleibowitz/rl.html


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## Aggelos

Rachmaninoff-Stokowski: Prelude in C# minor - Oramo conducts





Stokowski's spectacular orchestration of Rachmaninoff's C# Minor Prelude for Piano was given a splendid performance by Sakari Oramo and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in 2003. It was the opening item on a programme devoted to Rachmaninoff and Charles Ives, two composers much championed by Leopold Stokowski himself.

Purcell 'Suite' arr. Sir Henry Wood - David Robertson conducts 





Sir Henry Wood arranged several short pieces from Purcell's stage works and sonatas into a "Suite" which he introduced to the Proms in 1910. It was performed (as "New Suite") at the Last Night of the 2009 Proms by the BBCSO, David Robertson conducting.

=============================================================================

I was interested in buying the Rene Leibowitz boxset issued by Urania Records (Since the Scribendum boxset omitted the Bach-Leibowitz Passacaglia and Fugue BWV 582 ), but the JP reviewer says the following (while awarding it with one star only)


> It is a point of interest that the Reader's Digest Recordings were available as mail-orders in the past . Some of them were re-issued by Chesky and RCA. However, by comparing those with the present Urania boxset I am surprised at how bad the audio quality is. I can go as far as doubting that the people at Urania Records had a listen to their CDs when they completed the mastering-manufacturing of them. It is a boxset that I would advise people to steer clear of.
> 
> http://www.amazon.co.jp/RENE-LEIBOW...qid=1456905864&sr=1-6&keywords=rene+leibowitz


Amazon uk reviewer says


> I admire this conductor so much after hearing his Beethoven symphonies and immediately ordered this set. Unfortunately the production of this set is terrible: all the pieces are with loud (and exciting) echoes, and the music which should have been so beautiful and wonderful is simply destroyed! The echoes are not just annoying and irritating; they are horrifying. Can I ask for a refund from the manufacturer, or may I call them criminal?
> 
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Various-Con...TF8&qid=1459385992&sr=1-10&keywords=Leibowitz


http://www.uraniarecords.com/prodotto/leibowitz-conducts/










So, we stay with the Scribendum Rene Leibowitz boxset.
http://www.norpete.com/c0032.html




















> This is a timely release.
> Polish-born but naturalized Frenchman René Leibowitz is almost forgotten today.
> In the 1930s and '40s, he was better known as a composer - a disciple of Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern,
> Teacher of Pierre Boulez.
> You'd never guess this from his recorded repertoire (the Reader's Digest wasn't interested in atonal music).
> In addition to Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann and Stravinsky, there is a lot of light music in this collection
> - not just Offenbach overtures, but even Gilbert and Sullivan (overture to H.M.S. Pinafore).
> 
> PACKAGING AND SOUND
> Thirteen CDs in cardboard jackets with timings and recording information printed on the back.
> Disappointing cover art - the black and white cover photo is re-used on each jacket.
> Couldn't they at least find a color photo of Leibowitz?
> Unfortunately no booklet is included. A major omission - Leibowitz is not a household name.
> There is an excellent Leibowitz website - see the first comment following my review.
> 
> About three-quarters of this material was released on the audiophile CD label Chesky back in the '90s.
> The rest is new to CD.
> The Beethoven Symphonies were issued ten years ago by Scribendum in excellent sound (I don't have the earlier Chesky CDs for comparison).
> I do own the Chesky CD of "An Evening of Opera" and did an A-B comparison with CD 6 in the Scribendum set.
> My ears aren't perfect (I'm 66 years old) but I couldn't hear any difference.
> The Sorcerer's Apprentice is spectacularly engineered.
> 
> HOW READER'S DIGEST SAVED THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC:
> The Reader's Digest recording program began in 1960 with recordings by London orchestras recording under pseudonyms:
> The London Philharmonic recorded as the "International Symphony Orchestra".
> The London Symphony recorded as "The London Festival Orchestra".
> Not sure if this was due to contractual obligations or because the musicians were embarrassed to be associated with the Reader's Digest.
> The "New Symphony Orchestra of London" had a long career in the recording studios (RCA recorded concerti with Heifetz and Rubinstein) but I don't think it gave public concerts (rumored to be the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House).
> 
> Sir Thomas Beecham, founder of the Royal Philharmonic, died in March 1961.
> There was concern for the orchestra's survival.
> Not too much of an exaggeration to say that Reader's Digest saved the Royal Philharmonic.
> The orchestra's first project after the death of Beecham was a complete set of Beethoven Symphonies conducted by Leibowitz (in this box)
> 1962 was a busy year:
> In addition to Leibowitz, the Royal Philharmonic made records with Barbirolli (Sibelius), Horenstein (Rachmaninov), Kempe (Respighi), Munch (Bizet, Tchaikovsky), Reiner (Brahms), Sargent (Handel's Messiah), and many more.
> + Piano Concerti with Earl Wild
> + Gilbert & Sullivan with The D'Oyly Carte Opera
> All sponsored by the Reader's Digest.
> 
> POINTS OF INTEREST:
> -- When released in 1962, Leibowitz's Beethoven Symphony set was completely overshadowed by Herbert von Karajan's first (of three) Berlin Philharmonic sets on Deutsche Grammophon.
> Too bad.
> Leibowitz's Beethoven is not "better" than Karajan's, but it is more interesting.
> Fast and Brutal performances.
> Not philosophical or spiritual, but tremendously exciting nonetheless.
> A common enough approach to the Fifth Symphony, but unexpected in the Ninth.
> The finale of Beethoven's Ninth is supposed to be an Ode to Joy, and the Brotherhood of Man.
> This performance will have none of that.
> This is an Angry Ninth - clear from the snarling phrasing of the double basses in their recitative.
> When the singer comes in, he's not lyrical and comforting (like Walter Berry for Karajan).
> Instead the legendary German bass Ludwig Weber (born 1899) is dark and menacing.
> At Bayreuth his roles were Hunding and Hagen - Wagner's blackest villains - and there is no disguising that voice.
> A scary "Ode to Joy".
> This is one of the great performances of Beethoven's Ninth, but I'm not sure that I even like it.
> 
> -- The Mozart and Schubert Symphonies receive swift but not lightweight performances.
> Despite the tempo, Leibowitz (and the engineers) do an excellent job of clarifying the counterpoint in the finale of Mozart's Jupiter Symphony.
> In Schubert's Great C Major Symphony, the performance tradition at the time was to slow down for the codas of the first and fourth movements (contrary to the printed score).
> Leibowitz maintains the same swift tempo right to the end.
> This is one case where I prefer tradition to the composer's score. .
> [Scandalous]
> I miss the dramatic sense of arrival when the tempo broadens.
> 
> -- Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition is played in the familiar Ravel orchestration,
> but Night on Bare Mountain is neither the Rimsky-Korsakov version, nor Mussorgsky's original (which in 1962 was known only to musicologists).
> The Leibowitz orchestration starts out conventionally, but becomes progressively more wacky.
> He even uses a wind machine - actually two wind machines (one for each channel).
> 
> -- Schumann's Rhenish Symphony:
> It used to be commonplace for conductors to tinker with Schumann's orchestration.
> [Mahler re-orchestrated all the symphonies.]
> Leibowitz's version is pretty extreme, with a particularly annoying trumpet in the first movement.
> Hard to recommend, although the finale is certainly rousing.
> 
> -- Leibowitz provides tasteful orchestrations for "Greensleeves" and "Londonderry Air" (aka "London Derriere" or "Danny Boy").
> Uncredited orchestrations of Bach-Gounod, Bizet, Chopin, Dinicu, Dvorak and Franck.
> Most are tastefully done, but Chopin's Op.53 Polonaise is grotesquely over-orchestrated.
> 
> -- The "Gade" on CD 7 is not classical composer Niels Gade (1817-1890) but bandleader Otto Gade (1879-1963).
> His popular song "Jalousie" (1925) became an international hit when Arthur Fiedler recorded it with the Boston Pops.
> 
> *Reader's Digest recordings not in this box:*
> ---- Bach: Passacaglia & Fugue in C Minor BWV 582 (orch. Leibowitz) - Royal Philharmonic (1962)
> ---- Debussy: Clair de lune - RCA Italiana Symphony Orchestra (early 1960s)
> ---- Gershwin: Suite from Porgy and Bess - New Symphony Orchestra of London (1961)
> ---- Mendelssohn: Midsummer Night's Dream Overture - Royal Philharmonic (1962)
> ---- Mendelssohn: Scherzo from Octet for Strings - Royal Philharmonic (1962)
> ---- Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto, with Hyman Bress - Royal Philharmonic (1962)
> ---- Ravel: Rapsodie Espagnole - Orchestra Filarmonica di Roma (early 1960s)
> ---- Rossini: Dances from William Tell - RCA Italiana Symphony Orchestra (early 1960s)
> ---- Weber: Freischutz Overture - Royal Philharmonic (1962)
> ---- Weber: Oberon overture - Royal Philharmonic (1962)
> [two to three CDs worth of material.]
> 
> This box set issued by Scribendum contains 13 compact discs but no notes. I have enjoyed discovering the performances on every single single disc enormously. The range of music included is very wide indeed (the individual items are listed in other reviews here on Amazon). Most of the recordings were made around 1960, a little before and a little later, and the recording quality is excellent throughout. The complete set of Beethoven symphonies were recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra less than a year after the death of Sir Thomas Beecham and the orchestra sounds in terrific form despite what must have seemed an uncertain time for its players. I recommend this box very strongly because the performances are full of vitality, rhythmic precision and forward momentum. The Beethoven symphonies, in particular, are taken swiftly without ever sounding hurried. There are no intrusive mannerisms in any of the pieces played, which means that the set as a whole can stand repeated playings - at the same time Leibowitz's readings are characterful and certainly not lacking in individual personality. I've already said the recording quality is excellent - rich and full without any apparent 'tinkering' at the remastering stage.
> 
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Art-Lei...p_p_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0MHS93P6VKKCT2BY8P36


=============================================================================

Not exactly new content, but still something new from Chandos (my favorite label)


















http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stokowski-Transcriptions-Addinall-Philharmonic-Matthias/dp/B01D3LC1IG/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1459314287&sr=1-2&keywords=Stokowski


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## geralmar

Conductor Vladimir Golschmann orchestrated and recorded some Chopin piano works to little notice:

https://www.google.com/search?q=vla...KHQjCA9cQ_AUICSgC&dpr=1#imgrc=KwmfKPxikhzbXM:


----------



## Aggelos

This Leibowitz Boxset is a very fine indeed








http://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2017/10/24/the-art-of-leibowitz

Purcell 'Suite' - Sir Henry Wood arranger / conductor




To mark the start of the 2016 Proms Season in London, *here's a Suite of pieces by Purcell, arranged and conducted by Sir Henry Wood*. He conducted the Proms almost single-handedly for nearly half a century until his death in 1944. These Decca 78s were recorded in 1937 and played by the Queens Hall Orchestra.

Rachmaninoff Prelude in C# minor - Andre Kostelanetz arranger / conductor




This comes from an LP entitled *"The Romantic Music of Rachmaninoff" in which Andre Kostelanetz and his Orchestra play his own arrangements* of assorted piano pieces. (Columbia CL 1001, recorded 1957).


----------



## Aggelos

After a period of slumber, here we go!

*Purcell / Dimitri Mitropoulos : Dido and Aeneas - Prelude and Final Air (arranged for string orchestra) *





*Charpentier 'Passecaille' from "Médée" - Stokowski's arrangement*




Leopold Stokowski made around 200 transcriptions during his long conducting career, some very well known, others seldom played. Here is one of the lesser-known ones, a charming 'Passecaille' from Marc-Antoine Charpentier's opera "Médée" of 1693. It is played by the BBC Philharmonic under Stokowski's one-time associate conductor, Matthias Bamert, and comes from a radio broadcast of several years ago.

*Balakirev "Islamey" - Oriental Fantasy orch. Lyapunov - Sascha Goetzel conducts*




Balakirev's Islamey is a virtuosic piano piece inspired by a trip that the composer made to the Caucasus where he was much impressed by the dance tunes and folk melodies of the region. He composed the work in 1869 and it has been taken up by many great pianists. It has also twice been orchestrated, by Alfredo Casella and - in the performance heard here - by Sergei Lyapunov. This version was played as the opening item in the UK debut concert of the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic, under its conductor Sascha Goetzel, during the 2014 BBC Proms Season in London's Royal Albert Hall.

*Percy Grainger 'Handel in the Strand' arr. Sir Henry Wood - Bramwell Tovey conducts*




Sir Henry Wood, founder of the celebrated Proms Concerts in London, celebrated his 150th Anniversary in 2019. A special "Tribute" concert to mark the occasion was given by the BBC Concert Orchestra under Bramwell Tovey's baton. It included Wood's own orchestration of Percy Grainger's "Handel in the Strand," a splendidly over-the-top arrangement first played at the Proms in 1916.

*Beethoven "Moonlight" Sonata - 'Adagio' orch. Stokowski - Bamert conducts*




Leopold Stokowski made dozens of orchestral arrangements by various composers and he often played these as encores at his concerts. Here is the first movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata in Stokowski's atmospheric and evocative transcription. It is played by the BBC Philharmonic under Stokowski's former Associate Conductor, Matthias Bamert. (Chandos CHAN 9349).

*Jeremiah Clarke "Trumpet Prelude" - Leopold Stokowski arranger / conductor*




This piece used to be known as Purcell's "Trumpet Voluntary" but musicological research eventually ascribed it to Jeremiah Clarke, a contemporary of Henry Purcell. Composed for the keyboard, its original title was "The Prince of Denmark's March" but it became known as the "Trumpet Voluntary" in Sir Henry Wood's full-blooded orchestral arrangement. Stokowski's transcription is for smaller forces and he gave it the title "Trumpet Prelude." The performance heard here was recorded 'live' in the Royal Albert Hall by the London Symphony Orchestra in a concert marking Stokowski's 90th birthday in 1972. The trumpet soloist was Howard Snell and the issued Decca 'Phase-4 Stereo' recording reverted to the better-known title "Trumpet Voluntary."

*Debussy 'The Engulfed Cathedral' - Stokowski arranger / conductor - NBC Symphony (1944)*




Leopold Stokowski was a great admirer of Claude Debussy and arranged several of his piano pieces for orchestra. Here is "La cathédrale engloutie" in Stokowski's atmospheric transcription from a 1944 broadcast with the NBC Symphony. It has been excellently transferred by 'Pristine Audio' alongside other music by Debussy, together with works by Milhaud and Ravel. (PASC 583.)

*Rule, Britannia!" - Carmen Dragon arranger / conductor*




This patriotic British song, set to music by Thomas Arne, dates from 1740. It became instantly popular and has been much quoted by many other composers in their works. It has also been traditionally sung over the years at the Last Night of the Proms in London's Royal Albert Hall. This splendid arrangement is conducted by Carmen Dragon on a 60-year-old 'Capitol' LP, so I apologize for the clicks! Incidentally, the orchestra was in fact the Royal Philharmonic, with 'Over the Waves' being the title of one of several LPs that Dragon made on a visit to London in September 1959. It should also be noted that the title of the song often omits the comma and the exclamation mark, as is seen in the video!

*Tchaikovsky-Stokowski "Solitude" - Jose Serebrier conducts*




Leopold Stokowski was an inveterate transcriber of many composers' works and his immense catalogue of transcriptions includes several orchestrations of short pieces by Tchaikovsky. This arrangement is of a song for voice and piano entitled "Again, as before, alone"' (Opus 73, No. 6) to a poem by D. M. Rathaus. Stokowski gave his version the title "Solitude" and it is played here by the Bournemouth Symphony under Jose Serebrier, a former Associate Conductor of the great maestro. It is part of a splendid collection of Stokowski arrangements issued on 'Naxos' 8.578305.

*
Rachmaninoff: Prelude in G minor - Camarata arranger / conductor*




Salvador "Tutti" Camarata (1913-2005) was an American composer, arranger, trumpeter and record producer. With the advent of the Decca /London "Phase-4 Stereo" label in the 1960s, Camarata arranged and conducted a series of LPs devoted to themes and excerpts from works by Puccini, Verdi, Bach, Bizet, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. The orchestra for the sessions was described as the Kingsway Symphony and from the Rachmaninoff LP we hear Camarata's dazzling orchestration of the well-known G minor Piano Prelude, Op.23, No. 5.

*Buxtehude-Stokowski 'Sarabande & Courante' - Cynthia Millar, Ondes Martenot soloist*




Maurice Martenot is best known for inventing his 'electrical instrument,' the Ondes Martenot. He introduced it to America in 1930 in a Philadelphia Orchestra concert conducted by Leopold Stokowski. For this concert, the Maestro made a special arrangement of two pieces from a keyboard suite by Buxtehude: 'Auf meinen lieben Gott' (BuxWV 179). 
It received its first recording and only recording, so far, in the year 2000, with Cynthia Millar as the 'ondist' soloist and the BBC Philharmonic under Matthias Bamert, in a CD entitled "Stokowski's Symphonic Baroque' (Chandos CHAN 9930). It was later re-released in a compendium of Stokowski arrangements entitled "The Art of Orchestral Transcription." These ranged from the Maestro's famous arrangements of Bach organ works through to spectacular versions of music by Mussorgsky and Shostakovich by way of piano pieces by Mozart and Chopin, all in colourful orchestral garb. An essential CD for any Stokowski collection! (Chandos CHAN 10900) ...

*Debussy "Clair de lune" (arr. Lucien Cailliet) - Ormandy conducts*




Debussy's most popular piano piece has been orchestrated by quite a few musicians, including Andre Caplet, Henri Mouton, Leopold Stokowski, Andre Kostelanetz, Morton Gould, Carmen Dragon, and several others, including the French-American composer, conductor, arranger and clarinetist Lucien Cailliet (1891-1985). Here is his arrangement, as first recorded in 1954 by the Philadelphia Orchestra under its Hungarian-American conductor, Eugene Ormandy. It comes from a 'Pristine Audio' release that features other arrangements by Cailliet of works by Bach, Buxtehude, Vivaldi, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky in transfers by Mark Obert-Thorn. (PASC 532). Incidentally, it was Cailliet's arrangement of 'Clair de lune' that was played during the final scene of "Ocean's Eleven" (2001) starring George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Elliott Gould.

*Bach-Stokowski: Toccata and Fugue in D minor - Slatkin conducts*




This is the best-known orchestral arrangement of any of Bach's organ works, having been featured in Walt Disney's "Fantasia." It has also been recorded many times, both by Stokowski himself and by quite a few other conductors. This splendid performance was given by Leonard Slatkin, who had made two first-rate CDs of Bach arrangements for the Chandos label. It comes from an all-Bach second half of a concert given by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2017. The complete selection can be seen by clicking the link below. The Toccata and Fugue serves as an excellent appetizer and is uploaded here with all due acknowledgements to the performers! ...

*Dvorak 'Humoreske' - Sir Henry Wood arranger / conductor*




This week saw Sir Henry Wood's 150th Birthday - he was born on 3 March 1869. His name is kept alive these days due to his long association with the summer season of BBC Promenade Concerts held each year in London's Royal Albert Hall. On this 78rpm disc, he conducts his own arrangement of a popular piano piece by Dvorak, recorded in 1935 with the Queen's Hall Orchestra. NB: Very historic sound but a delightful arrangement nonetheless!

*Bach "Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ" (arr. Vittorio Gui) - Slatkin conducts*




Many musicians besides Leopold Stokowski have made orchestral versions of Bach's music. Here for example is a beautiful Chorale Prelude ("I call to you, Lord Jesus Christ") arranged by Vittorio Gui, a distinguished Italian conductor who founded the Florence May Music Festival in 1933 and after the war began an association with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera Company. His Bach transcription is played by the BBC Symphony under Leonard Slatkin on Chandos CHSA 5030.

*
Mussorgsky-Stokowski 'The Old Castle' - Oliver Knussen conducts*




Oliver Knussen, who died recently at the age of 66, was a great admirer of Leopold Stokowski. As a young man, he attended many of the maestro's concerts and rehearsals and when he became a conductor himself he occasionally programmed Stokowski's orchestration of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition." As a kind of mini-tribute, here is a brief excerpt from Oliver's 1995 recording of the work in which he conducted the Cleveland Orchestra on the 'DG' label ... NOTE: The CD volume level is rather recessed and distant, so please turn your speakers up!

*
Dvorak - 'A Fountain of Melody' - Suite for Orchestra (arr. Stott / Morley)*




This is an orchestral sequence based on some of the best-known themes and melodies written by the great Czech composer Antonin Dvorak. The arranger / conductor of this suite was Wally (or Walter) Stott who, in the 1950s, became a household name to BBC radio listeners for supplying the music for such programmes as "The Goon Show" and "Hancock's Half Hour."
However, in 1972 Stott underwent what his Wiki entry describes as "sex reassignment surgery" and became Angela Morley. As an openly transgender person, she won many awards and nominations for her work as arranger and composer and re-located to America where she died in 2009 aged 84. This Dvorak "Suite" is played by the Royal Philharmonic, with Patricia Clark in the 'Song to the Moon', and comes from a "Collector's Choice" LP issued in 1965 by "Reader's Digest."

*Tchaikovsky 'None but the Lonely Heart' - Arthur Fiedler conducts Lucien Cailliet's arrangement*




Tchaikovsky's most popular song was orchestrated by Lucien Cailliet and is played here by the Boston Pops under its long-time conductor Arthur Fiedler. The English words are added for those who wish to sing along. The recording comes from an old LP, so apologies for the clicks!

*Borodin (arr. Malcolm Sargent) "Nocturne" - Sir Arthur Bliss conducts*




Sir Arthur Bliss paid a handsome tribute to another musical knight when he made a splendid LP of items closely associated with Sir Malcolm Sargent. One of the tracks was Sargent's full string orchestra arrangement of the "Nocturne" from Borodin's String Quartet No. 2. It is played here by the strings of the New Philharmonia Orchestra and the entire LP, recorded in 1967, has been issued by 'CRQ Editions' on CRQ CD283.

*Vivaldi: Concerto Grosso in D minor - Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra strings (arr. Sam Franko)*




Leopold Stokowski made his own full-blooded orchestration of Vivaldi's Concerto Grosso Opus 3, No. 11, in his early Philadelphia days but he also recorded the original scoring for a chamber group. In addition, he occasionally conducted a version arranged for strings only by Sam Franko. This performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra took place on 4 February 1964.

*Sousa-Stokowski 'The Stars and Stripes Forever' - Slatkin conducts*




Leonard Slatkin played an all-American concert back in 1994 with the Philharmonia at London's Royal Festival Hall. As an encore, he brought the house down with Leopold Stokowski's rip-roaring orchestration of Sousa's 'The Stars and Stripes Forever.' I hope it has the same effect here as it did there!

*Tchaikovsky 'July' ('The Seasons') - Morton Gould arranger / pianist / conductor*




This is to mark July 1st! ...In 1875, Tchaikovsky was commissioned to write 12 piano pieces to be published monthly the following year in a St. Petersburg music magazine. The collection was entitled "The Seasons" (it's also known as "The Months") and the shortest of them is 'July,' subtitled "Song of the Reaper." The versatile American composer / arranger / pianist / conductor Morton Gould prepared an orchestral version which often retained the piano part concertante-style. He recorded it himself in 1951, conducting from the piano, and that performance has been reissued in an excellent transfer by 'Pristine Audio' on PASC 191.

*Rozhdestvensky conducts 'The Great Gate of Kiev' in Stokowski's transcription*




One great conductor pays tribute to another! In 1983, Gennady Rozhdestvensky recorded Leopold Stokowski's orchestration of Mussorgsky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition,' originally written for solo piano. Ravel's is the most famous of the many arrangements of this work but Stokowski's is the principal runner-up. Here is the final 'picture' as played by the USSR State Symphony Orchestra on a Russian 'Revelation' CD (Catalogue Number RV10073).

*Rozhdestvensky conducts 'Melody in F' by Rubinstein (arr. Vincent d'Indy)*




Gennady Rozhdestvensky died on 16 June 2018 at the age of 87. As a small tribute to a great Russian conductor, here he is conducting Vincent d'Indy's arrangement of a popular piano piece by Anton Rubinstein, the founder of the St. Petersburg Conservatory and Tchaikovsky's composition teacher. On this 1987 Melodya LP, with apologies for the clicks, Rozhdestvensky conducts the USSR Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra. The cello solo is played by Alexander Ivashkin.

*Bach-Walton 'Ah! How Ephemeral' ("The Wise Virgins") - Robert Irving conducts*




Frederick Ashton's ballet "The Wise Virgins" was produced for Sadlers Wells in 1940 and featured Margot Fonteyn and Michael Somes. The music was arranged principally from various numbers in Bach's cantatas by William Walton. There are six movements in the Concert Suite and this one, entitled "Ah! How Ephemeral," comes from the Cantata No. 26 (see note below). In this performance, Robert Irving conducts the Concert Arts Orchestra in a recording made in New York and dating from 1961. 
Bach's Cantata No. 26 opens with the movement heard here in which the chorus sings "Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig" ("Ah how fleeting, ah how insubstantial"). Where they come in on the brass in Walton's orchestration, I've added an English translation.

*Purcell 'When I Am Laid In Earth' - Stokowski arranger / conductor*




This is being published on 18 April, the day that Leopold Stokowski was born in 1882. His arrangement for strings of this well-known mezzo aria from "Dido and Aeneas" was included in a Purcell Suite which he first performed in 1949. In this TV transmission from 1954, he conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

*
Byrd 'Pavane and Gigue' - Stokowski arranger / conductor*




All the 'Phase-4 Stereo' recordings that Stokowski made between 1964 and 1973 have been reissued in a 23-CD boxed set by Decca. The extensive repertoire ranges from Bach, Vivaldi and Handel to Elgar, Messiaen and Ives by way of Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Debussy and Ravel. A disc of 'Encores' features several of the Maestro's orchestral transcriptions, including the arrangements of William Byrd's keyboard music heard here. This was recorded in the Royal Albert Hall, London, on 16 June 1972, one of several encores played by the London Symphony Orchestra in a repeat of the programme marking Stokowski's 90th birthday, as well as the 60th Anniversary of his debut with the LSO in 1912.

*Bach-Stokowski "Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ" - George Cleve conducts*




This sublime Organ Chorale Prelude, transcribed by Stokowski and first recorded by him in 1927 as 'I Call Upon Thee,' is here performed by the San Francisco Orchestra under George Cleve. He was born in Austria in 1936 and brought to America while still a young boy. He studied music in New York and eventually became a US citizen. However, he is little known as a conductor these days, largely because he could be tyrannical and over-demanding, something which doubtless held back a conducting career that was spent entirely in America. In addition, he wasn't a recording artist, so his name hasn't been familiar to record collectors. Still, as this brief item from a 1986 radio broadcast shows, he was able to achieve beautiful playing from the San Francisco band. In 2015, Cleve died at the age of 79 in California.

*
Debussy 'Bruyères' ('Heather') arr. Percy Grainger - Geoffrey Simon conducts*




When Debussy wrote his wistful little Piano Prelude "Bruyères" he had in mind a vision of the Scottish heathlands. Percy Grainger's arrangement is primarily for woodwinds, so it thus evokes the sound of bagpipes. This performance comes from an all-Debussy CD that features "La Mer," the "Children's Corner" Suite and Stokowski's stunning orchestration of "The Engulfed Cathedral." Geoffrey Simon conducts the Philharmonia on Cala CACD1024.


----------



## Aggelos

*
Bach-Stokowski - Passacaglia & Fugue in C minor - Matthias Bamert conducts*




Matthias Bamert was for several years Stokowski's Assistant Conductor at the American Symphony Orchestra. In tribute to the great maestro, he recorded half-a-dozen CDs of Stokowski Transcriptions and also performed many of them in concert. Here is his splendid account of a great Bach arrangement, recorded during the 1996 Proms with the BBC Symphony at London's Royal Albert Hall. His CDs of Stokowski Transcriptions can be found on the 'Chandos' label. The Bach CD referred to by the announcer at the start also features the Passacaglia and Fugue, played by the BBC Philharmonic, on CHAN 9259.

*
Ippolitov-Ivanov "In a Manger" - Leopold Stokowski arranger / conductor*




This music derives from a traditional Russian carol that was arranged for unaccompanied voices by Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov under the title "In a Manger." Leopold Stokowski transcribed and published it for brass and strings as "Traditional Slavic Christmas Music." He recorded it twice and here is his second recording, dating from 1947 and played by a specially selected band of New York musicians. This track is one of several colourful encores on a 'Pristine Audio' release in which the main work is Stokowski's splendid 1953 recording of Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony. (PASC188).

*Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor - Stanislaw Skrowaczewski arranger / conductor*




This is a belated tribute to Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, who died earlier this year (21 February 2017) at the age of 93. The most famous orchestration of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor for organ was made by Leopold Stokowski but a number of other musicians have also made orchestral transcriptions. Skrowaczewski's is among the most lavish and colourful and dates from the early 1960s. The performance heard here comes from a 1974 broadcast with the Minnesota Orchestra, of which he was then Music Director, and a splendid performance it is too!

*Bach-Stokowski: Toccata & Fugue in D minor - Comissiona / Asian Youth Orchestra*




Published on 13 September 2017 to mark the 40th Anniversary of Stokowski's death on 13 September 1977. This famous orchestral transcription of a celebrated Bach organ piece was played in a concert that marked the 10th Anniversary in 1999 of the Asian Youth Orchestra. Its players are made up of young musicians from many Asian countries and are heard here under their conductor laureate Sergiu Comissiona.

*Bach-Stokowski 'Komm Süsser Tod' - Andrew Davis conducts*




Leopold Stokowski made his first appearance with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London's newly-built Royal Festival Hall in 1951. Fifty years later, Sir Andrew Davis and the BBCSO paid a special tribute to the great Maestro with a concert that featured several of Stokowski's own transcriptions. From that concert, given on 12 May 2001 in the same hall, we hear his sublime arrangement of Bach's sacred song "Komm Süsser Tod."

*Novácek 'Perpetuum mobile' - Douglas Gamley arranger / conductor*




Ottokar Novácek's "Moto Perpetuo" (or "Perpetuum Mobile") for Violin and Piano is his most famous piece. It is heard here in an orchestration by Douglas Gamley who conducts the Sinfonia of London on this Vocalion CD.

*Bach "Ein' feste Burg" - Leopold Stokowski transcriber / conductor*




Leopold Stokowski celebrated his 92nd birthday in April 1974 by making an LP of eight of his famous Bach Transcriptions with the London Symphony Orchestra. Not long ago, this LP was reissued as a 'Super Audio CD' on the 'Dutton Epoch' label. As a 'filler,' Stokowski's orchestral version of the "Immolation Scene" from "Gotterdammerung" was included, also played by the LSO and taken from a Wagner LP that Stokowski recorded later that same year. Here from the 'Dutton' CD is Stokowski's thrilling orchestration of "A Mighty Fortress" ("Ein' feste Burg") in Bach's harmonisation of a Lutheran melody originally taken from a Gregorian chorale (Dutton CDLX 7337).

*Boccherini arr. Berio 'Ritirata Notturna di Madrid' (Madrid Night Retreat) - Andrew Davis conducts*




Luciano Berio's evocative transcription of a guitar piece by Luigi Boccherini (Quattro versioni originali della Ritirata Notturna di Madrid) was played for a delighted audience at the Last Night of the 1995 Proms in London's Royal Albert Hall. The BBC Symphony was performing under its then chief conductor, Andrew Davis.

*Beethoven & Mozart 'Turkish Marches'- Stokowski conducts*




These 'Turkish Marches' were respectively composed by Beethoven, for his Incidental Music to "The Ruins of Athens," and Mozart as the "Alla turca" movement that concludes his Piano Sonata No. 11 in A. In these recordings from 1955, Leopold Stokowski conducts the NBC Symphony, the Mozart piece being in his own highly colourful orchestral transcription (from 'Cala' Records CACD0543).

*Gabrieli 'Sonata Pian e Forte' - Stokowskl conductor / arranger at his first Prom*




In 1963, Leopold Stokowski became the first great international maestro to conduct at the annual Proms Concerts in London's Royal Albert Hall. Previously the Proms were usually in the hands of British conductors, such as Sir Henry Wood and Sir Malcolm Sargent. The orchestra for Stokowski's first Prom was the BBC Symphony and the programme opened with his own sonorous wind-and-brass arrangement of the Gabrieli piece heard here.

*Stokowski 'Rêverie for Strings' - The Conductor composes*




On 1 March 1972, Leopold Stokowski, then aged 89, gave a concert with the American Symphony Orchestra da Camera at New York's Town Hall. For an encore, he turned to the audience and told them that when he was a student he had composed something and would they like to hear it, providing they weren't in a critical mood. Someone called out "Play it!" so Stokowski delighted the audience with this little piece for strings, which he entitled 'Rêverie', and thanked the audience at the end for their politeness!

*Fritz Reiner conducts J.S. Bach Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue in C Major BWV 564, orchestrated by Leo Weiner *




Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1954.

*
Mussorgsky Great Gate of Kiev - Sir Henry Wood's orchestration*




To mark the 150th Birthday (3 March 1869) of Sir Henry Wood, the founder of the annual Promenade Concerts in London, here is the finale from his own 1915 orchestration of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition." It is played by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conductor Francois-Xavier Roth, and comes from the complete performance given in London's Royal Albert Hall during the 2010 Proms season.

*Bach (arr. Frederick Stock): Prelude and Fugue BWV 552 in E flat (St. Anne's)*




Frederick Stock, Conductor Dec. 22, 1941

*Carl Stix "Playful Game" (arr. Eugene Ormandy) - André Kostelanetz conducts*




The notes to the 1970 Kostelanetz 'Music for Strings' Columbia LP state: "Carl Stix is one of the mystery men of music. He appears in no extant music encyclopedias in any accessible language. He was probably German. The rest is silence - except for a few delightful works such as the 'Spielerei' recorded here in all its pizzicato charm, as arranged by Eugene Ormandy." However, up-to-date googling reveals that Carl (Karl) Stix (1860-1909) was born in Vienna and pursued a career in 'light music' as conductor, composer and oboist. Few pieces by Stix seem to have been published though another composition, the Intermezzo from his 'Dream Visions', was recorded twice on old 78rpm discs by the Florentine Quartet. His 'Spielerei' (also known as 'Child's Play') here makes its You Tube debut!


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## Aggelos

*Préludes, L. 125: X. La cathédrale engloutie (arr. Stokowski)*




Préludes, L. 125: X. La cathédrale engloutie (arr. Leopold Stokowski) · Philharmonia Orchestra · Claude Debussy · Geoffrey Simon

*Stokowski Transcriptions [Debussy & J.S.Bach] / Sawallisch Philadelphia Orchestra (1999 Live)*




1. Debussy: Clair de Lune 
2. Debussy: La Cathédrale Engloutie 
3. J.S.Bach: Toccata and Fugue BWV.565 
Wolfgang Sawallisch Philadelphia Orchestra, 1999.5.14 Kanagawa. Japan Live

*
Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. by Leopold Stokowski), Wakasugi / Southwest German Radio Symphony*




MUSSORGSKY. Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. by Stokowski)
Hiroshi Wakasugi / Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra.
30 April 1975 Landau

*Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain, Leibowitz & RPO (1962) (arr. Rene Leibowitz)*




Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (1839-1881) (arr. by N. Rimsky-Korsakov & Rene Leibowitz) Night on Bald Mountain
René Leibowitz (1913-1972), Conductor, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Rec. 6 February 1962

*Prelude in G minor, Op. 23, No. 5 (arr. for orchestra by Lucien Cailliet)*




Prelude in G minor, Op. 23, No. 5 (arr. for orchestra by Lucien Cailliet) · Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Arranger: Lucien Cailliet
Composer: Sergei Rachmaninov
Conductor: Sergiu Comissiona
Orchestra: Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

*Prelude in C sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 2 (arr. for orchestra by Lucien Cailliet)*




Prelude in C sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 2 (arr. for orchestra by Lucien Cailliet) · Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Arranger: Lucien Cailliet
Composer: Sergei Rachmaninov
Conductor: Sergiu Comissiona
Orchestra: Vancouver Symphony Orchestra

*
Prelude in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 3 No. 2 (arranged for Orchestra. Chorus and Piano)*




Prelude in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 3 No. 2 (arranged for Orchestra. Chorus and Piano) · London Promenade Orchestra and Chorus · Eric Hammerstein · John Wingell

*Anton Bruckner - Adagio from Quintet, (orchestral transcription by Fritz Oeser) Ashkenazy*




String Quintet in F major, WAB 112: III. Adagio 
https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/OD 0920

*String Quintet in F Major, WAB 112: Adagio (arr. S. Skrowaczewski for string orchestra)*




String Quintet in F Major, WAB 112: Adagio (arr. Stanislaw Skrowaczewski for string orchestra) · Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken
Conductor: Stanislaw Skrowaczewski
Orchestra: Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken
Arranger : Stanislaw Skrowaczewski
Composer: Anton Bruckner

*Bruckner: String Quintet in F Major (Orchestrated by Hans Stadlmair) - 3. Adagio in G-Flat Major*




Bruckner: String Quintet in F Major - Orchestrated by Hans Stadlmair (1929-) - 3. Adagio in G-Flat Major · Gewandhausorchester Leipzig · Herbert Blomstedt

*
Bach-Stravinsky Four Preludes and Fugues from "Das Wohltemperierte Klavier"*




Arranged by Igor Stravinsky for chamber orchestra.
Book 1 No.24 in B minor, BWV 869
Book 2 No.11 in F major, BWV 880 
Book 1 No.4 in C# minor, BWV 849 
Book 1 No.10 in E minor, BWV 855
https://www.boosey.com/cr/music/Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Four-Preludes-and-Fugues-from-Das-Wohltemperierte-Klavier-edited-by-Christopher-Hogwood/47466

*
Bach - 3 chorales, P. 167: No. 1. Lento assai (after J.S. Bach's Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland,BWV 689 (Arr. by Ottorino Respighi)*




Bach - 3 chorales, P. 167: No. 1. Lento assai (after J.S. Bach's Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659) · Seattle Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Gerard Schwarz
Orchestra: Seattle Symphony Orchestra
Arranger: Ottorino Respighi

*Bach - 3 chorales, P. 167: No. 2. Andante con moto e scherzando (after J.S. Bach's Meine Seele erhebt den Herrn, BWV 648) (Arr. by Ottorino Respighi)*




Conductor: Gerard Schwarz
Orchestra: Seattle Symphony Orchestra
Arranger: Ottorino Respighi

*Bach - 3 chorales, P. 167: No. 3. Andante (after J.S. Bach's Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme (Arr. by Ottorino Respighi)*




Bach - 3 chorales, P. 167: No. 3. Andante (after J.S. Bach's Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645) 
Conductor: Gerard Schwarz
Orchestra: Seattle Symphony Orchestra
Arranger: Ottorino Respighi

*Bach-Stokowski "Komm süsser Tod" - George Cleve conducts*




From a concert given by the San Francisco Symphony under George Cleve in 1984, here is one of Leopold Stokowski's famous Bach Transcriptions, a sublime orchestral arrangement of a well-known song from Schemelli's Song Book of 1736.

*Mussorgsky-Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition, Rene Leibowitz & RPO (1962)*




Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (1839-1881)
Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937))
René Leibowitz (1913-1972), Conductor, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Rec. 17 January 1962

*Rubinstein Melody in F (Victor Concert Orchestra, 1929), (arranged by Rosario Bourdon)*




Rubinstein: Melody in F, Op. 3, No. 1 , arr. Rosario Bourdon
Victor Concert Orchestra
Rosario Bourdon, conductor
Recorded September 4, 1929, in Liederkranz Hall, New York City, on Victor 78-rpm matrix BVE-53477-6. Issued in October, 1930, as Victor 22508-A, coupled with Rubinstein's Romance (which has been uploaded separately); the record was deleted by 1940. In the UK, this coupling, credited to the "New Light Symphony Orchestra", was issued as HMV B 3783; this was scheduled for deletion in January, 1951.
The orchestra consisted of 4 first violins, 2 seconds, 2 violas, 2 cellos, bass, 2 flutes, oboe, bassoon, 2 clarinets, 2 French horns, 2 trumpets, trombone, tuba, piano, harp and traps, although nothing is audible in the recording that might qualify as "traps". Rosario Bourdon was the arranger of this piece, originally for piano solo. Three earlier takes had been made of the piece on July 1, 1929.

*
Debussy L'Isle Joyeuse, L. 109 (arr. Bernardino Molinari)*




L'Isle Joyeuse, L. 109 · Philharmonia Orchestra · Claude Debussy · Geoffrey Simon
(orchestrated by Bernardino Molinari)
Debussy wrote this exuberant piano rhapsody in 1904 while on Jersey, one of the Channel Islands off the coast of France. Its principal source of inspiration was a painting by Watteau entitled Embarquement pour Cythère (Embarkation for the Island of Cythera). The sparkling sensuality of the music, especially as orchestrated by Debussy's friend Bernardino Molinari to the composer's indications, brings it into the same sound world as La mer, in which it could almost occupy a place as an extra movement.

*Claude Debussy orchestrated by André Caplet : Children's Corner L. 113 (arr. for orchestra 1906-08 orch. 1910)*




Performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Geoffrey Simon.
Children's Corner (orchestrated by André Caplet)
This charming suite for piano was dedicated by Debussy to 'my dear little Chouchou, with her father's affectionate apologies for what follows'. Apologies for his English rather than the music perhaps; 'Jimbo' and 'Golliwogg' were affectionately retained by his publishers for posterity.
Debussy's daughter was nearly four years old when Children's Corner was published in 1908, and two years later André Caplet, a close friend of Debussy's, conducted his own orchestral arrangement of the suite in New York. Debussy praised the orchestration as 'gorgeously apparelled' but asked Caplet in some concern for a report on the performance: 'I should be sorry if it looked pretentious.'
The first piece suggests a small child struggling at the piano keyboard with fingering exercises. Then come depictions of two of Chouchou's dolls, the first her favourite stuffed elephant being lullabyed to sleep. The snow is dancing finds Chouchou sitting at her nursery window, while the plaintive piping tones in the number which follows shows Debussy at his most pastoral.
Golliwogg's cake-walk-the best-known item in the set-mixes jazz and Wagner, whose Prelude to Tristan and Isolde is briefly satirised. Debussy's former reverence towards the German master had by now turned into something akin to total opposition.

*
Claude Debussy orchestrated by Henri Mouton : Deux arabesques L. 66 (1888-1891 orch. 1937)*




Performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Geoffrey Simon.
Deux Arabesques (orchestrated by Hubert Mouton)
These two early piano pieces, published in 1891, are the musical equivalents of designs in Arabian art of interlacing patterns in graceful curves. Charming and rhapsodic, their 'delicate tracery' and 'twining counterpoints', to quote Debussy's own words, find extra colourings and subtleties in the orchestral forms presented here.

*Maurice Ravel orchestrated by Eugene Goossens : Le gibet, from Gaspard de la nuit (1908 orch. 1942)*




Performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Geoffrey Simon.
Taking the nod from Ravel's somewhat ironic assertion that Gaspard de la nuit is really an orchestral transcription for piano, the great conductor Eugene Goossens offers us this most evocative arrangement of Le gibet, suitably dressing Ravel's haunting phrases in dark, sombre orchestral colours. Goossens enters the spirit of the piece completely, even taking time to sketch a line-drawing of the body dangling by moonlight, on the cover of his score! He imaginatively recreates Ravels endlessly repeated B-flat bell by scoring it for two harps, celeste and stopped horns - adding the sound of a real bell towards the ned, to great effect.
Eugene Goossens orchestrated Gaspard in 1942, while Marius Constant orchestrated the piece in 1990.

https://www.boosey.com/cr/music/Maurice-Ravel-Gaspard-de-la-Nuit/5600

*Claude Debussy orchestrated by William Gleichmann : La fille aux cheveux de lin L. 117 (1910 arr. for orch)*




Performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Geoffrey Simon.
La fille aux cheveux de lin (orchestrated by William Gleichmann)
The girl with the flaxen hair is another short piece from Debussy's 'First Book of Twelve Preludes for Piano' (the same volume which contains The engulfed cathedral). This 'portrait of a maiden in diaphanous lines' was originally inspired by a poem of Leconte de Lisle which commenced: 'Who, seated on the flowering lucerne, sings in the fresh morning air? It is the girl with the flaxen hair, the beautiful girl with cherry lips …' In orchestral form, the simplicity of this music takes on a particularly touching quality, and is again in Debussy's 'pastoral' mood.

*Debussy Estampes, L. 108: II. La soirée dans Grenade (arr. Leopold Stokowski)*




Estampes, L. 108: II. La soirée dans Grenade (arr. Stokowski) Claude Debussy · Philharmonia Orchestra · Geoffrey Simon
La soirée dans Grenade (orchestrated by Leopold Stokowski)
La soirée dans Grenade (Evening in Granada)-the second of the tripartite piano set Estampes (meaning 'Prints' or 'Engravings')-was published in 1903. Like other French composers, such as Chabrier with España, Ravel with Rapsodie espagnole and Boléro and Lalo with his Symphonie espagnole, Debussy had more than a passing feeling for the romance of Spain despite visiting the country only once, to see a bullfight in San Sebastian. His superb evocation of a sensuous, half-lit twilight in Granada is a languid serenade, pulsing with the veiled rhythm of a slow habañera. Conductor Leopold Stokowski introduced his colourful orchestration of La soirée dans Grenade (Debussy's original title) with the Philadelphia Orchestra on 27 November 1940 in a 'Concert for Youth' which began with the maestro's own transcription of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor and concluded with Boléro.

*Debussy Préludes, L. 131: V. Bruyères (arr. Percy Grainger)*




Préludes, L. 131: V. Bruyères (arr. Grainger) · Philharmonia Orchestra · Claude Debussy · Geoffrey Simon
Bruyères (orchestrated by Percy Grainger)
Upon seeing the score of Pelléas et Mélisande in 1902, the Australian-born piano virtuoso and composer Percy Grainger was inspired to become an early exponent of Debussy's solo piano music. Bruyères comes from the 'Second Book of Twelve Preludes' (published in 1913) where it is the fifth of the set. The music's inspiration lay in what seems to have been Debussy's purely imaginary vision of the Scottish heathlands. In this arrangement, the composer's subtle evocation of bagpipes is delicately captured by Grainger's inventive instrumental combination of woodwinds, horn, alto saxophone and harmonium.

*Stravinsky: Pastorale (Arranged by Leopold Stokowski) / Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Philadelphia Orchestra*




Stravinsky: Pastorale - Arranged By Leopold Stokowski · The Philadelphia Orchestra · Yannick Nézet-Séguin


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## Enthalpy

Would someone know a *good orchestration of Bach's Chaconne?*
Original for violin​
The least bad I've found is from Hideo Saito
4WpzfAd5gXk​followed by Pavel Rivilis
VVLvR9Xpc_Q​the other I found are just dull, of bad taste, or completely inadequate to the piece, sorry:
Rakhlin - Raff - Stokowski​
To my surprise, I regularly dislike orchestrations written by conductors. They are often collections of clichés, heavy-handed, and lacking imagination. Harpists say about some scores for they instrument
"it's not music, it's harp"​and I want to say the same about such orchestrations.


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## Enthalpy

This *orchestration by Eduard Schmieder for bowed strings of Bach's Chaconne* makes sense
vgZBEAa2iA4​it introduces no alien elements, nor does it reproduce all the mistakes by Busoni's transcription for the piano.

That orchestration would deserve a better interpretation. First orchestra that plays at a meaningful tempo, fine. But the expression is very dry, possibly resulting from myths about baroque music. Some choices ruin the music, like staccato at 8:30 where heavy détaché fits. The balance between the voices is often wrong.

Insofar a transcription for organ counts as an orchestration, all are better than what I heard from symphonic orchestras.


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## SONDEK

One of the challenges of this excellent thread, is that it is too time consuming to click on every external link to discover which album is actually being recommended.

(A big thank you to all those who attached photos or provided titles...)

At the risk of possibly doubling-up on a previous recommendation buried somewhere in the above - I heartily recommend this album.

Persuasively transcribed and arranged for for guitar and orchestra by Gerald Garcia (Guitar), sumptuously recorded at low volumes - to retain maximum dynamic range - and comprising many of the best-loved jewels from the French classical repertoire, this album has been in heavy rotation around our way for decades!

*If ONLY Klaus Heymann would release it on a quality vinyl LP pressing... * 









1	Claude Debussy - La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin	2:14
2	Claude Debussy - Arabesque No. 1	5:12
3	Claude Debussy - Clair De Lune	4:02
4	Claude Debussy - Doctor Gradus Ad Parnassum	3:08
5	Claude Debussy - The Little Shepherd	2:22
6	Claude Debussy - Golliwog's Cake Walk	2:49
7	Gabriel Fauré - Pavane	7:13
8	Gabriel Fauré - Sicilienne	3:52
9	Claude Debussy - Soirée Dans Grenade	5:01
10	Claude Debussy - Reverie	4:13
11	Claude Debussy - En Bateau	3:55
12	Claude Debussy - Ballet	3:52
13	Erik Satie - Gymnopédie No.I	2:59
14	Erik Satie - Gymnopédie No.III	2:15
15	Erik Satie - Je Te Veux	5:08


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## gprengel

For me the peak of all orchestrations is Stokwski's orchestration of Bach's Chaconne: 



 and also of Bach's Passacalia.

But I also have done several orchestrations which mean very much too me:

For example:

http://www.gerdprengel.de/KunstderFuge_contrapunctus9.mp3

http://www.gerdprengel.de/Beeth-op131-7-orch.mp3





 (Mendelssohn's ingineous string quartett in f-minor)

and others:

http://gerdprengel.de/orchestrations.html . . .


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## SixFootScowl

Haven't been following this thread, but surely this one must have been posted by now?

Beethoven-Weingartner: Hammerklavier Sonata Arranged for Orchestra. 1953 Recording.


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## mikeh375

Some splendid work from Colin Matthews who has orchestrated the Debussy Preludes...


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