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Leopold Stokowski
extremely rare,very good condition
- GenresClassical Music
352 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 18, 2017
Maestro Leopold Stokowski, it must be said up front, was a great man. And anyone distinctive enough to be effectively parodied by Bugs Bunny already has the stamp of quality approval (I make that assertion with one caveat, since Bugs also effectively caricatured Hitler and Stalin...).
It has been some years since I read this, so the review will be mostly impressionistic at this point. I remember Chasins' biography being a solid introduction to one of the most unique artists in classical music, a page turner by a biographer well known for decades in musical circles and a passionate advocate for the art.
Stoki, as many affectionately short-handed him (partly because people couldn't decide whether to call him Sto-KOV-ski, or Sto-KOW-ski) has often been criticized as a con man for his flamboyant recasting of his image, taking on a mysterious accent of indeterminate origin that suggested Continental nobility and which hinted at a noble lineage that he, in fact, did not have. (He was the son of a Polish cabinet-maker, in fact). And when he began making music, particularly when he took the reins of one of the world's greatest orchestras, The Philadelphia, his lush style of music making provided further fodder for his detractors. Stokowski, himself an arranger, frequently liberally adjusted the instrumentation and array of the orchestral sections to suit his vision of a full-bodied sound, and many found this sacrilegious. But these practices were fairly common in Stokowski's day; Willem Mengelberg in Amsterdam did the same types of things, and, if anything, his interpretations of the classical repertoire sometimes sound more outlandish than Stoki's, yet Mengelberg, unlike Stokowski, was based in Europe and the criticisms for him were less pronounced. (Mengelberg ended up having a problem that Stoki did not: his complicity with the Nazis in WWII).
Stoki was often lumped into a sort of category conductor/performer one might term the "romanticists," and was associated in the critical and public mind with the likes of Mengelberg and Wilhelm Furtwangler (who also ended up with some of Mengelberg's political albatrosses). This, as opposed to being associated with the literalists, such as Arturo Toscanini and Felix Weingarten, who tended to play things fast and straight (how much of a literalist Toscanini actually was is certainly debatable, but critics have a tendency to play favorites and draw either-or lines in the interpretation of art).
Stoki became almost as much of a well-known physical caricature as Alfred Hitchock; there was no mistaking silhouettes of the two with anyone else. Stoki's shock of puffy white mane was not just a trademark but abetted his need to project a haughty mysterious air in the public mind.
Unilike some of his contemporaries, Stoki understood the power of publicity, inserting himself into popular films, not just as a sideshow but as part of the narrative in some cases. But the self-promotion was not merely that, it had a strong effect of spreading the good word about the classics to the masses.
Also to his credit, he early on understood the importance of good sound engineering in recorded performance, and took a hands-on approach to the problem at a time when monophonic fidelity was highly variable. Stoki worked with musicians and engineers to make sure that what he recorded would stand the test of time, unlike Toscanini, whose cluelessless about sound recording has made his dry and distant recordings wanting by comparison.
Chasins' approach to his subject is tasteful with only hints of the salacious. Stoki could pretty much have his way with any woman, and often did, and while Chasins addresses this he does not try to pursue the scandalous.
What matters is that Stoki has left a wealth of intriguing and exciting recorded performances that still inject life into living and often show-up the timidity of other classical artists. There are also some interviews with him that are available on Youtube that were conducted later in his life that are fascinating. He comes off not as flamboyant or arrogant but as reasonable, personable and intelligent.
I need to read this again someday, and maybe take a crack at another 1,000-page bio of Stoki that apparently exists.
KR@KY 2017
It has been some years since I read this, so the review will be mostly impressionistic at this point. I remember Chasins' biography being a solid introduction to one of the most unique artists in classical music, a page turner by a biographer well known for decades in musical circles and a passionate advocate for the art.
Stoki, as many affectionately short-handed him (partly because people couldn't decide whether to call him Sto-KOV-ski, or Sto-KOW-ski) has often been criticized as a con man for his flamboyant recasting of his image, taking on a mysterious accent of indeterminate origin that suggested Continental nobility and which hinted at a noble lineage that he, in fact, did not have. (He was the son of a Polish cabinet-maker, in fact). And when he began making music, particularly when he took the reins of one of the world's greatest orchestras, The Philadelphia, his lush style of music making provided further fodder for his detractors. Stokowski, himself an arranger, frequently liberally adjusted the instrumentation and array of the orchestral sections to suit his vision of a full-bodied sound, and many found this sacrilegious. But these practices were fairly common in Stokowski's day; Willem Mengelberg in Amsterdam did the same types of things, and, if anything, his interpretations of the classical repertoire sometimes sound more outlandish than Stoki's, yet Mengelberg, unlike Stokowski, was based in Europe and the criticisms for him were less pronounced. (Mengelberg ended up having a problem that Stoki did not: his complicity with the Nazis in WWII).
Stoki was often lumped into a sort of category conductor/performer one might term the "romanticists," and was associated in the critical and public mind with the likes of Mengelberg and Wilhelm Furtwangler (who also ended up with some of Mengelberg's political albatrosses). This, as opposed to being associated with the literalists, such as Arturo Toscanini and Felix Weingarten, who tended to play things fast and straight (how much of a literalist Toscanini actually was is certainly debatable, but critics have a tendency to play favorites and draw either-or lines in the interpretation of art).
Stoki became almost as much of a well-known physical caricature as Alfred Hitchock; there was no mistaking silhouettes of the two with anyone else. Stoki's shock of puffy white mane was not just a trademark but abetted his need to project a haughty mysterious air in the public mind.
Unilike some of his contemporaries, Stoki understood the power of publicity, inserting himself into popular films, not just as a sideshow but as part of the narrative in some cases. But the self-promotion was not merely that, it had a strong effect of spreading the good word about the classics to the masses.
Also to his credit, he early on understood the importance of good sound engineering in recorded performance, and took a hands-on approach to the problem at a time when monophonic fidelity was highly variable. Stoki worked with musicians and engineers to make sure that what he recorded would stand the test of time, unlike Toscanini, whose cluelessless about sound recording has made his dry and distant recordings wanting by comparison.
Chasins' approach to his subject is tasteful with only hints of the salacious. Stoki could pretty much have his way with any woman, and often did, and while Chasins addresses this he does not try to pursue the scandalous.
What matters is that Stoki has left a wealth of intriguing and exciting recorded performances that still inject life into living and often show-up the timidity of other classical artists. There are also some interviews with him that are available on Youtube that were conducted later in his life that are fascinating. He comes off not as flamboyant or arrogant but as reasonable, personable and intelligent.
I need to read this again someday, and maybe take a crack at another 1,000-page bio of Stoki that apparently exists.
KR@KY 2017
October 2, 2016
Great profile of Stokowski. Gives a lot of details without coming off as salacious.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews