REMASTERED CLASSICS Tchaikovsky – Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a / Capriccio Italien / Polonaise and Waltz (from Onegin)

Album information

Philips Classics began making multi-channel recordings back in the 1970s, at a time when most companies were still only recording in two-channel stereo. The concept of surround sound, let alone the possibility that this might someday be reproduced at home in the living room, was as yet unheard of. After remastering them, PENTATONE is now presenting these original Philips Classics recordings in the REMASTERED CLASSICS series on Super Audio CD, thereby making it possible to finally enjoy these recordings in the quality they were intended to possess from the beginning.

Revealed on this album is a 1973 recording of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a, Capriccio Italien, Op. 45 and Polonaise and Waltz from Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Leopold Stokowski. This legendary British conductor of Polish and Irish decent has been one of the leading music directors of the first half of the 20th century. During his 60-year conducting career he was a great advocate for contemporary composers. He became known for his appearance in the 1940 Disney animated film Fantasia and even more so for his long-lasting relationship with the Philadelphia Orchestra, which he developed into one of America’s leading orchestras. However, his greatest achievement in conducting may well have been the creation of the so-called ‘Stokowski sound’, a combination of ‘free bowing’ for the string section, ‘free breathing’ for the brass section and conducting without baton, which resulted in a very warm and free orchestral sound. This release gives the perfect opportunity to experience the legendary ‘Stokowski’ sound.